APPLES Pick delicious crisp apples from your own Garden of Eden! Apples are commonly grown in Victoria, Tasmania and cooler areas of western Australia, South Australia and New South Wales, and are becoming easier to grow due to improved disease resistance. With smaller cultivars on the market they now fit into our backyards, and in some cases will even thrive in containers. So if you’ve been tempted to grow your own, follow Linda’s tips for success.
Apples are in full fruit through the apple orchards of Bilpin and Blackheath throughout late summer and autumn, so if you're craving home-made apple pie or apple juice, take a drive to the one of the apple growing regions around Australia such as the Bilpin in the Blue Mountains this weekend and grab a box!
Soil The soil requirements depend on the rootstock the variety is grafted onto. Dwarf rootstocks require fertile and well draining soils. Larger growing apples with more vigorous rootstocks, which are more suited to large gardens and orchards, are better in heavier clay soils.
Position Sunny sheltered positions are best. The ultimate tree size again depends on what rootstock the variety is grafted onto, the site, the pruning of the tree and how you train your tree. Dwarf trees, which I recommend for most gardens, grow to 1.5m while other apples can reach 6m.
Growing guide Apples generally grow best in temperate areas, though varieties with low chill requirements need a cold temperate climate. Support the tree with a stake or frame. Thin fruit out in late spring/ early summer. Apples will be pollinated by nearby apple and crabapple trees. They can take 3-4 years to fruit. A dwarf tree on dwarf rootstock will fruit within 2 years.
Pests and Disease Apples are not fuss-free plants and growing them will test your patience. They are prone to canker, mosaic virus, scab and powdery mildew. Some varieties require a vigilant spraying control program; I have based my selections here on varieties that give the minimum of fuss. Spring will be the most important time to control pests and disease. Spray with lime sulphur or Bordeaux at pink bud stage (when flower buds begin to open and reveal a pink colour) and again at 10% blossom stage (when 10% of the flowers have opened). Spraying trees regularly during the fruiting season with a solution of 10% powdered lime mixed with water prevents fungal diseases such as apple scab. A spray of garlic and seaweed on the apple leaves can also help.
Pruning An open vase shaped tree is thought to be the best shape to yield the most fruit but espaliered trained fruit trees can also yield a lot of fruit in small spaces and once trained can have many applications in the home environment (trained on fences, walls, along driveways, along a trellis around a vegetable garden or in pots). Some dwarf rootstocks have dwarf growth cultivars grafted onto them producing short spurs that do not need pruning. These are perfect for the home garden.
Tips & Tricks · Dwarf apples are good in large containers, underplant with mint (although we have to say you'll get more apples in you plant it in the garden) · Espalier apples on a north or west-facing wall · Columnar varieties can be planted as a row along a driveway; they require less pruning than espalier but offer a similar narrow profile · If you have only room for one tree, make sure its self-pollinating. · Spray with lime sulphur at pink bud stage to prevent apple scab.
Varieties Climate is the most important factor when deciding on an apple for your area, as a certain number of cold days are needed for fruit production. Specialist apple nurseries and your local nursery will be the best bet. The Ballerina dwarf apples (Bolero, Polka, and Waltz) are particularly compact. They only grow to 4m high and 30cm wide, and have medium-sized fruit, all good for eating fresh. There are varieties on the market that are resistant to black spot and require little spraying. They are known as ‘Rezista’ Apples. Grafted apples, two or three on the same tree, can save space, add variety and prolong harvest, as well as solve pollination issues. They look great with lots of different apple colours growing on the one tree. In warm temperate areas try ‘Granny Smith’ and ‘Pinkabelle’ apple, which is a dwarf grower, good for containers, with a flavour like that of ‘Pink Lady’.
Harvest and storage Don’t pull the apples from the tree, as you will remove next years fruiting spurs resulting in a smaller crop next year. Instead twist the apple around and around the stalk. Keep apples in cool cellars, the basement (any area that does not drop below 0 degrees) as soon as the apples have been picked. Discard damaged fruit.
RECIPE: Baked apples with blueberry compote Gabriel Gate says he was raised in a family that loved eating fruit - there were more than 20 fruit trees in the garden around his house. No surprise then, that he prefers a fruit dessert like these delicious baked apples to a rich cake or pudding at the end of a special-occasion meal.
This dish is from Gabriel’s new book, co-written with Dr Rob Moodie, ‘Recipes for a great life’ (Hardie Grant, rrp $34.95). It’s essentially a workbook for a happy and healthy life, and features advice and tips on health and wellbeing, achieving fulfilment and emotional satisfaction, and of course, eating well. (There’s also a chapter on the benefits of gardening, with which we are in complete agreement!) Gabriel adds that you can substitute frozen blueberries for the sauce with the apples, when fresh berries are out of season or too expensive.
You will need: 4 medium apples, washed and cored 4 dates, pitted juice of 1 orange juice of 1 lemon 2 tablespoons caster sugar quarter of a star anise third of vanilla pod, split lengthwise 300 g blueberries
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Make a cut 1 mm deep around the middle of each apple.
Place the apples in a small baking dish and place a pitted date in the hole of each cored apple. Spoon the orange and lemon juice over the apples and sprinkle with sugar. Add the star anise and vanilla pod to the dish. Transfer to the oven and bake for 30 minutes, basting now and then with the juices.
After 30 minutes, scatter the blueberries into the dish and stir gently with the pan juices. Cover the dish with aluminium foil and bake for a further 20 minutes, or until the apples are soft. Serve the apples warm, with a spoonful of blueberries and juice.
Serves 4
3 more ways with apples (by Robin Powell) 1. Apple muesli Soak a cup of rolled oats in half a cup of water and the juice of a lemon overnight. In the morning add a grated apple, a cup of natural yoghurt, a handful of dried cranberries and a handful of chopped almonds. Add honey, maple syrup or brown sugar to taste before serving.
2. Apple and celeriac remoulade Make a dressing with a tablespoon of good quality whole egg mayonnaise, two tablespoons of natural yoghurt, the juice of half a lemon and a tablespoon of grainy mustard. Slice an apple into thin julienne, and slice half a celeriac into julienne the same size. Mix both immediately into the dressing so that they don’t brown. Serve with barbecued pork chops, or with flaked smoked trout and roasted hazelnuts.
3. Butterscotch apple crumble Peel, then slice three apples into chunks, roll in a little flour to coat, then mix through the juice and zest of a lemon, and 125g brown sugar . Make a crumble by whizzing half a cup each of flour, rolled oats, brown sugar and coconut, along with a teaspoon of cinnamon and 50g of butter to form breadcrumb-like texture. Put the apples in a pie dish, cover with crumble and bake at 180 for 30 minutes or until golden and bubbling. Serve with whipped cream.
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