Good Fruit Grower / December 2011 / In The Box

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In The Box

Red Macs, please!

Dear Good Fruit Grower:

Really good article on East Malling in the ­October Good Fruit Grower. BUT, next time you put a picture of McIntosh on your cover, please use some red ones like we grow in the Northeast.

Jon Clements
University of Massachusetts

Where’s the red?

Dear Good Fruit Grower:

Just a comment about the cover picture on the October Good Fruit Grower. At first when I saw it, I thought they were Granny Smith with a blush or Rosy Smith, but when I found out they were McIntosh, YIKES. That picture is a great example of why Washington [State} should not grow Macs. [Like] the old Wendy’s lady used to say, “Where’s the red?"

Jim Allen
President, New York Apple Association

Get rid of those Macs

Dear Good Fruit Grower:

I am a long-time subscriber to Good Fruit Grower magazine. I look forward to each issue and the articles inside. We are a small (by Washington State standards) diversified fruit farm in New Hampshire.

I always look at the cover and then turn to the “Last Bite” page before actually reading the magazine page by page. I was most impressed with the “Last Bite” in September about McIntosh apples. Then I got the October issue, and, in all honesty, I had to open to the index page and check the cover photo credits, to see if I was really looking at McIntosh apples.

I propose the following and back it up with pictures: I will stop growing the Red Delicious if whoever grew those McIntosh will reciprocate.

As you can see, we grow Macs that look a little bit better than the ones on the cover, and Reds that are…well, they taste good, anyhow. And, oh, if you guys are wondering, yes, 16 inches of snow and a predicted 16°F tonight, October 30, will probably remind us in New Hampshire why we should not plant too many Fuji or Pink Lady. I think I can write them off for this year.

Keep up the good work, and let me know when to take the chain saw to those Reds.

Chuck Souther
New Hampshire