Over A Thousand Different Apple Varieties
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Looking back, Tom Brown (age 82) realizes he’s lucky he started “apple tree hunting” when he did (23 years ago). Many of the people and the varieties grown in the Appalachian region are now gone. Through meeting with people, traipsing through old pastures, and researching century-old textbooks and catalogs, Brown has documented and saved more than 1,200 apple varieties.
The retired chemical engineer from North Carolina grew interested in heritage apples after meeting Maurice Marshall in 1999 at a farmer’s market stand, where they discussed apple varieties. That led to Brown’s mission to save “lost” varieties.
“What turbocharged me was getting into Wilkes County, where I found 300 varieties associated with that one county,” he says, noting half of the county is within an hour of his home. “I found a rare apple almost every time. People took pride in having apples different from their neighbors, and I’d find three or four different ones at each place.”
Accompanied by a local minister in one area of Wilkes County, Brown was welcomed by people and allowed access to their property to search for trees.
With permission, Brown clipped scion wood off the trees - limb tips with the most recent and vigorous growth - that he grafted on rootstock. His personal orchard has more than 700 old trees, and he shared trees with nurseries and historic sites such as Horne Creek Farm near Pilot Mountain State Park, N.C.
To figure out the names of varieties, Brown relies on multiple sources. He matches information from people he talks to with researched information.
For example, a couple of men in Macon County, N.C., told him about the Manson Beauty apple. Years later, Brown found one that matched the description, including red streaks in the flesh. By then, the men had died. From the extensive notes Brown takes, he had information about a man familiar with Manson Beauty apples, so Brown mailed him a few apples. The man verified the variety.
Brown has stories of trees so old they only produced one apple. He believes his oldest variety is “Ducky,” a Pearmain variety with Victorian England roots.
The apple collection includes varieties with colorful, descriptive names: Choking Sweet, Aspirin, Lazarus, August Start, Forward Sweet, etc.
“It’s fun, interesting, and challenging and has given me something rewarding to do in my retirement years. I like the challenge of locating apple trees,” Brown says.
It’s become more challenging over the years since many of the original trees he found have been cut down or died. Evidence of the vastness of his apple tree expeditions can be verified by his two vehicles’ odometers getting close to 400,000 miles each.
Brown does presentations and has started writing a book based on his experiences and detailed notes from talking to people.
He’s backed off selling trees for a while as he has other work to deal with, but he plans for tree sales to resume in the future.
For now, a big priority is keeping the trees in his orchard alive, as his region has been in an extreme drought. It’s a lot of work to move hoses and three sprinklers around his orchard acreage, but Brown will do what it takes to keep the lost apple varieties he found alive.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Tom Brown, 7335 Bullard Rd., Clemmons, N.C. 27012 (ph 336-766-5842; www.applesearch.org).
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Over A Thousand Different Apple Varieties CROPS New Crops Looking back Tom Brown age 82 realizes he’s lucky he started “apple tree hunting” when he did 23 years ago Many of the people and the varieties grown in the Appalachian region are now gone Through meeting with people traipsing through old pastures and researching century-old textbooks and catalogs Brown has documented and saved more than 1 200 apple varieties The retired chemical engineer from North Carolina grew interested in heritage apples after meeting Maurice Marshall in 1999 at a farmer’s market stand where they discussed apple varieties That led to Brown’s mission to save “lost” varieties “What turbocharged me was getting into Wilkes County where I found 300 varieties associated with that one county ” he says noting half of the county is within an hour of his home “I found a rare apple almost every time People took pride in having apples different from their neighbors and I’d find three or four different ones at each place ” Accompanied by a local minister in one area of Wilkes County Brown was welcomed by people and allowed access to their property to search for trees With permission Brown clipped scion wood off the trees - limb tips with the most recent and vigorous growth - that he grafted on rootstock His personal orchard has more than 700 old trees and he shared trees with nurseries and historic sites such as Horne Creek Farm near Pilot Mountain State Park N C To figure out the names of varieties Brown relies on multiple sources He matches information from people he talks to with researched information For example a couple of men in Macon County N C told him about the Manson Beauty apple Years later Brown found one that matched the description including red streaks in the flesh By then the men had died From the extensive notes Brown takes he had information about a man familiar with Manson Beauty apples so Brown mailed him a few apples The man verified the variety Brown has stories of trees so old they only produced one apple He believes his oldest variety is “Ducky ” a Pearmain variety with Victorian England roots The apple collection includes varieties with colorful descriptive names: Choking Sweet Aspirin Lazarus August Start Forward Sweet etc “It’s fun interesting and challenging and has given me something rewarding to do in my retirement years I like the challenge of locating apple trees ” Brown says It’s become more challenging over the years since many of the original trees he found have been cut down or died Evidence of the vastness of his apple tree expeditions can be verified by his two vehicles’ odometers getting close to 400 000 miles each Brown does presentations and has started writing a book based on his experiences and detailed notes from talking to people He’s backed off selling trees for a while as he has other work to deal with but he plans for tree sales to resume in the future For now a big priority is keeping the trees in his orchard alive as his region has been in an extreme drought It’s a lot of work to move hoses and three sprinklers around his orchard acreage but Brown will do what it takes to keep the lost apple varieties he found alive Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Tom Brown 7335 Bullard Rd Clemmons N C 27012 ph 336-766-5842; www applesearch org
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