Programs

We sponsor programs in Clarke, Frederick, Page, Shenandoah, and Warren Counties. Come join us!

Click to learn more about Programs in Clarke County, which include:

Blandy Garden Fair Information Booth
Blandy Community Garden Teaching Garden
Chet Hobert Park Xeriscape Garden
Clarke County Fair
Seed Exchange at Blandy
Greenline Help Desk
Home Consultations

Click to learn more about Programs in Frederick County, which include:

Belle Grove Plantation Teaching Garden
FFA High School Student Outreach
Fremont Street Nursery Garden
Gardening for Adults at Northern Regional Adult Detention Center
Junior Master Gardener Course
Nature Surprises for Kids
Old Town Farmers and Makers Market
Timbrook Community Garden
Indoor Plant Clinic
Gardening in the Valley Symposium
GardenFest
FallFest
Greenline Help Desk

Click to learn more about Programs in Page County, which include:

Birdsong Pleasure Garden Tours
Farmers Market Information Booth
Page County Fair
Preservation & Education of Historic Chinquapin Oak
Greenline Help Desk
Home Consultations

Click to learn more about Programs in Shenandoah County, which include:

Children’s Gardening Activities
Community Garden Talks
Corhaven Graveyard
Edinburg Mill Biofiltration Garden
Farmers Markets
New Market Demo Rain Garden
Shenandoah County Fair
Strasburg Community Garden
Greenline Help Desk
Home Consultations

Click to learn more about Programs in Warren County, which include:

Belle Boyd Cottage Gardens
Samuels Public Library
Greenline Help Desk

Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association

3 hours ago

Shenandoah Valley Apples – Third in a five-week series by EMG Joan

September brings an abundance of apple varieties, with Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, and Rome being widely available. Also available but not as common are Empire, Honeycrisp, Nittany, and Ida Red. You may have to really search for Crispin (also called Mutsu), Paula Red, Yatika Fuji, and Grimes Golden.

Red Delicious and Golden Delicious need no introduction. Rome, also called Rome Beauty, has become more popular over the years and is excellent for baking, drying, and dessert.

Empire and Honeycrisp are excellent eaten fresh and for desserts, pie, and cider. Empire was developed in the late 40s and is a cross of McIntosh and Red Delicious. Nittany and Ida Red are both excellent for applesauce and apple butter. Ida Red is also good for desserts, pies, and cider. Crispin is good for applesauce, apple butter, and jelly. Paula Red is a tart apple that is good eaten fresh. Yatika Fuji is similar to Fuji.

Grimes Golden is believed to be a parent of Golden Delicious and is especially well known for making hard cider and brandy. According to Tom Burford in "Apples of North America" it was especially cherished in our Blue Ridge Mountains, and old still sites are often surrounded by Grimes Golden trees still bearing “small, sooty-blotched fruit of extraordinary flavor, even after fifty years of neglect”.

Did you know? Because Golden Delicious is such an excellent pollinator it earned the nickname “Rooster Tree” for its pollination prowess.

You can find local orchards and farmers markets from the on-line resources below.
www.virginiaapples.net/virginia-apples www.vdacs.virginia.gov/vagrown/ www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/.../348/348-127/348-127_pdf.pdf

Pictured: Empire Apples, from a Shenandoah Valley Orchard (a few years ago), taking a bath.

Quote from Burford, Tom. Apples of North America. Portland/London, Timber Press, 2013.

DISCLAIMER: Commercial products are named in this publication for informational purposes only. Virginia Cooperative Extension does not endorse these products and does not intend discrimination against other products which also may be suitable. ... See MoreSee Less

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