Fresh Eating Apples

History: Cortland apples were first bred in 1898 by Cornell University in New York and introduced in 1915. Since then, they have become one of the top fifteen apples in the US and Canada, although the majority are still grown relatively close to the university where they originated. While there are different versions of Cortland available with features such as redder skin, we are happy to offer the original!

Why We Grow It: Especially with older, popular varieties, we are always happy to offer what is, to the best of our knowledge, the original strain. Cortland is a sweet apple with crisp, juicy flesh. It is great for applesauce or drying as the flesh is slow to brown. The fruit keeps until Christmas under home storage conditions although the crispness and flavour does fade over time. This variety crops well annually and makes a good pollinator for others. 

History: Delbarestivale was developed by Delbard, a nursery in France, in the 1950s. Likely named as a portmanteau of 'Delbard' and 'estivale' (translated from French as 'summer') due to its early ripening time, this variety goes by many other names including Delcorf, Monidel, Dalili, and Ambassy. It was bred in an attempt to create an improved version of Golden Delicious. Although not quite as popular as Golden Delicious, it is still grown commercially in parts of France and England and the Royal Horticultural Society awarded it the Award of Garden Merit in 1998.

Why We Grow It: This French apple is very sweet but balanced nicely with a sharp flavour. The flesh is aromatic and crisp and the skin is a lovely, stripey bi-colour with reddish streaks overlaying green. The apples store quite well for an early-ripening variety, although they do tend to bruise easily.

History: Twenty Ounce (aka Cayuga Redstreak) was discovered sometime in the early 1800s in Cayuga County, New York. It was first officially described in an 1844 issue of "The Magazine of Horticulture" by C.M. Hovey who called it Twenty Ounce due to its notable size. 

Why We Grow It:  These very large apples are excellent for cooking and make wonderful pies and applesauce. Save time with peeling and coring! They are a little tart for eating fresh, but makes an exceptional ingredient that keeps its shape when cooked. 

History: True Root Pippin was discovered on Steph's dad Gary Roth on the family farm in 2022.  He happened to come across a large apple tree, a chance seedling, covered in fruit growing along the fenceline and decided to sample them. Pleased by the quality of the apples, we later decided to propagate this lucky find and make these apples available to everyone! It was named True Root Pippin in honour of True Root Nursery, Gary Roth's nursery which is located on the property and is the source of our seedlings. We are happy to introduce True Root Pippin for the first time in 2024. 

Why We Grow It: We're always on the lookout for exciting new varieties and this one stood out! True Root Pippin is a pleasant green apple with attractive red striping, albeit it is on the smaller side. It has a good sweet flavour balanced with some tartness. It keeps well and produces nice, clean fruit with minimal care.

Since this is a new variety, there is still a lot for us to learn about it! If you grow this variety and have any observations or find any fun uses for the fruit, we'd love to hear from you!

History: Pewaukee originated around the mid-1800s when George Peffer, owner of Pewaukee Fruit Farm & Nursery, crossed Duchess of Oldenburg with Northern Spy on his farm in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. The resulting apple, a cross of two varieties well known for their use in cooking, is great for a variety of culinary uses! It was formally recorded as a variety in 1870 and can still be found in old orchards in parts of the US today. 

Why We Grow It: Pewaukee produces a yellow apple with red striping that has sweet, crisp flesh with a hint of vanilla. It is great for fresh eating and excels for sauce, cooking, and baking. The tree is known for being hardy and producing fruit at a young age.

History: Pine Golden Pippin's exact origins are unknown, but it is quite an old variety that either originated in northern England or in Scotland. It was first formally described by nursery worker Thomas Rivers in A Descriptive Catalogue of Fruit Trees in 1863. In 1875, Robert Hogg claimed that Pine Golden Pippin was one of the best fresh eating apples around in his book The Fruit Manual. 

Why We Grow It: Robert Hogg was correct about Pine Golden Pippin! Despite the small size of the fruit, it makes up for it with crisp and juicy fruit with a sweet/sharp flavour that has a hint of pineapple and resin. The fruit is great for fresh eating and can also be used in cider blends. It tends to be slower growing but produces good crops. 

History: Goodland was developed at the Morden Research Station in Manitoba as part of an effort to breed cold hardy apples for the prairies. It is a seedling of Patten Greening that was selected in 1925 and the variety was introduced commercially in 1955.

Why We Grow It: The cold hardy Goodland produces a medium to large yellow apple with red striping. This crisp, juicy apple has sweet/tart flavour that is great for fresh eating, cooking, and sauce. Unlike most early ripening varieties, Goodland will store well for several months. 

History: Summer Rambo was first described in 1535 in France where it is known as Rambour d'Ete, named for its early ripening and the village of Rambures. It arrived in colonial America where it was called Summer Rambour which became Summer Rambo sometime before the 1850s. Its short shelf life means it never reached commercial success but it is a popular early apple at u-pick orchards and farmers' markets.

Why We Grow It: Summer Rambo produces oblong apples that are green with a red blush that ripen relatively early in the summer. This crisp, aromatic apple has a wine-like flavour that is good for fresh eating, cider, and sauce. Although it does not store well, it is a delightful summer treat!

History: Rescue was developed at Agriculture and Agri-food Canada's Scott Research Station in Scott, Saskatchewan and was released in 1933. It is an open-pollinated seedling of Blushed Calville. 

Why We Grow It: Although the fruit is on the smaller side and doesn't keep well, Rescue has a good sweet-tart flavour that is good for fresh eating and is also good for cooking and preserves. This cold hardy applecrab is an excellent pollination partner for other apple trees.

History: Harcourt was developed by the University of Alberta and released in 1955. It was named after George Harcourt, a key player in the creation of the university's agricultural program, in honour of his legacy in shaping Albertan agriculture as a professor, civil servant, and horticulturalist. 

Why We Grow It: This cold hardy variety produces apples that are lightly waxed with prominent red striping. The fruit is crisp and juicy with a pleasant sweet-tart flavour. Harcourt apples do need to be enjoyed quickly since, like many early-ripening varieties, they do not store well. Fortunately, they are great for juice, sauce, and drying!

History: Scarlet Vivian was originally an urban wild tree found by Wayne in 2018 and has been grown by Silver Creek Nursery's previous owner Ken Roth. It is likely a cross between a crabapple and an apple. We are excited to introduce this new variety in 2023!

Why We Grow It: Scarlet Vivian is quite similar to Dolgo although a little larger. For those who like very tart apples, this is an excellent one for fresh eating! The flavour is rich and complex, but balanced enough that it is quite enjoyable. However, Scarlet Vivian is best made into a jelly where its red colouration really shines. It may also have potential in cider blends. Based on Ken's observations, the tree appears to be relatively free of pest and disease issues.

History: Spigold (aka Spy Gold) was developed at the New York Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, New York and released in 1962. It is a cross between Red Spy and Golden Delicious that has remained somewhat popular in North America. 

Why We Grow It: Spigold marries the best qualities of Golden Delicious and Red Spy. It produces very large apples that are crisp and juicy with a honeyed sweet/tart flavour. These large apples are excellent for fresh eating, making applesauce, baking into pies, and making into cider. They also store quite well and some say the flavour actually improves in storage. 

History: Luna (translated from Latin as "moon") comes from a cross between Golden Delicious and Topaz. It was bred in 1999 by Dr. Jaroslav Tupý at the Institute of Experimental Botany in Prague in the Czech Republic. The variety was likely selected for its excellent flavour, storage capabilities, and disease resistance. It was released in 2006.

Why We Grow It: Luna produces a medium to large yellow apple that bears a strong resemblance to its parent, Golden Delicious. Like Golden Delicious, it is a sweet fresh eating apple that is firm and crisp. It can last in storage for about six months and the flavour is said to be at its best after about three weeks in storage. Luna also boasts good disease resistance and tendency to start producing fruit at a young age.