Early Harvest

The first harvest of the season happened this past week at the orchard.  The variety aptly, if not creatively called Early Harvest is similar to Yellow Transparent in size and date of maturity.  The apples are small and only suitable for eating if you appreciate tartness.  I imagine these small early apples would be more suited to pies, sauces or chutneys. 

 

It was very satifiying to harvest the first apples.  After a spring and summer of hard work, anticipation and a healthy dose of skepticism, it felt very rewarding to see the first fruits of my labor.  This is only the beginning of the season and I am looking forward to all the surprises yet to come.  With so many varieties in the orchard, it is sometimes hard to find any information on a certain cultivar in order to ascertain even an approximate harvest date.  The only logical alternative is to walk the orchard on a regular basis, looking for those trees with a few fallen fruits around their trunk and tasting lots of apples.  My time could certainly be spent in less desirable ways.