Today in the orchard
Second day of the Fair. There was a huge crowd, and the Hayloft “Apple Tent” was a busy place all day. Many fairgoers brought apples for us to identify. It’s amazing how many varieties there are out there that we just don’t know. Darn! Today was the second tasting of (mostly) Maine apples led by myself and Sean Turley. The tasting attracted a large, enthusiastic crowd. As expected, Canadian Strawberry was a big favorite again today although the surprise winner was the largely unknown, bright-red-fleshed Winekist.
Winekist was introduced in the 1949 Carl A. Hansen Nursery Co. catalog from Brookings, SD. Here is the description from page 20 of the catalog, reprinted in full:
“A Carl A. Hansen Introduction First Time Offered. Clear red flesh from skin to core. Beautiful to look at and most delightful to eat. It has a sprightly sweet, most distinctive flavor. Makes the most beautiful looking and delicious tasting sauce, jam and jelly, the color of Port Wine. It is hardy far north into Canada. It produces big crops on very young trees. The fruit gets up to 3 inches in diameter, with an outside coloring of clear, dark red, sometimes overstriped with darker red.
VERY ORNAMENTAL
Because of the large red, fragrant flowers in spring, this new apple makes an outstanding ornamental tree for planting on your lawn or in your garden. In an orchard its striking red flowers are a sight to behold as they stand out amongst all the other trees. The tree is of a semi-dwarf type, and does not require as much space as most apples. The branches are strong forked and will bear well the large heavy crops of fruit.
The demand for trees of red fleshed apples is going to be tremendous and once they are sufficiently planted for the fruit to be sold on the market, it’s hard to say how enormous the demand will be. You can be sure that for many years the fruit will command premium prices. Those who get started with these new fruits now will reap rewards for years to come.”