TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

A couple of days ago I collected a bagful of Duchess of Oldenburg drops. The “Duchess” are beautiful this year. The Duchess and other summer apples are ripening—or at least dropping—early. The Duchess seeds are brown and the fruit appears to be ripe. I made a large pot of Duchess applesauce today. It’s still on the stove and will go through the food mill in a few minutes. I also saved all the seed. I’ll stratify the seed this winter, plant them in the spring and in 2026 we’ll use many of the seedlings for our own rootstock. We’ll set out the best of them in row of Duchess trees for future pies, sauce and rootstock seed.