Who's in Virgina and has apple trees?

Tazlima · Jul 25, 2014

I'm writing a scene set in a northern Virginia apple orchard around late July/early August and want to make sure my details are correct. The internet provides basic dates for blooming and ripening, but I couldn't find a good description of the in-between times.

I actually waited several months to ask this question so that people could simply step outside to answer.

If you live in Virginia or a neighboring state and have apple trees, what do the apples look like this time of year? I know they're not ripe yet, and I believe they'll be past the blossom stage, but exactly how big are they?
Can you eat the unripe apples or are they bitter?
Do they smell appley yet? Is it a strong scent that fills the air, or a subtle one that you only notice if you actually go sniff an apple?
Do wild animals (particularly deer) eat the apples at this time of year or do they wait until they've ripened some more?

If you have an orchard, I'd also like to know how the ground beneath the trees is generally maintained. Are weeds allowed to grow or is the space kept cleared? Is it covered with last year's leaves or mulch? Is the soil hard or soft underfoot?

Please describe your apples as they appear/smell/taste right now.

Thanks!

sunandshadow · Jul 25, 2014

It depends on the apple variety. The ones that ripen first are already red, though not ripe. Winter apples are only half their final size and still green. Unripe apples are starchy, a little bitter; eating one would give you an upset stomach if you didn't roast it first. Apples don't smell very strong on the tree, only injured or fallen apples smell strong. Apple trees create a lot of shade, not much will grow beneath them, even grass. Pro orchards keep things cleaner than private individuals who own one or a few trees. Pros have either mown lawn or dirt roads between rows of trees. They also probably have a fence around the orchard to keep animals out.

Tazlima · Jul 26, 2014

Thanks! I really appreciate the input.

Orianna2000 · Jul 27, 2014

We used to live in North Carolina and we had a huge apple tree in our front yard. The apples were rather nasty looking, all bruised and spotted, but they tasted just fine. I don't recall any noticeable scent from the tree.

I will say this, though: apple tree roots are HUGE! When Hurricane Opal blew through, we weren't even in the direct path of the storm, but it flooded our yard and knocked over the apple tree. We woke to a foot of water outside, and a gaping hole in the ground where the apple tree had once stood. It was on its side, the roots up in the air. The hole the roots left behind was massive! We had to hire someone to chop up the tree and fill in the hole.

Probably not what you were looking for. . . .

Michael Davis · Jul 27, 2014

The blossoms have been gone since may. This year, this time, full of leaves and small apples about 1" for our granny may and 2" for the red delicious. Unfortunately, darn bears have destroyed all my peach trees. Damn varmints.

Tazlima · Jul 27, 2014

That's very interesting about the roots! I never really thought about the hidden portions of the tree.

Also, I didn't think about there being bears in the area. Are they very common? What about foxes?

mccardey · Jul 27, 2014

Who's in Virgina and has apple trees?

*snerk* You said Virgina.

:ROFL:

ETA: I'm sorry - I'm eight years old... :Hug2:

Tazlima · Jul 28, 2014

mccardey said:
*snerk* You said Virgina.

ETA: I'm sorry - I'm eight years old...

LMAO! I didn't even notice! That could totally go in the old "awkward typos" thread.

...should I change it? It's much funnier as-is.

Maryn · Jul 28, 2014

My BIL lived in a DC suburb with a dozen or so apple trees on his property. This time of summer, depending on the variety of apple, he'd have tiny apples 1.5 - 2.5 inches in diameter. They'd be sour. And deer would eat every one they could reach, so only the highest ones, maybe above the eight-foot line, would be there long enough to grow large and get ripe. My BIL couldn't reach them, either, and left them to fall for the deer to eat later. He bought apples at the store like everybody else.

Please leave the typo. We can all use a few laughs, right?

Maryn, watching it rain and rain and rain

Lavern08 · Jul 28, 2014

I live in Virginia and didn't even notice the typo.

kkwalker · Jul 30, 2014

My mother lives in the Shenandoah valley area of West Virginia (one of the largest apple-producing areas in the east, and home to famous brands like Musselman and White House). Heck, the local high school is Musselman High, and the football team is the Applemen.

One thing I wanted to mention about the orchards in this area... contrary to popular belief, the trees are not big shade trees. They are kept pruned down to about 6-7 feet tall. More like really large bushes. It makes harvesting easier.

Tazlima · Jul 30, 2014

kkwalker said:
My mother lives in the Shenandoah valley area of West Virginia (one of the largest apple-producing areas in the east, and home to famous brands like Musselman and White House). Heck, the local high school is Musselman High, and the football team is the Applemen.

One thing I wanted to mention about the orchards in this area... contrary to popular belief, the trees are not big shade trees. They are kept pruned down to about 6-7 feet tall. More like really large bushes. It makes harvesting easier.

Oooh, that makes sense.

I have a few more questions about the fences for keeping out wildlife. Regarding the gates, are they locked every night to keep out people too, or are they just closed with a latch?

I know deer can jump like...well, deer. How high do the fences have to be to keep them out? I drove through that part of the country years ago and I remember seeing apple orchards from the road, but I don't remember seeing fences. What material are they made from, chain link? Barbed wire? It'd have to be something that doesn't block visibility.

Michael Davis · Jul 31, 2014

Yes, there are foxes but more coyotes. Have one game shot with five at one time trying for a doe and her fawn.

kkwalker · Aug 2, 2014

In my mom's area, depends on the farm. Most of the orchards are so large that they don't even have fences. The few that do that I've seen have split-rail, or barbed wire. Having something more involved to fence in a couple hundred acres of apples would be too expensive. More expensive than just losing a few apples to raccoons and deer (which a fence wouldn't really keep out anyway.)

Actually, quite a few of the back roads around my mom's place are bordered on both sides by orchards that are part of the same farm. No fences at all, just a ditch. The roads started out as farm paths--dirt paths worn by machinery to get back and forth to different parts of the farm.

Oh! by the way, it also occurred to me that apple trees age and have to be replaced eventually due to lack of production. So different orchards/fields are in different stages/ages. The one man I know has orchards of golden delicious, winesap, and cortland. Macintosh is more of a New England/northern favorite, it seems.

Tazlima · Aug 2, 2014

Awesome! Fences would have made the story trickier, so this is really good to know. Thanks!

Who's in Virgina and has apple trees?

Tazlima

sunandshadow

Impractical Fantasy Animal

Tazlima

Orianna2000

Freelance Writer

Michael Davis

Tazlima

mccardey

Tazlima

Maryn

Baaa!

Lavern08

Sit Down, and Shut Up!

kkwalker

Tazlima

Michael Davis

kkwalker

Tazlima