Strive Two Survive Johnny Appleseed: Separating the Good Apples

October/November 2012
Special Echo Insert: The Appleseed Project
Reserve Record 5
Drawing by Ashleigh Groves ’14
The WRA Orchard is a walk through history to appreciate the present. Our orchard of roughly 40 trees honors the essential role apples played for pioneers
and homesteaders 200 years ago. It also offers nostalgic release and repose for WRA students today.
Orchards are blissfully pastoral, veritable walks in the Garden of Eden, where wildness and cultivation meet. This is absolutely so in our orchard, populated by
conventional varieties like Honeycrisp and Sansa; along with heirloom varieties like Ashmead's Kernel, Ribston Pippin, Esopus Spitzenburg, Wickson, Pomme
Gris and Hudson's Golden Gem. There are 21st-century apples, 17th century apples and prehistoric apples from Kazakhstan (malus sieversii). At the heart
of our orchard, literally and figuratively, is our centerpiece, certified scion from the last known living tree planted by Johnny Appleseed, a Summer Rambo.
Strive Two Survive
photo by Groves
by Peter Kuri ’16
In Northeast Ohio, people often misconceive
the apple’s history and the contributions made
by John Chapman, more commonly known as
Johnny Appleseed. During the early history in
this region, most apples were used for hard cider—not to be confused with the sweet cider at
your grandmother’s. The high alcohol content,
good taste and long shelf life of hard cider aided
western expansionists through long Midwestern
winters. Contrary to popular belief, Johnny
Appleseed did not grow apples for eating, piemaking and innocent sweet tastes; in fact, the
majority of his apples were for making cider,
hard enough to last the cold Ohio winters.
Despite his modest image, John Chapman
was a wealthy man. By traveling ahead of settlers and planting trees for later sale, he introduced the apple to the heart of America. Selling
the trees and land to incoming pioneers, Chap-
man would make a substantial profit and move
on to new uncharted lands.
As his namesake suggests, Johnny Appleseed
grew all of his trees from seed. Interestingly,
when grown from seed, the new plant almost
never resembles the original tree. In essence,
the apple falls extremely far from the tree. This
growing methodology makes Johnny Appleseed
special as he helped develop the many varieties of apple we have today, meaning “America
witnessed what has sometimes been called
the Great Apple Rush” (Pollan, The Botany
of Desire). Surprisingly, in this aspect, today’s
pop-culture correctly depicts John Chapman. In
the modern world, where movies and television
shows change history, we must have awareness
of our roots in order to progress. If we don’t, we
could lose a piece of our pioneering heritage.
Apples and WRA: The History Behind The
Couple
by Maria Palparella ’16
Western Reserve Academy’s mission is to
strive for excellence, live with integrity and act
with compassion, but how many of us have
ever thought of Reserve from an apple grower’s
standpoint? Several locations on campus would
and have been great locations for apple growing. These locations include the David Hudson
house, certain parts of the backfields, the Old
Hudson Township cemetery and the current
location behind Pierce House. We know many A carved apple captures the essence of the project
apple trees and one orchard have been planted nure, creating perfect soil for apple growth.
The apples that are currently grown on campus
on the land that is now our campus, since the
1800s. A map drawn by Nathan P. Seymour in in the orchard behind Pierce House include
1841, in a letter to his father, indicates that an Stayman, Winesap, Fuji, Macintosh, Jonah
Red, Ida Red and Empire.
orchard was grown in what is now the cemFinally, the higher elevations of the backetery.
fields, like the cemetery, also creates a near
The David Hudson House, in particular,
perfect atmosphere for the apple trees. This is
would have been an ideal past location for
where the future orchard will be located. Apple
apple growing because there is a spring right
trees and apples have played an important role
in the backyard. This spring probably drew
on campus and the history of WRA for the
David Hudson there because of the abunpast 200 years, and they will likely continue for
dant water supply. Based on the presence of
200 more.
a stable barn, we know that Pierce House
once had a horse pasture, abundant in ma-
photo by Lund
by Griffin Trau ’14
Interdependence between apple trees and the human
race stems from a common desire to survive. Charles
Darwin’s introduction in On the Origin of Species,
asserts that “there is a frequently recurring struggle for
existence” among all living things. Consequently, every
being adapts to its environment so that it might live on.
The apple tree, as we know it, evolved drastically from its
ancestral roots in the forests of Kazakhstan. In the Malus
genus, which contains apple trees, myriad fruits of all
shapes, sizes and tastes result from the diverse genome
of the apple. As the tree evolved sweetness, an indication
that it was not poisonous but was, in fact, safe and nutritious, humans began to recognize its value in maintaining their health. Since its discovery as a food-source, we
have introduced the apple tree to five continents beyond
its Asian origin. The trees benefit from human propagation and, in turn, we enjoy the fruits of this labor.
Though neither species intended the symbiotic relationship between man and apple, both have benefitted
immensely.
In the modern world, we have made drastic changes
to the relationship we share with the apple tree. Though
we do not depend on the apple as a primary food-source,
it remains an integral part of our culture. To glean an
economic advantage, planters have committed centuries of genetic and agricultural research into providing
the most marketable crop. As a result, trees no longer
contain vast genetic diversity. Using grafting techniques,
every new tree originates from some ideal mother tree.
Once incredibly diverse, apple orchards have become
rows of genetic copies. Though each tree shares desirable
traits, they also have common flaws. One blight could
potentially wipe out an entire population. Here humans
have implemented spraying techniques with chemicals
designed to fight nature’s battle. For the time being, we
have successfully shielded apple trees from the inherent
weaknesses we created. Our innovation continues to
protect the apple, as it continues to provide us with the
fruit of our desires.
Johnny Appleseed: Separating the Good
Apples from the Bad
6
Reserve Record
Special Echo Insert: The Appleseed Project
October/November 2012
The Challenges Facing Beckwith Orchard and Other Apple Growers
switched ownership over to his
daughter; he believes firmly in
treatment before damage.
Deer also enjoy snacking on
the younger trees and buds
while scratching the velvet off their
antlers by using the bark of the
tree, hurting the tree. To deter
deer, some farmers use electric
fences while Beckwith Orchards
hangs dryer sheets from trees to
persuade the deer to go elsewhere
for their tasty treat.
It is difficult to keep creating
new types of apples. Only about
1 in every 500 apple trees planted
from seeds are what most people Trau ’14 and Groves ’14 hang out with Beckwith at his orchard
would call “tasty,” but the rest are
What kind of apples that are grown doesn’t
spitters (apples that are too bitter or sour to actually
matter much if the weather isn’t coorporative,
eat). This is why growers will graft trees (cut a bud
however. One year, the orchard couldn’t mow the
off a culinary tree and placing it inside a crack of a
grass around the farm for fear that it would create
young growth) to produce the genetic clone of the
a fire because of the drought. This would have lost
original. This being said, there are still many new
them all their trees and not only the crop for that
kinds of wonderful apples that come around all the
year but for many years to come. The difficulties of
time. Mr. Beckwith said that “[t]he worst thing
growing apples are great, but the satisfaction of a
that can happen to an orchard is the trees growing
delicious apple is more than enough reason to work
old with the owner.” This is why he, and his family,
hard.
keep up with new varieties.
Phot by Groves
by Kristina Crowder ’13
People everywhere crave apples in every shape,
color, texture and form. Some prefer them baked
in a pie or dumpling and others prefer the raw
juiciness of an apple picked straight off the tree.
Many know the tastes of apples, but few people
actually realize the effort that is put into the growing process. Beckwith Orchards, located in Kent,
Ohio, is only one of the 59 orchards in Northeast
Ohio. They have been growing their orchard since
the farm was bought in 1878 by Mr. Beckwith’s
grandparents. With 27 different varieties of apples,
they have to be wary and keep an eye on them
constantly. One of the difficulties they face is pest
management.
Two common pest management systems are
the Michigan System (the one preferred by Mr.
Beckwith), and IPM (Integrated Pest Management). With IPM, the farmer waits until he or she
sees damage before they spray with pesticide. This
method is a test in risk management: it creates a
less pesticide-saturated crop but creates gaps in
protection that one successful disease or pest could
infiltrate to kill off an entire crop. The Michigan
System is a calendar system where farmers spray
during specific times in the year to ensure that the
pests can’t begin to invade. Beckwith had been a
licensed pesticide applicator for 41 years until he
Heirloom Apples: What? Where? How? The Origin of the Apple
by Wren Zandee ’16
When students walk into a
typical grocery store, they can
see around a dozen varieties of
apples. What most don’t realize is that there are an estimated
15,000 North American apple
varieties. However, instead of
selling even a moderate number
of these apples, most grocery
stores only offer the top ten apple
varieties, which take up 80% of
apple production.
In the past few years, many
farmers have noticed the situation and begun to grow more
varieties of apples in their farms,
hoping to capitalize on the
demand. Some farms have up
to 500 different varieties. Apples
such as the Sheepnose, the American Mother and the Lady Sweet
can once again be found on a
local or even national level. This
is great for both the consumer
and the farmer. Consumers have
more choices, and the farmers
have greater income, as heirloom
varieties sell for a higher price. At
Stotler’s Orchard here in Ohio,
heirloom apples are offered as a
“U-Pick” option, so as to increase
availability and fun.
Some farmers are taking the
demand for heirloom apples as
a personal challenge, and have
begun to work tirelessly at resurrecting the most obscure apples
trees. Creighton Lee, Jr. has
recently composed a list of 1,800
antique apples he calls “Old
Southern Apples.” When he sees
an apple tree he can’t identify,
anywhere, he’ll offer to trim or
help the tree in exchange for a
bud, so he can grow the apple
himself.
Overall, heirloom apples seem
to be in the market to stay, if not
grow, as the owner of Stotler’s
Orchard says. As grower John
Bunker says in the Huffington
Post: “If we’re smart about it, we
can redevelop a whole system of
local varieties all over the place.
So like France has its wines in
each district we once again could
have apples in each district.”
The Vision Behind the Orchard
by Kristina Kaszei ’16
The Western Reserve Academy vision is to have
an apple orchard with about forty to fifty trees
of twenty-five varieties of apples. The orchard
has been made possible by the generosity of Mr.
David Golden ’51 and it will have many varieties of apples including heirloom and Kazakhstani
apples that will be scattered on the north side of
the orchard. Mr. VanBlarcum gave our class a tour
of the campus where he has planted apple trees,
and where there have been apple trees in the past.
He also gave some tips for our apple orchard, and
he will help start and maintain the WRA orchard
. Mr. VanBlarcum has acquired an apple tree
that is Certified Scion from the Ohio Horticultural Society, grafted from the last known living
by Lisie Andersson ’14
Deep in the forests of Kazakhstan in a
place called Almaty, Philip Forsline tastes
hundreds of different kinds of apples while
exploring the birthplace of the apple.
Alma Ata, or literally “father of the apple,”
is considered to be the place of origin of
the apple—the apple’s Garden of Eden.
Philip Forsline, former curator for US
Department of Agriculture (USDA), Plant
Genetic Resource Unit, with an enormous
collection of apples that has important
genes and traits that breeders use to
improve current varieties. Philip Forsline’s
voyage to Kazakhstan in 1993 with a team
of three other scientists was an effort to
find germplasms of the Malus (apple) in
its native soil. Forsline tasted hundreds of
different types of apples, only one or two
percent of which were at all satisfying. Of
the hundreds of thousands of different
species of apples in the forests of Almaty,
Forsline collected about 130,000 seeds
and 900 different species. Some apples he
collected were the size of small pumpkins,
some the size of grapes--he even found
some that looked supermarket-ready. The
apples have grown accustomed to Almaty’s
harsh, cold weather, leaving them with
immunities apples in the US don’t have.
The genes found in Kazakhstan apples
are unlike any apple genes we see in the
US. Along with protection from harsh
winters or spring frosts, Kazakhstan apples
tree planted by
Johnny Appleseed;
it’s a Summer Rambo. He will put the tree in the
center of our orchard. Taking care of the orchard
will take great effort by WRA students to participate in because there will be a lot of responsibility
in this project.
Another vision we have for the future could be
an adopt-a-tree program in which we could share
about ten to fifteen Kazakhstani apple seeds with
alumni and the Hudson community. Even though
the apples that will come from Kazakhstani trees
will probably be spitters (bitter and sour tasting),
we will still get the satisfaction of growing our
own apples. Also, even though the trees will not
fruit for a while, it will be nice watching them
and apple trees have an incredible resistance to predators such as deer and fruit
flies. Forsline brought his new collection
of Kazakhstan seeds back to the orchard
in Geneva, New York, and now has an unparalleled collection of apples to go along
with the 2,500 different varieties already
thriving in the orchard’s fields.
Yet there is still a lot of work to be done
by horticulturalists before they can start
crossing the Kazakhstan apple with a
domestic US apple. Dr. Thomas Chao, the
current horticulturalist for the Kazakhstan
apple in Geneva, helps put the process in
perspective: “Since the M. sieversii from
Kazakhstan have only been here since the
1990s, they have not been integrated into
any new apple variety yet. It will take minimum 10 years to develop a new variety.”
He says it may take 20-40 years between
initially making a cross and its release to
the public. Growing a new apple tree takes
time, and many of the crosses will not
even taste good. It will take many years
of experimentation with this unfamiliar
apple before we see traces of it at Heinen’s
grocery. Nevertheless, these valuable traits
from Kazakhstan combined with traits
that have been built up here in the US will
make our apple an irresistible creation,
that of which we at WRA may get to
experience in the future with our own set
of Kazakhstan apple trees.
grow bigger every year.
WRA students met with Mr. Beckwith from
Beckwith Orchard. He grew up on the orchard
and told his guests everything they ever would
need to know about apples. When we went to
the orchard, we learned about grafting apples and
the different kinds of conventional and heirloom
apples we could grow in our orchard. Heirloom
apples might not look the same as apples you
would get from the store; they may have lumps
or knots on them, but those don’t affect the taste.
Beckwiths’ longevity is an inspiration, and WRA
students hope our orchard will begin its long life
with fruit on the trees in a few years.