Jon:
We grew Liberty for many years in So. Indiana on MM111, and various
interstems (including M9, B9 and P2) where it matured in early September.
It was annually productive, color was adequate (much better than most all
strains of McIntosh which is a near total disaster in Zone 6). When
adequately thinned size was good or 2 3/4" to 3" on average.
Storage at 32 degrees in common refrigeration was 6-7 weeks (at best).
Where CAR is a huge problem (most of the lower mid west and south),
Liberty is near immune.
I'd rate its fresh eating flavor as good....not great.
ed
On 3/29/07, Jon Clements <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
In further defense of Liberty, it is a cool-climate apple like
McIntosh, hence does best where McIntosh grows and colors best.
(Although I have seen some very nice Liberty from northern NJ.) Yes,
it will be small unless thinned adequately but responds to BA
applications during the thinning window. Very consistent cropper from
year to year. Short harvest window (less than one week), but when it
is right, it does have a very good tart-sweet flavor and good
texture. ReTain will improve the harvest window length and quality in
storage. Makes very good fresh cider by itself or as an ingredient.
(Depending on your taste for certain kinds of cider.) Makes a very
good pie. And yes, a curculio magnet -- which may make it very useful
as a 'trap tree' for monitoring.
:-)
Jon
Jon Clements
Extension Tree Fruit Specialist
UMass Cold Spring Orchard
393 Sabin Street
Belchertown, MA 01007
VOICE 413.478.7219
FAX 413.323.0382
IM mrhoneycrisp
Skype Name mrhoneycrisp
On Mar 28, 2007, at 3:57 PM, Steve Demuth wrote:
> Bill,
>
> First a caveat: I am not a professional grower, so my standards
> probably differ from those who have to sell apples for a living.
>
> I have Liberty on Bud9, and MM111/M9 interstems. I use most of my
> crop for drying - Liberty's texture in the ten days or so before it
> is truly ripe is firm enough, but not too firm, and the flavor when
> dried is quite nice. I also make quite a bit of unfermented juice
> from the smaller end of the crop.
>
> As for eating and storing: they are firm and tart enough that I
> like them, but they certainly are not spectacular.
>
> On the technical plus side, they have been reliable annual bearers
> for me, and the scab resistance is very beneficial for me. On the
> technical minus side, Liberty is hard for me to get to size well,
> and they seem to be an absolute magnet for plum curculio (anyone
> else seen this, or is it just my imagination?).
>
> Pristine is simply as good an early August apple as I've ever been
> able to grow. Technically, its one drawback is that it doesn't
> hang particularly well. I have them on Bud9, and no irrigation (in
> NE Iowa), and I think that water and heat stress in late July
> really hits this combination rather hard, causing me to lose a lot
> of fruit in the 2 weeks or so before they are ripe.
>
> At 06:05 AM 3/28/2007, you wrote:
>> Steve
>>
>> I've been growing Liberty and Pristine for about 10 years on B9
>> for evaluation in northern Illinois. It's taken awhile to
>> appreciate them. But last year we had a very nice crop of
>> Pristine. For the first time, I really enjoyed them. Flavor was
>> great, flesh color and texture were very good for such an early
>> apple (second week of August). I gave quite a few away and people
>> were very fond of them. But Liberty has not developed the culinary
>> quality I would want in a fresh apple. What are the
>> characteristics of Liberty that you find compelling?
>>
>> Bill Shoemaker, Sr Research Specialist, Food Crops
>> University of Illinois - St Charles Horticulture Research Center
>> www.nres.uiuc.edu/faculty/directory/shoemaker_wh.html
>>
>>
>>
>> The apples I rely most on are all products of breeding
>>>> programs, and the two I would most loath giving up are PRI
>>>> varieties: Liberty and Pristine.
>>
>>> Steve Demuth
>>> Decorah, Iowa
>>
>>
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>> ------
>>
>>
>> The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard
>> <http://www.virtualorchard.net> and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon
>> Clements <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
>>
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>>
>>
>
> Steve Demuth
> Decorah, Iowa
>
> "Various forms of religious madness are quite common in the United
> States ..." -- Alexis de Tocqueville
>
>
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
>
> The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard
> <http://www.virtualorchard.net> and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon
> Clements <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
>
> Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not
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Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not represent
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