Availability of Fruits
The following fruits are available seasonally. We leave them on the website simply to show you what may be available as they ripen from approximately mid-August until early-January each year. We’ll note below those which are actually available currently. Updated April 28, 2013 The varieties are designated “AVAILABLE NOW”, “AVAILABLE SOON” OR “FINISHED FOR THE SEASON”
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Dolgo crabapples: FINISHED FOR SEASON. Dolgo are small, deep red crabapples, slightly sweet but tart flavour, available mid-August till early September. These are the earliest of our two varieties. TRY THE LARGER, HYSLOP CRABAPPLES A WEEK or TWO LATER. Some people like the dolgo crabs because the jelly is slightly pink in color but we think the flavor of the jelly of both crabapples is similar. The hyslop variety is larger and is available in September. It’s best to call us to reserve some: 250-474-5043.
Hyslop crabapples: FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. They are a large (compared to the dolgo crabapples), yellow and red crabapple. Generally available later in September. They make excellent juice for jelly. It would be advisable to contact us so that we can ensure that a bag or box containing the quantity you want is set aside for you, as they seem to keep better when left on the tree.
Bramley’s Seedling: FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. The classic English cooking apple. Often very large. Flesh tart, firm, yellowish and rather dry. Smooth waxy skin yellowish green in colour with dull blotchy brownish red stripes.
Cox’s: FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. Not the nicest looking apple, red/green with a russeting but still a favorite English eating apple. A russet apple. There are many sub-varieties, such as Cox’s red, with similar but a little different flavour. Karmijn, see further below, is a more modern but similar variety.
Elstar: FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. Golden delicious X Ingrid Marie cross. Excellent eating apple. Fairly new, medium sized apple from Holland with outstanding juiciness and tart-sweet flavour. Greenish yellow flushed with bright red. Stores for several months.
Fuji: FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. Cream colored inside, firm but juicy, sweet. A dull red in color, excellent for all purposes. Has a greenish cast, overlapped with pink. A late season apple. Stores well.
Gala: FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. Cross between Kidd’s orange & golden delicious. An excellent quality eating apple. Medium size fruit, cream flesh, firm, crisp, fine-textured, juicy and fairly sweet with good aromatic flavour. Yellow with bright red stripes. Will store for several months.
Golden Delicious: FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. Not related to the red delicious. Originated in Virginia in 1916. Pale yellow, sometimes a light orange flush, one of the most popular apple varieties. Sweet, somewhat soft, and low in acidity. Keeps well. There must be several variants because our ripen much later than some others grown locally.
Gravenstein: FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. Gravenstein are not the prettiest apple but popular amongst those who know this variety. September. Said to originate in Denmark. A distinctive flavour; good for eating and especially good for pies.
Jonagold: FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. Excellent large eating apple with crisp, juicy flesh and good flavor. Also excellent for cooking. Great in salads. A cross between golden delicious and Jonathan. Good keeper.
Karmijin de Sonneville: FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. One of the cox family, and a russet. We have several young trees which are just starting to produce. We hope to have a larger supply next year. The variety originated in Holland about 1971. It is a cox’s orange pipin cross with Jonathon (cox op x Jonathon). It is attractive, red, very crisp, slightly honeyed, aromatic, acidic and russeted. It is suggested that it be stored for a couple of weeks (after picking) at which time it reaches its peak flavour.
King: FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. A large apple, convenient sized for cooking but excellent to eat. Crisp. An older variety hard to find. Stores well but tends to soften in storage.
Melrose: FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. Jonathon X red delicious cross. Excellent cooking and eating apple. Medium to large with firm, crisp, green-tinged flesh. Dull copper-red blush over greenish yellow skin; often russeted. Stores for several months; best to leave to age for a week or two.
Mcintosh: FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. An old Canadian favorite, originated in Eastern Ontario in the 1820s. It ranges from medium to large in size and from round to oblate in shape with a green base and bright to deep red color. Looks very much like spartan. It is a high quality apple that is prized for dessert purposed. Cooks soft and smooth.A distinctive aroma and a delicious “tangy” flavour.
Mutsu: FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. Crisp, juicy with a distinctive, delicate tart-spicy flavour. Large, yellow-green blushed with coppery color. Similar to golden delicious. Good for cooking and baking, as well as eating out-of-hand. Golden delicious X Indo. Stores well. Some people, we are told, leave in peel when making applesauce as it improves the flavor.
Newtown (Newton): FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. Tart and tangy, hard and crisp. All green, or with a very slight yellowish tinge. Cooks firm. Very good keepers, excellent for fresh eating and cooking. May have originated in Newton, Long Island between 1700 and 1750 but some believe it is of English origin. In any case it is probably one of the oldest apple cultivars still commonly available.
Northern Spy: FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. Originated in New York in the 1800′s, a large, roundish apple, green sometimes with a red, striped coast. flesh is firm tender and juicy. A good eating apple but particularly prized for pies. Best to order as we may have a limited supply.
Red Delicious: FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. A really old “stand-by”. Red, firm. Very good keeper and resistant to shipping and handling damage; hence its popularity in many stores. When recently picked can have a surprisingly good flavour. Loses flavour after storage (we think) but always good for pies etc.
Spartan: FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. Probably the most popular but the newer Jonagold are running a close second. A deep red. Good for pies or eating. This apple was developed in Summerland by Agriculture Canada as a McIntosh/ Yellow Newtown/ Pippin cross. Crisp, pure white flesh, small core. Cooks soft and smooth. Stores well but tends to soften … still good for pies and applesauce.
Summer Red: FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. Somewhat sweeter than many apples when fully ripe. We don’t like to pick them too early. Our earliest main crop apple. Flavorful, crunchy but keep only a few weeks, like most early apples.
Wealthy: FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. A green and red apple which is good eating but also makes a good applesauce because it tends to discolor less with exposure to air …. the result is a lighter applesauce than made from most apples. It dates back to 1869 and is noted as a particularly good eating and cooking apple.
Winter Banana: FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. This one is believed to have originated in Indiana, an old heirloom variety, possibly in 1876. A medium to large apple. Pale yellow color with rosy blush. Naturally waxy skin (we never coat any of our apples with waxes). Juicy, tangy and aromatic, sweet and tart, a little acidic. Dense, crisp texture, slight banana aroma. Good looking apple. Good for eating or cooking. Stores for several months.
Yellow Transparent: FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. The earliest of our apples. The birds got most of them. Yellow-green. Especially good for pies. They tend to be a little soft, and like most early apples do not store for long.
Quince – FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. They are a distinct yellow, slightly fuzzy, pear-shaped fruit. They are neither apple nor pear but an entirely different fruit.
Hard and astringent, attractive odor …. rarely eaten out of hand but made into jelly, baked, used in chutney, a paste with cheese etc. They are normally processed by simply chopping them up …you don’t have to bother to peel or core them unless you prefer to do so. Process like you would make crabapple or other jellies.
Kiwi - FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. Keep cool, bring out what you need into the warmth for a week or two to ripen and enjoy. They tend to be smaller than what you often see in the stores but we charge by the pound.
Kiwi are normally available in November/December.
Figs - FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. Desert King (green type) figs in late August and early September. It is the best variety for ripening in our climate; in Sept. About 5-6 per lb. Some people like them soft, and a few like them just “dripping” with juice. They can be frozen but then they’re best for putting on desserts such as ice cream. They ripen progressively so it’s best to contact us and indicate how many pounds and approximately when you can make it out here and we’ll contact you. You can select them from the fridge on our porch. With our help you might like to pick a few yourself so you are sure to get just the ones you want.