Blossom Report

   It's the best time of year to identify wild apples in the woods. Crab-apple trees are in blossom right now in the lower elevations of the Catskills, and this week the bulk of the apple trees will pop. By Friday we should be in full-bloom at the 600'-1,000' elevations, and by the following Friday the mid-to-upper elevations should be out. That's true for the Berkshires too, and I hear Northern New England is on pace for the third and fourth weeks of May.

   Note that I am always in the market for wild apples. If you want to forage fruit in October I will pay my unusually high price for them. But I have many, many rules about which apples to pick so I need to send you my two-page criteria sheet before you get too excited. Unless you live in Sullivan County and have dozens of trees to pick from it's probably not worth your time or mine (I need to visit the trees myself in late August or September , before the fruit is ripe.) Also note we require permission from the landowner to harvest. 

   Now is the best time to pin the trees on a GPS map as you drive by. Or, as apple lovers have been doing for decades, carry pen and paper in your glove compartment -Nothing beats a hand-drawn map. The white/ pinkish flowers are unmistakable from the roadside against the grey forest backdrop. When you decide on selling me apples please email me at AaronBurrCider@gmail this summer.

  And also note that friends, Mike Biltonen and Dan Pucci, are interested in your findings. They have formed a Catskill Wild Apple society to discuss and map the trees. Contact them on Facebook via my friends list (my facebook name is Andys Cidery.)

  Or just enjoy the show.