Summer has arrived in Southeastern Indiana. The rains of late Spring and the early part of this month have created a lushness in the orchards. The fruit has gone through the stage of cell division and now is in cell growth. Apples are growing significantly every day and very visible.
The apple trees in our orchard have gone through their “June drop.” The home orchardist may be puzzled when the apples appear to be developing normally and then, from a week to several weeks after bloom, a sizeable amount of fruits start dropping to the ground. It is referred to as “June drop” but it may occur as early as May or as late as July depending on the growing region you are in. It appears that all the fruit is on the ground but it is important to remember that only 5% to 10% of a fruit tree’s bloom actually needs to develop into mature fruit for a good crop. “June drop” is Mother Nature’s way to eliminate inferior fruit or excess fruit. Most of the apples laying on the ground have not been pollinated sufficiently. Fruit not pollinated or fertilized sufficiently have few seeds and can not develop into edible fruit. Besides eliminating inferior fruit, “June drop” also sheds excess fruit that the tree cannot feed or its branches cannot support.
Our first variety of apples that we can offer to our customers is the Gingergold. If all progresses as we think, this offering will be available by the first week of August. This apple is one of our favorite early varieties. It is an apple that makes good sauce, great canned apple pie filling but is also an apple that offers a solid texture that customers can enjoy for eating out of hand as well. It won’t be long before these locally grown apples will be made available at the markets and our home location.