Bald Mountain
0
In Lee Calhoun’s wonderful book, Old Southern Apples, he recalls the day in March 1989, when he received a letter from Mr. Charles W. Nolen of Franklin, North Carolina, telling him about the old Bald Mountain trees in his orchard. This was very surprising to Lee as there was very little historical information regarding the history and origin of this apple. According to Mr. Nolen, Bald Mountain originated as a seedling on Warrior Bald Mountain in Macon County, North Carolina when George Crawford, one of the first settlers in the area, found the wild tree already growing there. The only description previously known about this apple was from a 1903 meeting of the Georgia State Horticultural Society where it was noted the apples had been brought to the state for the last eight years from North Carolina. Fruit is medium-sized, roundish to almost conical in shape. It has light green skin with irregular broken stripes of dark red on the sunny side. The greenish-yellow flesh is juicy fine-grained with a pleasant sub-acid flavor. Ripens in the winter in the mountains, October in warmer areas and is a good keeper.