Apples - We Grow 49 Varieties!
Over 200 years ago, adventurous settlers
planted the first apple trees in the rolling countryside of Western New
York - some of the finest fruit land in all of North America.
Today, on that same land, we continue to cultivate the best apples that
this country has to offer, from our favorite old fashioned varieties to
the latest experimental apple varieties bred for improved taste,
quality and natural resistance to disease. We are proud of our apple
collection which encompasses over forty nine varieties. Shopping for
apples at Hurd Orchards is an apple connoisseur's delight. Our hope is
to showcase the distinctive characteristics of each special variety.
Come choose a basket, mixing and matching your favorites new and old!
Years ago, when we were children, our grandparents, Leland and Betty Hurd, wanted to plant for us an apple orchard sampling many of the apple varieties that they loved as children. They selected only their favorites, bypassing old but marginal varieties. Oh, and how we love that orchard with its delicate Snow apples and crunchy, zesty and earthy Golden Russets! Our grandparent's interest in horticulture - old and new - time tested and experimental, still shapes the composition of our plantings today.
SUMMER APPLES - Yellow
Transparents,
Red Astrachan,
Lodi
SEPTEMBER APPLES -
Tomkins County King,
Wealthy,
Snow (Fameuse),
Pound
Sweet (Pumpkin Sweet),
Tolman Sweet
EARLY OCTOBER APPLES -
Jonathan,
Rhode Island Greening
LATE OCTOBER APPLES - Golden
Russet,
Northern Spy,
Red Rome,
Lady,
Granny Smith
Experimental Disease Resistant Apples
The career of the late Dr. Robert Lamb of New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, New York was focused in large part on the development of apple varieties naturally resistant to diseases and therefore requiring a reduced chemical protectant program. At Hurd Orchards we are privileged to have one of the few test orchards for Dr. Lamb's top disease resistant selections. We have eleven varieties planted, most of which are still known only by their research numbers.
Dr. Lamb used traditional apple breeding techniques in the development of his resistant varieties. Wild apples and crabapples showing a natural resistance to disease were crossed with commercial varieties with well-respected flavor, production and storage qualities. The new crosses were inoculated in greenhouses with common apple diseases and the strongest seedlings were selected for recrossing. Selected seedlings were then grown to maturity to test the quality of the new hybrid. This process took years of hard work and tens of thousands of apple seedlings.
We are impressed by the quality of Dr. Lamb's apples and proud to have been selected as the experimental site. Please help us by letting us know your preferences!
SEPTEMBER APPLES -
Number 12,
Number 14
LATE OCTOBER APPLES -
Number 67,
Goldrush, Enterprise
OCTOBER APPLES -
Liberty,
Number 35,
Number 30,
Number 289,
Freedom,
Nova
Traditional Apples
We have several traditional orchards planted with our faithful standbys, the MacIntosh, the Cortland, and old fashioned Yellow and Red Delicious. These apples are unassuming compared to their showy new cousins, but are tried and true, their flavors relished by all who indulge
SEPTEMBER
APPLES
MacIntosh,
Cortland,
20 Ounce
OCTOBER APPLES
Yellow Delicious,
Red Delicious
Contemporary Apples
Apple breeding is exciting. Creating new fruits by crossing favorite selections is a creative and careful process, and over the last century has afforded us a host of new and superior apple flavors. Each major apple producing region of the world has an apple breeding program, and so many of our exciting new flavors have an international parentage.
SUMMER APPLES - Quinte,
Jersey Mac, Vista Bella,
Paula Red
SEPTEMBER APPLES - Gala,
Macspur, Jonamac, Honeycrisp, Redmax, Redcort, Jonagold, Macoun
OCTOBER APPLES - Crispin
(Mutsu),
Empire,
Redchief Delicious,
Smoothee Golden Delicious