Planting Apple Trees
January 14th, 2010
On the coldest days, out come the gardening books for a little dreaming. I’m also searching on line and in catalogues for apple trees. In Italy, we adore our twisted and leaning old fruit trees, and the upright orchard we planted five years ago. I’m especially fond of the pomegranates and plums. When I’m picking pears for my tart, apricots that look like sunrise, or crabapples to garnish a plate, I’m thrilled.
We have bought a farm here in North Carolina that has walnuts and pecans but not a single fruit tree. We have old cedars everywhere. Right away, my neighbor mentioned that they’re a disaster for apple trees, just what I want to plant. The centenarian cedars are full of dead limbs and look terribly scraggly up close, though from a distance they punctuate the landscape and appear quite at home. An allée of them leads to a house that no longer exists. I don’t have the heart to chop them down. As if one problem tree were not enough, we have walnuts as well. Grand black walnuts, shady and venerable. They too are poor neighbors. The roots send out something noxious called “juglone,” which goes for the jugular apparently, strangling the systems of most every plant you’d want to plant. Nothing to be done there; I’m not cutting them out either. Hostas are impervious and although that’s not my favorite plant, we have hostas.
Some varieties of apples resist this cedar-apple fungus that one website describes as causing “sticky orange lesions.” I must choose two of the stalwart varieties for pollination and they have to bloom at the same time. This requires research and I’m not sure of the taste of some of these resistant trees because I’ve never heard of Zestar, Milton, Runkel, Sansa, Jerseymac and the others. Any recommendations? Meanwhile, my local grocery store has a selection of twenty types. I’m munching through them one by one. By early March, I’ll be armed with knowledge and planting my little orchard.
Reading about apples reminds me this morning of a special fruit arboretum in Umbria, near Città di Castello. I describe it my new book Every Day in Tuscany:
Among the charms of the upper Tiber valley is Archeologia Arborea. The late Livio dalla Ragione collected rare varieties of fruit trees from abandoned farms, monastery and convent cloisters and orchards. With his daughter, Isabella, who carries on the work, he started an arboretum in San Lorenzo di Lerchi, just outside Città. The trees survive not only as themselves but as a remembrance of an earlier way of life. The Clogmaker’s Fig reminds us that the fig wood used to be preferred for making farmer’s clogs. When the farmers left the land, the tree almost disappeared. Peasant’s Steak Pear speaks for itself.
You can walk the orchard in the warm months, make friends with the Little Convent Apple, Goose Cherry, Giant Fig of the Zoccolanti Friars, Icicle Pear, Small Bloody Peach, Drunken Apple, Ox Muzzle Apple, Pink Stone Apple, Little Fox Pear and many more. The names seem to contain old tastes: Pink Strawberry Apple, Chestnut Apple, Butter Pear, Lemon Apple, and Cinnamon Pear.
If you adopt a tree, you are entitled to its harvest. The proviso, however, requires you to leave three fruits—one for the sun, one for the earth, and one for the tree itself. This sounds like something Saint Francis of Assisi could have written. Che vita, what a life, to dwell among these fruit trees.
Apple picking and apple cider are two things that always remind me of home. When I was a child, growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, we always visited cider mills on my birthdays. I long for the fall season when the cider mills open again. Since I’ve moved to NY, my husband has taught me a new tradition at his family cider mill in Long Island – Frapples (or frozen apple cider)!
Last fall here in NC, I tasted just-pressed apple juice. It could make me give up red wine! So divinely fresh!
Some friends of mine sold their farm when they retired and bought (only) 50 acres on which to build a new house. Their property is surrounded by both poison ivy and apple trees started by early settlers. Some wonderful flavours, but no ‘known’ varieties. I saw the Archeologia Arborea profiled on a gardening show on TV and have wanted to visit there since. Someday soon perhaps!
Looking forward to reading ‘Every Day in Tuscany’. At the moment I’m reading ‘A Year in the World’ to Marcia; as I explained to her, this book is a journey in itself and I want us to travel it together.
Mike
(http://www.wolfnowl.com)
Where in North Carolina?
Also, did you use the quotation “enjoy this day” in “Under The Tuscan Sun? I came upon it in the fly leaf of this book, penciled in by someone who had borrowed it, and I have repeated this every day since. So much more relaxed than “seize the day”!
Bubba
Here in Fayetteville, with tons of orchard room in my front yard, I can’t plant apples either — the cedar blight is no joke apparently as it killed off the orchards in NW Arkansas in the 30’s — anyway, when you figure it out, m’dear, I will happily follow your lead… love and a letter soon,
Molly
Oh my Frances. Tell me you need someone to help out at your place in Toscana. Give me a tiny room, a bit of food and I’ll gladly work for nothing more than the chance to improve my Italian and get out of my cubicle life for a good long while (and do a little singing along the way….). You think I’m kidding don’t you?…..
Frances,
I have been in love with Tuscany ever since my first visit Oct.2004.
Since then we have made 2 more visits to Italy. Lst one in summer,2009.
I’ve been so inspired by Tuscan design, when renovating our home in 2005 it was done mostly in Tuscan design and decor. We may live in Florida however our home reminds us fondly of one of our favorite places in the world. We actually visited your home in Cortona ( well outside of it)and picked some lavender that I pressed in one of your books. I have a picture that I took, of your beautiful “Bramasole” I had framed it with the pressed flowers at bottom and it hangs in our own version of “Bramasole” here. I am sorry that your book tour doesn’t come to Florida. Would have LOVED to come to your signing…..love your books and “Tuscan way of life”
Look forward to your next book. Love the oil, bought some home with us as well as the Bramasole wine found in Cortona at wine shop.
Ciao,
Linda Myers , Florida
Linda, I will be in Gainesville on 31 March and in Miami on 1 April. (Click on Tour to see details.) Not sure where you are in Florida. Glad to hear about your interest in Tuscan design. I share that.
Check out my At Home in Tuscany line at Drexel Heritage. It’s fun to find designs at antique markets, convents, friends’ houses, and once in a cow barn. Nice to think of Bramasole’s image hanging in your home. Frances
Orchards and all other other nice trees… you managed to make me feel nostalgic. For both places…
I guess first for actually having a nice garden again (a balcony facing North in Texas is not the best for plants, too cold for anything tropical, not enough light for most things, but hopefully at least basil, oregano and some basics will do) and.. well, my parts of Italy instead of Tuscany. Sicily.. I’ve also lived in Milan and Apulia but just never ever stopped in Tuscany for some reason. But that is definitely getting on the map to visit on a future trip to Italy. Kind of like abroad too – the food is just so different in the different parts of Italy…
John Seabrook wrote a lovely article about the Archeologia Arborea farm here:
http://www.booknoise.net/johnseabrook/stories/culture/pears/pears.pdf
Hope you are having a lovely “20th” in Tuscany
-Alfonso
@italianwineguy
Dear Frances,
I can’t wait to get your latest book on Tuscany! I read Under the Tuscan Sun, Bella Tuscany and A Year in the World several years ago while I was living in Southeast/Central Asia, and absolutely adored them. You write such gorgeous, poetic prose, and I tell all my friends back in the Philippines that! I now live in Chapel Hill, NC and am beyond thrilled to know you have a farm not far from here. I hope to catch you in a book signing one day soon!
Karen, thanks for your note. I’ll be speaking at Fly Leaf Books in Chapel Hill, next to Foster’s Market, on 2 September. Hope to see you–Frances
Dear Frances,
my copy of Everyday in Tuscany arrives from Amazon today. I can’t wait to read it and have you sign it on September 2 at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill! By the way, I’m currently reading your book “The Discovery of Poetry” and I’m inspired to go back to writing more poems.
Cheers,
Karen
[...] anyway, i found out last month that she’s bought a farm in Hillsborough early this year. She now divides her time between Tuscany and NC. i was ecstatic i left a message on her website. it’s a bit rambling, my message. but that’s the excitement talking: “Karen says: July 29, 2010 at 1:27 am [...]