Harvestman, my spray schedule is to be honest that I really don't have one. Well, I do, it's just that there has always been something that kept me from spraying early. This has not been by choice. This is why I see the great value in DR varieties for the backyard orchard whereas you do not. I'd bet anything my trees receive far, far greater care than the typical backyard tree and my fruit is proof of that. You might recall I never before sprayed myclo before probably mid July of this year. I also never sprayed dormant oil, but I bought some and will this year. I sprayed only sulfur and this is the first year ever for CAR and I'm certain the Goldrush introduction served as the petri-dish in my yard. This year: Chlorothalonil and triazicide before bud break. Triazicide and sulfur at petal fall (with some scattered petals remaining...bees no longer really active) triazicide/sulfur about every 10 days, sometimes less depending on rain and insect activity around late July I began Triazicide/ Carbaryl / myclobutanil about every 6 days (carbaryl introduced for JB control) beginning early August Triazicide/myclo/ sulfur about every 6 days depending on rain (most effective spray combo to date) Most recent spray Imidan (1 1/4 tbsp. per gallon) / myclo mixed heavy / sulfur (hasn't rained since) I did a one time spray to the Damson only of Bifenthrin/ Zeta - Cypermethrin for BMSB. This was the most effective one time spray I've ever did in my life. Tree was covered with them including babies. The spray totally destroyed them and they have never returned nor did they move to any other fruit. Gone like the wind. A single 24oz. spray. This is certainly an overly excessive spray regimen, but I have absolutely perfect apples, other than a very small touch of what I think is bitter pit on Honeycrisp (only on a few select apples), and the CAR on the Goldrush...no fruit damage whatsoever and only small foliar lesions, never with the horns on the leaf underside. I spray very thoroughly...leaves top and bottom, trunk branches...everything. I finish out the tank on the Goldrush with a light mist after the initial spray has dried to get more product on the foliage. I might introduce calcium sulfate next year, both foliar and ground applications to the apples.

I have eaten a few Hawkeye Delicious apples a few years ago. I don't remember it being anything special. But I didn't see it being grown. One of the reasons that I would like a spur-type is because I would like to train them to grow along a fence (espalier). The main reason for wanting Red Delicious is because they make very good baking apples that keep their shape when cooked and don't turn to mush. And if baked into a pie, they don't make the crust soggy. They may not be good for eating out of hand, but they do indeed make for good cooking apples. I have also read that some Red Delicious are resistant to fireblight, which is pretty bad in my area. I have only had luck with Bud9 and M7 roots on the apples that I have grown. Non-spur types on Bud9 take about 5+ years to start producing for me. And the trees want to be about 10' tall. Non-spur types on M7 take even longer to bear, and they want to be over 15' tall. They can be pruned shorter, but they don't bear any quicker. I have tried growing more dwarf rootstocks, but either they die or they don't thrive. For example, I have a 12 year old tree on M27 that is only bout 4' tall and has never bloomed.

Thanks much for all your responses! How right, it's December, how can I expect an apple to taste as fresh as if it were just picked off a tree? Although it did have crispness, just that odd streaking (and me and dh thought that the apple might have been exposed to freezing temperatures, but then you'd think it's flesh around the exterior would be mushy?) I've had Gala, and enjoyed them without complaint, and will try some of the other suggestions. Must be location, but I've never seen a honeycrisp in local grocers, just as in the other thread LindaC began with the rd, the Northern Spy apple is not available here either. A girlfriend was giving me her apple crisp recipe (she was from Ontario) and insisted I use Northern Spy for it, until she lived here a while and noticed it was not available. I can be more adventurous, but like beantheredunthat pointed out, dh's (or mine anyway) are more picky. I'll let him tough it out - he can go to the store and pick out his own apples and then complain to himself that there's something wrong with them!

OK, correction; the apples on the branch are NOT King David, but Lady Williams (that's what happens when the Belgian Fence makes tracing the branch to the tag difficult). The King David in the hand are indeed runts, but excellent-tasting runts. I picked the Lady Williams today, also very nice, very marketable, but nothing close to King David. KD is still very firm when ripe, but in a pleasant sort of way, very sweet, with a distinctly winey taste, hints of Welch's grape juice, but also very spicy, appley, sweet-tart, matching the color. KD doesn't keep nearly like Arkansas Black unfortunately, but Lady Williams is reported to keep well and improve in ordinary storage, a plus where there is no refrigeration.