The supermarket apples are marvels of sturdy durable sweetness, but lets face it. They get old, and by the time the apple harvest begins I am really ready for something tart and local.
The morning suns shines down on an apple earlier today at Nagog Farm in Littleton, Massachusetts. |
Imagine, then, how pleased I was when eatable fruit showed up at Farmers Market on the eleventh of this month, the earliest I can remember.
These Vista Bellas were not strictly speaking ripe, but they made a joyful noise in my mouth anyway.
But the next week there were no apples anywhere. So I made a point to get myself to Lexington's market yesterday, only to find the market shutting down three hours early for fear of extreme weather.
(That may require some explanation: A week ago neighboring Arlington was hit by a microburst that felled many large trees and damaged a lot of property. Fortunately no one was hurt, but it was a scary prospect.)
One farmer, who had traveled more than an hour to get there, had Vista Bellas all packed away and inaccessible. I felt like the donkey chasing the (perpetually elusive) carrot.
So I was pleased today to be able to buy some Lodi apples at Arlington's weekly market. There were early-mac-type apples for sale too.
Let's hope for an apple harvest without further interruptions. I get hungry this time of year.
Adam;
ReplyDeleteYou should also check out my friend and prolific apple breeder Markus Kobelt's videos at http://lubera.co.uk/luberacouk/_vid_45805.html He's in Switzerland.
Kevin
That was great, Kevin, thanks!
DeleteMeanwhile I'm hoping to do a little better this week.