We have 2 apple trees - a Transparent and a red Gravensteen, both have plenty of fruit. We're hired a gardener for the past 2 years to prune them because they'd been neglected for many years. They produce lots of apples. The Transparent is pretty yucky, but my horses like them. One of the neighbors picked some, baked pies, and brought us a pie as a thank you. It was, how should I put this politely, not nice. The red Gravensteen is pretty decent. I made apple crisp last year but mostly they go to my horses. Transparent and red Gravensteen apple trees ( photo / image / picture from whistler's Garden )
I have not heard of that type of trees. I am glad the horses enjoy the apples as long as you can't...I hate wasting things.
The Transparent apple is yellow and very soft. Its probably very good for applesauce. They ripen by late July and often get too ripe while already on the branches. Many of them split when they hit the ground. Not my kind of apple at all. I prefer the crisp ones that are more on the tart side like Granny Smith and McIntosh. I was watching some teenage boys on the street last summer, late at night, they couldn't see me looking out the window. A couple of them took apples, and that's fine, if you're hungry go ahead and enjoy. One of them didn't like the apple too much so he threw it at our house where it splattered and my husband ran out to see what was going on. They scattered when another neighbor started chasing them. Apparently they were throwing rocks at his house. A neighbor told me the other tree is red gravensteens. Its a more crisp apple and this tree is a good producer. They ripen late August and produce for weeks after that. They don't go to waste other than the odd one thrown at the house! Some of my neighbors enjoy them in their lunches but mostly my horses get a nice treat. At least they like those nasty Transparents. I pick them off the ground daily when they're dropping. They're wasp magnets.
