Gardening for You: Johnny Appleseed
What would Johnny Appleseed think if he walked into a grocer today passing bins filled with every shade of yellows, reds, rosy-colored, juicy apples?
Johnny Appleseed was a real person, known as the “apple seed man,” which later morphed into his moniker by which we know him, “Johnny Appleseed.”
John Chapman (aka Johnny Appleseed) was born in Massachusetts in 1774. Legend portrays John as nomadic, planting apple seeds as he wandered country sides, yet he was an astute business man. John headed west when he was 18 years old. As he traveled, he did carry his well-known leather bag filled with apple seeds collected free from cider mills.
Legend goes that John scattered seeds as he walked along roadways and streams, but his records detail the care he took in establishing apple nurseries in prime spots. He would tend his apple orchards, selling seedlings when large enough.
John established apple orchards over a 50-year period as he traveled from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania, the Ohio Valley and Indiana. Settlers looked forward to John’s return visits as he tended his many orchards because he brought news with him. Although wealthy, John was described as odd-looking because he wore no shoes and traded apple trees for second-hand clothing. (waapple.org)
John Chapman died in in 1845 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is remembered with a gravestone erected by the Indiana Horticultural Society in the Johnny Appleseed Park in Fort Wayne (atlasobscura.com). He is also commemorated in Ohio with the Johnny Appleseed Monument in Mansfield Memorial Museum (richlandcountyhistory.com).
Fast forward to today. Recently, in bins of a favorite grocer, were 27 different apple varieties for sale. Old standards like Macintosh nestled next to the latest commercial releases like SweeTango® and Snapdragon. Some varieties appear in the accompanying photo:
Cosmic Crisp. Washington release, 2019. Large, juicy, dark red exterior scattered with bright lenticels. Crunchy, sweet flesh with a hint of tang.
Envy™. New Zealand, 1985. Red with yellow specks. Flesh is very sweet, low acid.
Fuji. Japanese, 1930. A cross of ‘Red Delicious’ and ‘Ralls Janet’. Red exterior, slightly conical shape. Mild, sweet, crisp, and dense flesh.
Granny Smith. Australian, 1868. Lime green exterior, extremely tart. Excellent for eating; popular as a pie apple.
Honeycrisp. Minnesota, 1960. Mottled red over yellow background color. Very crisp, white flesh, slightly tart with strong honey-like sweetness.
McIntosh. Canadian, 1811. A cooking apple in the U.S. Crisp, red apple with bright white flesh, sweet flavor.
Australian, 1990, ‘Lady Williams’ crossed with ‘Golden Delicious’ It is often marketed as ‘Cripps Pink’ after breeder John Cripps. Exterior is light red, pink with light yellow-green striped skin. Crisp, very sweet, slightly tart, creamy white flesh.
SnapDragon. Cornell, 2013. ‘Honeycrisp’ parentage. Lightly ribbed exterior over a yellow base. Prominent tan lenticels. Ivory, crisp and juicy, sweet, slightly spicy flesh. Crunches like a monster.
SweeTango®. Minnesota, 2009. Large, conical shape, tapers to a narrow base. Pale yellow-green base with blush of bright red and stripes. White, dense, juicy, sweet, slightly tangy flesh.
Hooray for Johnny Appleseed. May his legend endure.
Ellen Peffley taught horticulture at the college level for 28 years, 25 of those at Texas Tech, during which time she developed two onion varieties. She is now the sole proprietor of From the Garden, a market garden farmette. You can email her at gardens@suddenlink.net
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Gardening for You: Johnny Appleseed
