Apples 101: How to Identify an Apple
Date & Time: Thursday, January 18, 3:45 – 5:00 PM
Speaker: John Bunker
For generations apple cultivars have been routinely mixed up and misidentified in backyards, orchards, nurseries and collections. It’s a huge pervasive problem. Even the most reputable nurseries and the most famous collections have been plagued by this mess. In the cider world “Foxwhelp/Fauxwhelp” and “Tremlett’s Bitter” are just two glaring examples. In this first of two sessions, we will look at how to identify apples using a combination of historical references, tree observations, phenotypic descriptions, and now DNA SNP technology. We will learn about the collaborative efforts of the Historic Fruit Working Group of North America to create a standardized publicly accessible database reference panel.
Apples 102: How to Phenotypically Describe an Apple
Date & Time: Friday, November 19, 3:30-4:45 PM
Speaker: John Bunker
Acute or acuminate? abrupt or obtuse? furrowed or funnel-shaped? What does all this stuff mean? If we are going to get to know the fruit we eat, grow, grind and press, we ought to know the “phenotypic” parts. If we are going to sort out the apple mysteries in our lives, we better know how to describe an apple. Modern DNA SNP technology has revolutionized apple identification. But DNA profiles are only as good as the phenotypic descriptions and identifications that are essential to creating the reference panel to which our apples are compared. In this session we will do a deep dive into the details of creating an accurate description of an apple. Knowing a base from a basin and axile from abaxile will open the door to the amazing world of describing the apples in your life as well as to understanding what you’re reading in Beach, Bussey or Downing. All attendees will be provided with apples, knives and the occasional band-aid.
Radical Sustainability in the Orchard
Date & Time: Thursday, January 18, 2:00 – 3:15 PM
Moderator: Christine Walter
Speakers: Mimi Casteel, Mike Biltonen, Greg Jones
Join us for this invigorating session where some of the brightest minds in the sustainable agriculture space will be discussing radical sustainability in the orchard. Get ready to be inspired by these absolute superheroes as they delve into the important questions that should keep us all up at night. From tackling the biggest challenges facing our orchards to exploring new ways to create positive change, our panelists will share their insights, expertise, and innovative solutions.
Biodynamic Orcharding Workshop
Date & Time: Friday, January 19, 10:00-11:15 AM
Speaker: Mike Biltonen
Have you ever walked in an orchard and felt everything was “just right,” that there was an energy where you sensed the life? It’s likely that biodynamic practices were at work. In this session, we will walk through a season in an apple orchard relating typical orchard activities with seasonal rhythms and biodynamic practices. We’ll follow a year in an orchard from winter pruning to bloom and then through harvest where we begin the cosmic cycle again. Each of an apple trees’ growth stages – critical physiological developmental periods in its annual journey – require special understanding, stewardship, and attention that are enhanced through the use of biodynamics practices. We will discuss the use of each of the biodynamic preparations, the special role of silica, tree paste, and even pest peppers in relation to the biological realities and real-world situations every orchardist eventually encounters.
Apple Sourcing: Growing and Working with Apple Growers
Date & Time: Thursday, January 18, 10:30-11:45 AM
Moderator: Steve Selin
Speakers: Caitlin Braam, Andrew Byers, Randy Kiyokawa, David Glaize
Quality fruit is the primary requirement to produce a quality cider. Having control over your source of fruit is a necessity in order to reliably produce quality cider year after year. This session will discuss nuances of working with fruit growers big and small. Also considerations from contracting with growers to planting your own orchard will be discussed.
Foraged Fruit Project: A Discussion of Discovery
Date & Time: Friday, January 19, 1:45-3:00 PM
Cost: $12 SOLD OUT
Moderator: Scott Ramsey
Speakers: Greg Peck, Maria Kennedy, Steve Selin, Sager Small, Kim Hamblin
Over a year ago, Dr. Maria Kennedy of Rutgers University in collaboration with Dr. Gregory Peck of Cornell University set out with their undergraduate student researchers to better understand the practice of fruit foraging as it exists in New York’s cider industry and beyond. A variety of questions inspired their research, such as “Why are commercial cider producers foraging for apples instead of growing their own or purchasing from other orchards?”, “How are they doing it?”, “What fruit and juice quality traits are they seeking?”, “Are the trees truly unique genotypes or were they intentionally planted varieties that had since been abandoned?” and so many more. Be a part of the conversation and taste along as moderator Scott Ramsey from the New York Cider Association leads Drs. Kennedy and Peck along with Steve Selin of South Hill Cider, Kim Hamblin from Art+Science Cider and Wine, and experts from Mast Year Cider as they uncover what their findings are so far, the surprises that have emerged, and what the continuation of the research looks like. As part of the discussion, you’ll be tasting ciders made from foraged fruit and hear from cider makers and growers practicing foraging as to what their own foraging experience entails, what discoveries they’ve made, and how they incorporate their foraging into their business model.