Apple Picking

Two weeks ago we went to the gorge to pick apples.  It was a rainy day but we had fun and learned some interesting facts...some of our favorites are:

•The crabapple is the only apple native to North America.

 •2,500 varieties of apples are grown in the United States. 100 varieties of apples are grown commercially in the United States.

•Apples are grown commercially in 36 states. Apples are grown in all 50 states.

•A medium apple is about 80 calories. Apples are a great source of the fiber pectin. One apple has five grams of fiber.

•The science of apple growing is called pomology.

•Apple trees take four to five years to produce their first fruit.

•Apples are a member of the rose family.

•In colonial time, apples were called winter banana or melt-in-the-mouth.(That was one of our favorites)

•World's top apple producers are China, United States, Turkey, Poland and Italy.

•Apples ripen six to ten times faster at room temperature than if they were refrigerated. 

•In 2005, United States consumers ate an average of 46.1 pounds of fresh apples and processed apple products. That's a lot of applesauce!

•The top apple producing states are Washington, New York, Michigan,Pennsylvania, California and Virginia.

  In 2006, 58% of apples produced in the United States were produced in Washington, 11% in New York 8% in Michigan, 5% in Pennsylvania, 4% in California and 2% in Virginia.

They also had fresh strawberries (didn't know they lasted this long)
We ended up with 50 pounds of apples and 12 lbs of strawberries

And there is a day in the life of a homeschooler (hence all the apple facts)