Some of the biggest. I actually wish they all were much smaller. I tried last year to not thin hoping to get more smaller apples but the whole top broke out of the tree under the weight. Made me sick for being so stupid to let them go like that.

'nuther pic
The largest was just over 4" across measured horizontally.

I am jealous of such a nice harvest. Awesome.

Letting the kids do the picking. This is kinda hard to do because they are kinda brutal in their picking technique.

My little boy...he's the most brutal of the two. He's 4 and my daughter 3.

Another batch...these are the less than perfect bunch. We'll probably make another pie later this week.

I should have weighed each picking over the last 2 weeks to get an idea for comparison in future years. I'd estimate the total to be between 60 - 70 lbs. maybe a bit more. I harvested those with curculio stings etc a few weeks ago. Hopefully next year the Imidan will take care of the PC problem.
This tree received a pretty heavy spray program. Aside from dormant spray of chlorothalonil, all sprays were Triazicide and sulfur until Late July when I began incorporating Myclobutanil. Last spray was Imidan / Myclo / Sulfur. I only began the Myclo because the Goldrush came down with CAR.
I fertilize early spring with lawn fertilizer with N around 30 or so. I also add a bit of triple super phosphate (0-45-0) for root stimulation as the lawn fertilizer is phosphate free. I kept this tree mulched with lawn clippings until the resident voles decided to set up camp under it. They really wreaked havoc on my peach tree. I've since removed the mulch and planted clover underneath (can't remember the type...never flowered which was good. I may mulch with wood chips in the spring, but haven't decided.

I guess I should of mentioned the addition of Carbaryl to the spray program when the Japanese beatles show up. Triazicide seems to not be very effective against JB and I've known from past experience that Sevin brings them down out of the tree like it's raining bugs.
There were still a few JB's around during the last spray with Imidan and surprisingly it too seemed to lack the effectiveness of Carbaryl on the beetles.

Flavor is beyond awesome, but the earlier pickings lacked the sugar. The harvest date here is Sept. 10 per ACN, but this year I waited until today for the final harvest and would have waited a few more days if not for the expected frost. I was afraid the frost might brown or russet the skin.
Oddly, this years apples have an ever so faint note of licorice in the background. I really like them a lot. To my taste the Honeycrisp cannot be beat. I can only hope that one day I will find an apple that is better. I read somewhere that it soon it will be the most widely planted apple in the world. Goodbye Red Delicious!

Beautiful kids, gorgeous apples ! I tried Honeycrisp for the first time last year and was stunned at how good it was. It was from the store, so I can imagine how yours must be unbelievable. Happy Fall to you all !

Thank you Deeby for the kind comments. I'm going to continue growing apples, but I've finished with growing kids. Happy fall to you as well.
Fall is my favorite season.

Appleseed. My Grand's are about your children's age. They are a little rough on the trees but they have the best time picking their own fruit. I have one small Honeycrisp apple on M111 root and was wondering what rootstock yours is on. Thanks, Bill

Thanks for posting Appleseed!

Where are you in Maryland? Way up in the mountains?

The reason I ask is I'm wondering if I can grow Honeycrisps in NoVA. Here's a response to a question on Honeycrisps from a guy doing a chat on the washingtonpost.com last week:

Rowan Jacobsen :
Nice picks. Honeycrisps are grown everywhere--they are fast becoming the most popular apple in the country, and the growers are paid three times as much for them as Red Delicious--but they don't grow well everywhere. They do best in cold climates like their native Minnesota, so beware of Honeycrisps from hot places. They have become so popular that I wouldn't be surprised if they're a little hard to get this fall--and very expensive! (currently $4.99 in Florida.) Macoun is an old apple that has the same "breaking flesh" as the Honeycrisp--and even better flavor, many of us find.
>>>>>>>>>>>

It made me wonder if they're even worth trying in this area.

Very jealous. They look delicious. I plan on planting my first honeycrisp next spring and hope I can get apples like that. They are my families favorite apple and although they may not be the easiest to grow or care I'd be remiss to not attempt growing them.

Congrats. In different areas HC performs differently. in my area that would be a 6yo tree. HC keeps well. wrap in paper and put in the fridge. Keep the smiles rolling for a long time.

Well, just got back in from removing sheeting and such...the frost must have been a bust, I didn't see any damage to uncovered tomatoes, but the conditions were certainly there for a good frost.

Champs: Yes, it is on M111.

Bart: I'm in western Maryland. I'm at around 1300' ASL. I live sort of on the side of a fairly large mountain that rises to over 3000'.
You wouldn't have any trouble in northern Virginia. As far as the writer's comments on Macoun, I'd say he'd be in a very small group percentage wise who would prefer Macoun over Honeycrisp. I will say however, Macoun is a much prettier apple than HC, in fact, I think Macoun is one of the most beautiful apples of all for color and shine.

Macoun is an offspring of Mcintosh, and Macoun is a parent of Honeycrisp. One area, aside from looks where Macoun does excel over HC is in it's aromatic attributes. HC has no aroma whatsoever that I can detect and I really wish it did.
When it comes to flavor though, I feel certain that nearly anyone would choose HC over Macoun any day of the week.
Minnestoa did breed HC for their climatic zone, but concern over lost flavor in warmer climates I think is a bit embellished. I've had HC from warmer climates than my own and they tasted precisely as mine do. I will say however that as my tree matures it seems to be producing apples with more complex flavor. This year for example I can taste a licorice flavor. My wife says she cannot, but I'm sure I can.
My limited experience so far tells me that sunshine and dry weather increases the sweetness and the sunlight coupled with cool nights greatly impacts coloring.

Speedster: I'm certain there are easier apples to grow, but HC is not a difficult apple. That seems to be a prevailing opinion here on GW that is not shared elsewhere, or by me. For whatever little extra effort it "may" take it is well worth it. Folks go to all kinds of pains to try to grow Cox's Orange Pippin which imo are nowhere near the quality of HC. I've had COP twice and they were very good, but not even in the same league with HC. I think their reputation is greater than their product, which seems to be common for older apples. Again...this is a lot of my opinions only, someone else may feel entirely different.

cckw: I should mention that when I say 3rd year tree, I am saying it's in it's 3rd year here since planting. I'm not sure of it's age when I purchased it. It was a nice tree of nice size, probably near 1" caliper. It is only around 4 - 41/2" now. I bought it at Southern States because it was the only place I could find at the time that had them, everyone online was sold out. I paid a little more than average, I think it was $37.99. It was worth every penny. I cannot remember the name of the nursery they came from, but it was in Virginia. I looked at the trees at Southern States again last year and they were all incredibly beautiful. NEVER will you find such beautiful well branched and healthy looking trees in a walmart,lowe's or HD. I'll check again this spring and post the nursery name here. I've wondered if they sell bare root mail order or online.

This post was edited by Appleseed70 on Tue, Sep 23, 14 at 11:00

Thanks Appleseed!

I'm at about 1500' in the foothills of the Blue Ridge and I'm actually trying to grow Macouns. I grew up in central NY and they used to be my favorite apple so I took a chance on planting one here. I haven't had any fruit off of it yet unfortunately. From reading posts a few years ago from Jellyman, we may be too far south for Macouns, but he was in Great Falls which is much warmer and more humid than where I am.

Have you ever tired Goldrush? I love the taste of that one and am also growing it but haven't gotten any fruit yet.

Bart...have you ever watched any of Prof. Kent's videos on youtube? He's in Virginia I think (I'm thinking southern Va) and he grows Macoun, in fact, it is his Macouns that I envision when I speak of their beauty. His ripen to a deep purple/red and they shine up like a laquer finish on a hot rod...and they are crunchy too.
Correction...just checked...he's in MI.
Elevation is a big deal though and at least here everything is Z6, however in just a 12 mile drive you can go from a boiling hot summer day to a cool and breezy day by simply heading west into the mountains. In the winter the difference is incredible...no snow at my house (and I'm 1/3 of the way up) to the western most part of the state where it is like the arctic circle...all Z6. I guess what I'm getting at is maybe your situation is similar and Macoun will do fine for you due to the elevation change and corresponding climatic difference.

Honeycrisp to date is my favorite apple, but i haven't tried a lot of the highly rated ones that people on here talk about. It does seem (HC) like a hard apple to grow (judging from my own tree and what i read online). Yours look better then store bought, so you did good.

Kids love gardens...mine are outside catching butterflies, picking raspeberries, trying to catch caterpillars, chasing rabbits daily... All kids should have access to a nice green space to explore....

I haven't seen Prof Kent's videos but I'll check them out.

Regarding elevation changes - - my orchard is 750' higher than the bottom of the road and it seems there are a couple of storms a year where it's snow covered and treacherous at the top and raining and safe at the bottom.

I'm hoping that will work in my favor for northern apples.

I did a workshop at a pick-your-own place once. They had the Honeycrisps fenced off from the other apples and wouldn't allow kids in there to pick because of the damage to the spurs.

Champ...I have a correction to make. This tree is on M-106. My wife found the tree's tag which did not state the root stock. I emailed the nursery, gave them the number and barcode and they replied in less than 2 hours...M106.
I also sent a reply asking why they don't list the root stock on the tag...I said I always felt that was a hallmark of a shoddy nursery. Trying to pass off seedling root stock trees as dwarfs and what not.
Seems a very professional operation. Their trees are all so incredibly beautiful with nice caliper and perfect branching.
Name of the place is Hollybrook Orchard in Keller, Virginia.

Brutal? Could be worse.... ;-D

Oh...I had the same thing. Just less to thin next year I guess. I tried to get them to wait until I demonstrated, but they were so jacked up to be picking they were jerking as I was saying "gently, gently". Putting the picked apples in the bucket was another issue...they seemed to think it was something like basketball...again, as I was saying "gently, gently". Oh well...they sure love it and the tree will live, so all in all...a lot of fun for us.
I feel like any damage is just an investment in their future. I want them to understand where food comes from and learn about the miracle of growing things. It tickles me to no end that they enjoy it so much. Hope that continues.

Does the spur break like that when twisting the apple to pop it off?

I saw northern spy trees sold at a local farm supply store that had a fancy picture tag indicating standard while basic white tag below indicated it was a dwarf tree. Huh? Of course there isn't anyone immediate to clarify because it is only a retail center. Later I found out through the nursery that it was dwarf and they were just using up the info tags they had in stock. They could have at least crossed off the "standard" descriptor with a marker. Apparently they must think people don't really care.

Some of the spurs on HC come off surprisingly easy Rockfarmer. I've reached through the tree before and just brushed them with my arm and snapped them right off.

Apparently they must think people don't really care.

They think that Rockfarmer because they're right...most don't care, because most aren't even familiar with it. Others just truly don't care. I would really like to know what the 3 year mortality rate is for trees purchased at walmart,lowe's or HD. I bet it's less than 25%.