Anna Apples

In the desert, growing apples is not hard if you have the right kind of apple. Macintosh apples (my favorite) are sadly not one of the species you can grow in Arizona, but Aña's will suffice. Aña's are also known as Anna apples.We do not have a Pollinator tree like a Dorset or Ein Shermer, just plenty of orange trees, a mammoth fig tree that we have never gotten fruit from, a blood orange tree, and a lemon tree. Anna apple trees are an Israeli selection and a good tree for Arizona.

This was the first year this tree had produced the mass amount it had. Our tree is organic and fed with organic fertilizer. This year this lovely tree produced 25 brown paper grocery bags and 2 large black plastic barrels of apples. It was a sweet harvest.

So at 9am on the first Saturday of June  my husband and I met with friends to pick our apples for the first time.Next year we will be out there at 5:30am picking as the sun rises. It was just too hot. So hot that when the work really got started I forgot to take pictures of everyone involved. I did get a few great shots though. That being said the whole experience was absolutely amazing.I cannot wait to do it again.

Some of the friends who came out brought garden goodies from a family friend who sells produce out of his home. Well he did sell produce out of his home, until the City of Scottsdale shut him down on that very day and made him go to Farmer's Market to sell it. The sweet corn that our friend brought to us was so fresh it still had its accompanying caterpillar ALIVE! It was also the perfect snack, eaten raw sitting under the cool shade of the Fig.

This year the tree was so heavy with fruit that as we picked the limbs straightened. In the picture, over there ---->, you can see how the center of the tree was leaning and slowly straightening up. This was after my husband had been up there for about an hour.

We pick before a blush sets on most of the apples because they will store longer without the blush. Annas' store very well in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator for about 2 months. The apples that have a blush should be consumed first if you are without a freezer to store them in, a juicer to juice them, or have no idea how or no time to can them. Sadly, I do not yet have my freezer so Apples have been a constant at meals and snacks and in juices.

One word about Juicing if you aren't already aware. You should consume the juice very soon after you juice it, within 1-2 days.

 We are looking forward to next years harvest when we may be able to take them to a Farmers Market near by and sell them.

Our little Honda Fit was stuffed to the gills with 18 bags of apples.

Our entry way was the only place to store them. And Miss Em, our doglet, stayed out of them for a full week!

But then she had one.....pretty good self control for a terrier!
















I baked with them and juiced with them. They make a nice mild juice, a sweet Dutch Apple pie, and a great cobbler.