A paucity of early apples

The first apples of the season are particularly welcome, but around here the selection is thin. We start in July with Lodi and Vista Bella.

I am grateful for Williams Pride, which I trust will be at hand soon. I already look forward to Gravenstein later in August, when there will be many more choices.

But there are other fine early varieties that we don't see. My love of Yellow Transparent, is, alas, rarely requited. I've never found any Pristine for sale in the Boston area.

Economically that is puzzling: Apples are popular, and later in the season the market supports a riot of choice.

Why not grow a few more early varieties, and sell more fruit? Apples harvested in July will never be harmed in August by hail or hurricanes.

Similarly, with all the pomological effort and ingenuity aimed at breeding the next Honeycrisp, why isn't someone working up some new early summer apples? The competition is not nearly as stiff in July as in September.

Of course, somewhere someone is doing just that. Here is a cheerful short video about one such new variety.

Thanks to Kevin Hauser of Apples and Oranges for the link.