Planning a backyard orchard-mid season apples

Having decided to plant a small orchard, a wise decision, the first issue that arises is-which varieties? I am mainly talking apples here, but the issues are the same for pears, plums and other fruits. I am not going to tell viewers which apple varieties to grow, not even English viewers, but try to look at the principles which apply where you live.

A key feature is seasonality. Forgive me if this seems obvious, but both as a doctor and an apple grower I constantly find that mistakes are made ignoring the obvious. No shame in not knowing, only in being unwilling to learn.

APPLES RIPEN AT DIFFERENT TIMES. Early apples are ripe early, late apples are ripe after a couple of months in store, and mid season apples come in between. Factors like soil, season, microclimate and pests and disaese all come into play, but the main determinant of when an apple will be ripe is its GENETICS.

One dwarf apple tree in full fruiting can yield up to 20kg of apples. That is a lot for a family to get through. 3 or 4 trees could give you so many apples that most would rot before you could eat them,. UNLESS that is, they ripen at different times. That's where planning comes in.

I advise to plant trees which ripen at different times so you spread your crop over the longest time possible. This is good household economics. This video looks at a few of the mid season apples I grow.