I’m just finishing up my plan for the 2014 Northwest Flower and Garden Show, this will be my 5th year being involved. My first venture was doing a patio garden called ‘Living it up‘. I was very nervous. I made two containers out of recycled roofing and planted them with edibles. I went down to Raintree Nursery and picked up two varieties of cordon apples, The Scarlet Sentinel and North Pole, to put in the containers. Cordon apples are not very popular in the U.S. but in the U.K. they are very popular for small gardens. I didn’t really pay much attention to the varieties as I just wanted to have something blooming. After the show I put them in the ground at the bottom of the garden and didn’t pay much attention to them until last year. I reworked the space above the vegetable garden next to the compost bin and there was a little space there to put the apples. They have been very happy there quite possibly because of the compost pile next to them. This year they have produced some of the biggest apples I’ve seen on a tree let alone on a tree with the small stature of the cordon apple.

As I have collected my harvest I have made applesauce and apple crisp, both were gone in a flash. The Scarlet Sentinel tastes a lot like a honey crisp according to my granddaughter. I know they are sweet and juicy.

Here are the apples ready to make into applesauce.

Here is the same group with an egg to show the size of the apples.

When I make applesauce I do it different than when I was young. I made lots of applesauce for my kids using the old method of washing and cutting up the apples, cooking them with the peelings and cores, then sieving them to remove all the bits. This made a smooth sauce with a slightly pink or brown color. Now, I like my applesauce with a little character –lovely and golden with bigger chunks of apple left inside.

Here is how to do it. Start with a good flavorful apple (no broken down, mealy ones). Put a little water in the bottom of a decent size pan, just enough to cover the bottom, on medium heat. Now it’s time to start chopping apples.  Wash and peel your apples and remove the core.  Cut into chunks straight into the pan. Go ahead and let these start cooking while you start working on the next apple. Cook and add apples a little at a time to get a good sauce going.  You can add sugar to taste (I will usually add about 1/4 cup of sugar because that helps bring out the juice of the apples). Don’t add anymore sugar until the sauce is done so I can just add what is needed, sometimes you don’t need any more. I cook it all until it is mostly soft. Make sure the last pieces of apple added are soft but not mushy.

And voila!  It does take a while but nothing is better with grilled pork.

The way you care for cordon apples is similar to regular apples. I do some pruning early in the spring (Feb here). I look for fruiting spurs and make sure to leave them alone. I like to bring any really long branches back towards the trunk. I have staked my apple trees with rebar stakes because of the weight of the fruit. I usually have to tie them in as they grow and support the fruiting branches. As they grow I keep an eye on the branching structure. If there is a branch that is putting on a lot of lateral growth I prune it back again, usually in June. The fruit is already set by then so it is easy to get rid of extra branches and leaves that are not needed for fruit production.

I will include this last picture of the North Pole apple. It is on a smaller scale and the apples are still really good. The fruit is really red and the branching is not as full as on the other ones.  The cordon apple is easy to grow and will fit into a very tight spot.

So tell me, what are you doing with your garden harvest?  Do you have a recipe to share?  Please, do tell!

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