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Holidays: Annual Apple Festival at MJF!! |
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Red Tractor Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
6663 Posts
Winnie
Gainesville
Fl
USA
6663 Posts |
Posted - Aug 25 2024 : 12:42:57 PM
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Farmgirls~ Today is August 25th and I wanted to remind everyone that come September 1, we still start celebrating our Annual Farmgirl Apple Festival!! For those of you who are new here to our Chatroom community, we started this tradition in 2014 to kick off and celebrate Fall.
I will be sponsoring an Apple Swap and an Apple Giveaway so please sigh up if you are interested.
For those who would like to explore more about apples, we have an Apple Badge that you can work on this next month as well. It includes lots of fun activities to get you learning and enjoying this beloved and favorite fruit.
In past years, we have been sharing information about lots of varieties of apples from our various regions of the US, Canada, and Australia. We also share lots of yummy recipes, tidbits and photos of our areas and families. The fun part of learning more about apples, is you learn more about our American history. Apples that could be eaten, cooked and preserved came from Europe by early settlers and and fur traders. The only original apples here in America were astringent crab apples that even the Indians could not find useful.
The real origin of apples comes from the Tian Shan mountains of Kazakhstan in the temperate western foothills. The Silk Road that went from Rome to Xi'an in China , was the route traveled for trading purposes to acquire things like spices. Apples were discovered by both the horses and the traders making the journey. They were then brought back to Rome where they became very popular. The Romans then spread them to Europe where they flourished as well.
Did you know that Apples don't grow well from seeds? To create trees of edible apples, they must be grafted. In the early 1700s, the American colonists learned this skill and began to establish nurseries of grafted trees. The new apple expertise soon had colonists planting apple trees on their farms as a basic food source to make cider and fruit that could be eaten, cooked, preserved and stored for long winter months.
Thomas Jefferson planted large groves of apple trees at Monticello and concentrated on both eating and cider making varieties. The Newtown Pippin was one of the most popular varieties from his orchards.
I am sure you have heard of the legendary Johnny Appleseed. He was really a man by the name of John Chapman who was an itinerant minister. He preached to small crowds as well as set up seedling nurseries throughout the Ohio Valley and the Midwest from the 1790s-1830s. Apple tree planting was a way of life for this legendary man.
One more important note: Sunday September 29 will be our traditional Apple Pie Sunday Celebration. Mark your calendars and think about what sort of apple pie recipe you would like to make this year. Be sure to share with us your ideas and tried and true apple pie favorites. Or, if you prefer using apples in a savory dish instead of a pie, please tell us all about your favorite ways you enjoy using the fruit.
For all newcomers this year to our Chatroom, we even have a mascot for our Farmgirl Apple Festival! MaryJane discovered an apple tree on her property that was over 100 years old. She took it to the Ag department at the University of Idaho at Moscow where they identified it as The Duchess of Oldenburg. The apple originated from the area of northern Germany that was sometimes part of the German state and other times part of the Russian state. The apple was named after the Russian Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlova who married German Duke George of Oldenburg when they lived in the duchy from 1784-1812. Originally the apple traces to an area west of Moscow and was known for being hardy enough to survive the long cold Russian winters. This cold hardy apple showed up in the United states in New York state around 1835 where Nurseryman Mr. Budd teamed up with Mr Gibb of Montreal, Canada and started successful nurseries with this hardy cold weather apple variety.
I hope all of you will join in the fun this year and help us celebrate one of our favorite traditions here at MJF!!
Winnie #3109 Red Tractor Girl Farm Sister of the Year 2014-2015 FGOTM- October 2018 |
Edited by - Red Tractor Girl on Aug 25 2024 12:44:45 PM |
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YellowRose
True Blue Farmgirl
7109 Posts
Sara
Paris
TX
USA
7109 Posts |
Posted - Aug 25 2024 : 2:16:22 PM
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Winnie, thanks for the info on apples and for hosting our annual Apple Festival. New harvests of apples should be showing up in the stores soon so there will be good sales. Sept is the month to can apple pie filling and apple sauce.
Hugs, Sara "FarmGirl Sister" #6034 Aug 2014 FGOTM Sept 2015 - Feb 2019 - Oct 2023
Lord put your arm around my shoulders & your hand over my mouth.
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MaryJanesNiece
True Blue Farmgirl
7230 Posts
Krista
Utah
USA
7230 Posts |
Posted - Aug 26 2024 : 1:20:04 PM
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Winnie, I love apple pie Sunday! In the past years, I make other apple recipes, but this year I think I will actually make an apple pie! Now I need to go dig out a family recipe.
Krista |
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Holidays: Annual Apple Festival at MJF!! |
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