You Are WHAT You Eat

[Eddie]

FFG- one comment about heirloom fruit trees - I found out the hard way, that most heirloom apple varieties are highly susceptible to all of the common apple diseases, and especially fireblight. I planted a small orchard of them and lost most trees to fireblight.

For those who live in the southeast or midwest, heirloom trees generally are not a good choice except at elevations above 2200 feet (i.e., the Blue Ridge or Appalachians).

I'm currently raising two varieties of modern disease-resistant apples, Williams Pride and Enterprise. Even these are not as disease-resistant as their breeders claim, but they are sufficiently tolerant of fireblight that I won't lose the trees to it. These are pretty easy to grow, as apples go, and are good choices for novice growers. They still need regular spraying for insect pests.

Among older, heirloom varieties, Golden Delicious is the most successful in my experience. It is moderately tolerant of fireblight, an excellent pollenizer for other varieties, and produces delicious and versatile fruit.