Planting apple trees for fresh apple cider
August 21, 2009
Last winter we went to a workshop about apple orchards, put on by the Minnesota Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association. David Bedford, the chief apple breeder of the University of Minnesota’s apple breeding program, gave the presentation on growing apple orchards. Since David is such an expert on apples, we asked him for advice on choosing apple tree varieties that would make a tasty fresh apple cider. He suggested the following apple tree varieties:
Haralson
Frost Bite
Chestnut Crab
Cortland
Zestar
After doing a lot of online research, we also added Cox’s Orange Pippin to our apple tree wish list. This Spring we were able to locate and plant most of the apple tree varieties on our wish list. In five years or so, we should be cranking out our own fresh apple cider ……. yummmm! Does anyone have a brand of cider mill they have used and would recommend?
