It’s been a wonderful apple season here at my farm! This year’s harvest has yielded more than 60 quarts of fresh cider, and now I'm putting more delicious apples to good use by making homemade applesauce.
I have many apple trees throughout my property, including some original to the farm that continue to produce flavorful fruit, espaliered trees I planted shortly after moving here, and, of course, the many varieties growing in my orchard. Yesterday, my housekeeper Enma began preparing batches of fresh, naturally sweet applesauce.
Enjoy these photos and the easy process for making your own.
Once fall arrives, it’s time to harvest the crisp, juicy apples from the hundreds of trees throughout my farm. We pick many off the ground along with those hanging from the branches.
Enma starts picking the apples for the applesauce. A mix of tart and sweet varieties will do nicely.
The apples used don’t have to look pristine, but they should be free from spoilage, moderately firm — not too hard and not too soft or mealy — so they break down smoothly.
Enma washes the selected apples thoroughly with cold water.
She cuts each apple in half.
Next, she cuts them in quarters.
Here she removes any seeds she sees. This is important because seeds are tannic and cooking with them will impart a bitter taste. Enma leaves the skins on them. Cooking the apples with their skins saves time and provides a nice color to the sauce.
All the discarded pieces will go straight to my chickens – they love pecking at the sweet fruits.
Enma places the apple pieces directly into a heavy-bottomed pot. Apples, Malus domestica, are low in calories, rich in dietary fiber and full of antioxidants.
She adds the juice of half a lemon for every dozen or so apples. Lemon juice helps keep the apples from browning, because it is full of ascorbic acid and has a low pH level. It also helps bring out the color from the skins.
Next, Enma also adds about a cup of water before cooking.
And look who’s watching – Luna Muna and her daughter, Half Moon. Good girls.
She sets the pot over medium to high heat just until they start to cook. And, guess what? That is all you need – no sugar at all. The apples will start to cook right away.
Within minutes, they start to soften.
Occasionally, Enma stirs the apples with a wooden spoon to prevent burning.
Here’s another pot that has been cooking for a bit longer. The process doesn’t take long – the skins fall off after about half an hour to 45-minutes.
The apples in this pot are all cooked down.
The apples are scooped in small batches into this stainless steel multi purpose food mill ricer with strainer over a bowl.
Enma places a couple of ladles full of apples into the hopper and turns the handle that presses them through small holes to create a light, lump‑free sauce, leaving the skins.
And, what you end up with is pure, naturally sweet and delicious applesauce.
Enma scrapes any bits off the bottom of the mill.
And look how much sauce is made. And there are still so many more apples to go!
Once done, the sauce is left to cool on the counter before going into the refrigerator. Applesauce is a versatile ingredient that works in baking, breakfasts, savory dishes, and even as a healthy substitute for oil, butter, or eggs, making it useful far beyond snacking.
This time of year, my grove of Japanese maples is ablaze with autumn color, displaying a palette of brilliant yellows, glowing oranges, and rich reds.
Many of these trees are varieties of Acer palmatum, a species that has been cultivated in Japanese gardens for centuries. Over the years, I’ve planted an extensive collection in a section of my shade garden, not far from my chicken coops and tropical hoop houses. This garden was planted in honor of my late sister, Laura Plimpton, who was especially fond of Japanese maples. Each fall, I look forward to seeing them put on their spectacular display. With their remarkable diversity of sizes, leaf shapes, and colors, these beautiful specimens create a landscape full of texture and visual interest that only becomes more stunning with each passing year.
Enjoy these photos.
Every year, all of us here at my farm wait for this woodland to burst with color. Few trees are as beautiful as the Japanese maple. With more than a thousand varieties and cultivars including hybrids, the iconic Japanese maple tree is among the most versatile small trees for use in the landscape.
Japanese maples are native to areas of Japan, Korea, China, and Russia. In Japan, the maple is called the “autumn welcoming tree” and is planted in the western portion of gardens – the direction from which fall arrives there.
The contrast between the colors in this grove is stunning.
But the brilliant fall colors aren’t a guarantee. The colors are a result of climate, weather, and environmental conditions. Here in the Northeast, fall weather usually arrives in September, with temperatures cooling off rapidly at night even when the days are still warm. These cool nighttime temperatures trigger the leaf-changing process. Unusually warm early fall weather may even prevent the leaves from turning red. This is because the color changes occur with gradually cooling temperatures – not cold snaps.
Leaf color best develops when nighttime temperatures remain above freezing but below 45-degrees Fahrenheit. A sudden cold snap could turn the leaves more plum-brown seemingly overnight, skipping the vibrantly orange and red stage altogether. Weather here at the farm has been excellent for the Japanese maples this season.
Red leafed cultivars are the most popular, followed by green shrubs with deeply dissected leaves.
I also have more rare varieties. These leaves are deeply divided, but each lobe is also dissected, giving them a lacy effect.
Japanese maples are divided into categories based on their distinct leaf structures. Among them is palmate, which is the classic maple-shaped leaves with bold lobes. Another is dissectum characterized by deeply cut, feathery foliage. Atropurpureum contains some of the most recognizable Japanese maples that are upright with deeply lobed red leaves containing “five fingers.” There are also variegated varieties with multi-colored leaves. There are 17 different groups in all.
The leaves range from about an inch-and-a-half to four-inches long and wide with five, seven, or nine acutely pointed lobes.
Japanese maple forms also vary. They can be weeping, rounded, dwarf, mounding, upright, or cascading.
Japanese maples typically grow about one-foot per year for the first 50-years and can live to be more than a hundred.
Any heavy pruning should be done in late winter before leaf buds begin to open. Cut out scraggly interior twigs and branches, but leave the structural branches alone. Small, corrective cuts can be made any time of year. If I can, I like to prune and groom these Japanese maples myself.
Japanese maple trees are particularly suitable for borders and ornamental paths because their root systems are compact and not invasive. Through this woodland grove, they line both sides of my carriage road.
They can withstand very cold temperatures, but in summer, they should be watered deeply during dry spells and cut back in late summer to intensify the autumn color.
As young trees grow, their colors become even more vibrant. It’s exciting to see how they develop through the seasons – many have such interesting growth habits.
With the right conditions, the fall colors of the Japanese maple may last for several weeks. Unfortunately, as it gets colder, the colors begin to dull.
These trees are hardy in USDA plant hardiness zones 5 through 8 and thrive in slightly acidic, well-draining soil.
If growing in containers in colder zones, allow the plants to go fully dormant outside and then bring them into an unheated garage or other sheltered, cool area. In warmer zones, place them in a shaded location where they can be protected from drying winds.
The best location is a sunny spot with afternoon shade. Red and variegated leaves need relief from hot afternoon sun in summer but need the light to attain full color.
I purposely planted my Japanese maples beneath larger trees. The varying heights and layers make the grove so much more interesting. I love this woodland and continue to add more and more Japanese maples to this collection. If you can, stop and enjoy the magnificent colors of the Japanese maples where you live.
A beautiful, mature Japanese maple tree is now planted in its new home here at my farm.
Last week, I had the opportunity to rescue a lovely tree from a nearby property where the new owner was planning to redesign the landscape. Relocating such an established specimen required careful planning and a slow, precise process, but it was well worth the effort. The tree is now happily settled in its new spot beside my pond, where I hope it will continue to thrive.
Enjoy these photos.
Remember the Japanese Maple tree I moved from a nearby home? Here it is arriving at my farm, intact and well-protected with burlap, straps, and ropes.
Underneath the burlap, all the branches are also in excellent condition – not one broke during the entire moving part of the process.
The hole was dug the day before. It is all ready in the exact location I specified.
Here, the burlap cover is removed.
Chains are wrapped around the root ball, so it can be carried the rest of the way to the hole.
Chains are also secured to the bucket of a tractor and then connected to the chain around the tree’s root ball.
This allows the Hi-Lo and the bucket to work together in lifting the tree and carrying it to its permanent spot.
Slow and steady underneath the trees.
Meanwhile, a new layer of compost is dropped into the hole. I am so fortunate to be able to make all this compost right here at my farm.
The compost is spread evenly in the hole to adjust for the proper depth.
And here comes the tree. It is now at the edge of the hole ready to be dropped in. The crew selects the best side to face out to the road.
The tree is lowered and checked for proper positioning. It is crucial for the tree’s longterm health and stability to be planted just right. Too deep could suffocate the roots – too shallow and the roots could be exposed and dry out.
Phurba begins to remove the twine wrapped around the root ball.
The team removes the burlap from around the root ball. Once it is removed from the sides, they carefully pull it out from under the root ball. Some gardeners prefer to leave the burlap in place, but I always remove all the wrapping to ensure there is nothing blocking the tree’s natural root growth.
Phurba mixes fertilizer with the existing soil and additional compost placed around the tree’s base.
I use Miracle-Grow All Purpose Plant Food. This feeds the tree above and below the soil for three months.
Then the tree is thoroughly watered…
Especially close to the tree’s trunk down to the roots.
The leaves of this Japanese maple are changing. All Japanese maples, Acer palmatum, are deciduous, meaning they shed their leaves annually.
Japanese maple trees display a wonderful array of autumn colors, from bright yellow and orange to fiery red, before naturally dropping their leaves for the winter.
Japanese maples grow slowly, but they can live more than a hundred years. It looks perfect in this spot near my pond.
I am looking forward to seeing this tree develop and flourish here at Cantitoe Corners.
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