It rained all morning so I began the annual process of cleaning out the root cellar. As you might imagine, most apples were ready for the compost pile. But some were not. Those still in good shape were set aside to check out in the next few days. As I looked through dozens of bags, I came across a small box that still had the mailing label dated September 9, 2024. With a bit of trepidation I opened the box. In it were several apples that looked like dried prunes (no surprise). But wrapped in a small piece of newsprint was one apple in almost perfect shape. It had been in the root cellar with no refrigeration for an unbelievable 21 months! Incredible. It did have a couple of rotten spots. We’ll forgive it for that.

The apple in question was labeled #131. It’s a seedling, selected by breeder and friend, Ike Kerschner of North Star Orchards in Pennsylvania. Our tasting notes from September 16, 2024 include, “juicy, crisp, subtly tart” and more tellingly, “skin is too thick.” Maybe it’s that thick skin that enabled the apple to keep for nearly two years. Although we have several of Ike’s apples on trial here, we don’t have #131. I’ll graft it next spring and see how this super keeper apple likes it here in central Maine.