We planted our Jonathan Apple tree back in 2007. It was a tiny little thing, but over the last 8 years it has grown into a 4 metre tall tree and is very healthy.
You would have seen how I protect the apples from birds and codling moth larvae in this post titled Protecting Apples using Exclusion Bags. And guess what? They worked like a treat.
Here is my haul.
Organic Jonathan Apples by Gavin
And by the way, they are some of the biggest apples I have grown. Getting the exclusion bags on early really helped this year. No pesticides required.
How do they taste, I hear you ask? Well, I must say that they are delicious! Full of flavour that you just don’t find in supermarket apples. These apples will keep for a couple of months in the crisper section of the fridge. Best organic apples in the neighbourhood.
Organic Jonathan Apples
What the tree lacked in quantity, it made up for in quality. Over the winter, I am going to dig up a dwarf Golden Delicious that I have in the front yard which is not doing too well and pop it in a pot. When the blossom is open on both trees, I will move the potted apple tree close to the Jonathan for cross-pollination. I did a bit of research and found that these two varieties are compatible. That should increase the quantity of set fruit next season.
When I get a bit of free time, I will prune back the apple tree while it still has its leave intact. I read somewhere that this helps the tree to heal its wounds before going dormant.
As I have often said before; The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is right now.
Get planting friends. You can grow your own organic Jonathan apples too!
Looks like a fantastic haul Gavin! Seems that we have opposite issues this year – while good quality, my apples are smaller and a little more bountiful! We calculated nearly 130kg of apples off the espaliared trees (which you can see here: http://bit.ly/15RcdOK) just this weekend! Dont you just love organic apples!
Yummy my favourite apples – the Jonathan!
OK, im feeling motivated by your success, so i will dig those holes this week, i will, i will, i will so long as i can do 8 hr days and not 15 hr days at work like last week.
Ohhhh yum nothing beats crispy new season apples. We are off camping at Easter to a place near Stanthorpe which is the apple growing capital of Queensland and we are hoping to pick up a whole lot of apples on our way home.
Those apples do look gorgeous. We are in the planning stage for a fruit forest at our place on the eastern Darling Downs. 2-3 varieties I’m thinking.
oh yummy I can almost taste the apples from here. Nothing tastes as good as fruit fresh off your own trees.
why on Gods green earth would you want to bastardize His creation by cross pollinating. Jonathans are perfect just as He made them.