Mohawk Heirloom Orchard Identification Project

10/06/2022

The Orchard Identification Project has come to an end.

Thank you to those who have taken an interest. In the future, all inquiries about the status of the orchard should be directed to the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte as they will have full control and oversite of the orchard in the coming months.

02/24/2020

Looking for volunteers for spring pruning

The trees have not been pruned in over 85 years; many are bushy and weak and produce very poor quality apples. These trees require extensive corrective pruning over a period of 2-3 growing seasons. Some of the younger trees may need to be transplanted as well.

The main objective in pruning such a tree is to try and open up the interior to allow good light pe*******on. The first step is to remove all the upright, vigorous growing shoots at their base that are shading the interior. As with the young apple trees, it is necessary to select 3 to 5 lower scaffold branches with good crotch angles and spaced around the tree. Limbs with poor angles, and excess scaffold limbs, should be removed at their base. In some cases it is advisable to spread the corrective pruning over two to three seasons. When severe pruning is done in the winter, the trees should not be fertilized that spring.https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/pruning-training-apple-pear-trees/

09/18/2019

Great read - the apple tree
CERTAIN IROQUOIS TREE MYTHS AND SYMBOLS
BY ARTHUR C. PARKER

08/23/2019

Beautiful yellow apples.

08/10/2019

Trees are full & apples are ripening, the cows know a good apple when they taste them!

08/09/2019

Checking on the orchard yesterday. Nice surprise two new calves born south of the orchard. Our cows love going to the orchard to eat the apples and rest under the trees.

07/29/2019

Mud apples Recipe - Fun & Educational

This is a variation on a Native American cooking method.

You will need
◦4 large apples
◦A bucket of mud

Coat the apples with about an inch of mud on all sides, being sure that the mud is of a nice thick consistency. When the fire has burned long enough to make some coals, scoop some of the coals to the side. Bury the apples in the coals, and leave them there for about 45 minutes. Scrape away the cooled coals. Knock the dry cooked mud off of the apples and discard the skins. Spoon up the sweet steamy pulp for a surprising treat.

Some groups of Native American people used a mud coating on their food as a sort of oven. The steam from the mud would keep fresh-caught fish moist, and as it dried and became clay-like, it protected the food from burning. When the mud was peeled off, it took a lot of the fish scales with it. A delicious instant meal.

07/06/2019

The orchard is an ecosystem buzzing with life; bees, birds, bugs, butterflies, flowers and wildlife throughout. My little helper marked a few trees with me today. Old growth and lots of new growth. We are learning as we go, volunteers are welcome to join us on this conservation project. Traditional orchards are havens for biodiversity. They offer both food and shelter to thousands of species some of which have high conservation priority.

06/20/2019

Interesting Apple Heritage Facts.

The first known reference to commercial apple growing in Ontario was in 1796 and when nearly all new farm settlers were growing apples, usually there were several varieties in the orchard, some which matured in the summer and some in the fall – and some that kept well in the winter.

The Mohawk Settlement was strongly rooted in agricultural activities and the apple tree would have been one of its first re-roots from their ancestral lands of the Mohawk Valley. In fact one of the first Mohawk Settlement school teachers received apple seeds from the Mohawk Valley as described in the "History of the Settlement of Upper Canada with Special Reference to the Bay of Quinte"

Interesting the McIntosh Apple was discovered by a man who came to the Upper Canada Region from the Mohawk Valley in pursuit of young love and ending up finding something even sweeter. While clearing brush on his farm, John McIntosh found a wild seedling which grew to produce particularly tasty apples. His son cloned the tree and by doing so was able to replicate the flavours of the fruit from that first tree. The McIntosh Apple we know today came into commercial production in 1870.

Picture etching from Canadian artist Lloyd Peters born at Havelock, Ontario, 1913.

06/10/2019

To answer a few questions of who and why?

These heritage apple varieties are an important link to history, culture, seed genetic diversity and food sovereignty.

We have researched many history documents, government records, crop rotation records and we have surmised that the tree descents date back to the Mohawk settlement (1784). Gold Wing Ranch sits on land which was part of the original Mohawk settlement notably that of Mohawk Chief Deserontyon.

We are volunteering our time and have received no funds to support this effort. We are not apple experts. We plan to use the identification system in the attached link as a starting point.

The orchard terrain is difficult, very wet and buggy at this time. Once the ground dries up the identification effort will commence. If you would like to participate in this grassroots project please text or call Nancy at 613-484-9596.

Based on the apple variety characteristics and identification attributes you entered, here are your apple identification results.

06/03/2019

At Gold Wing Ranch there are a variety of apples growing in an eight acre orchard. Some of the trees may derive from the original Mohawk (Bay of Quinte) Settlement. We’d love to start identifying some of these heirloom apple varieties and are asking for some help.

Our plan is to take pictures and post them on this page of these mystery trees throughout this growing season including harvest in an attempt to help identify them.

I am looking for people with apple orchard experience or people who wish to connect with agricultural or cultural roots of our community. If you are interested please text or call Nancy at 613-484-9596.