Ten Interesting Things About Apples and Johnny Appleseed

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away."

Happy Johnny Appleseed birthday!  I know.  Kind of a random topic for ten interesting facts, but what can I say?  I love me some apples.

1.       The first apple trees were in Central Asia and China grows the most of ‘em.  (I’m number two.)

2.       My first apple trees were planted by Pilgrims in 1620.  (The only apple native to North America is the crab apple!)

3.       There are about 7,500 different kinds of apples, and I grow more than 2,500 of ‘em.  

4.       Apples are grown in all 50 states and commercially grown in 36 of ‘em.  (My top five are 1.  Washington, 2.  New York, 3.  Michigan, 4.  Pennsylvania, 5. California.)

5.        My five most popular apples are:  1. Red Delicious, 2. Gala, 3. Golden Delicious, 4. Granny Smith, and 5. Fuji.

6.       Apples are harvested in late summer and early fall, but we can get ‘em all year at grocery stores because they can be kept fresh for 12 months in Controlled Atmosphere Storage (which regulates the temperature and oxygen and stuff).

7.       The average person eats 65 apples per year (almost 16 pounds of 'em).  They are my second most popular fruit behind bananas.

8.       Johnny Appleseed (aka John Chapman) was an orchardist and nurseryman who did not just randomly plant apple trees.  He planted them and then came back years later and sold the orchards.  (Interestingly, most of the apples he planted couldn’t be eaten but were made into hard cider.)

9.       Johnny traveled alone and barefoot for 50 years—mainly in the Midwest--and carried a Bible with him every place he went.   He was a friend to kids, a news bringer to adults, an ally to Indians and animals, and a preacher to everyone.  (He died of pneumonia at age 71,)

10.   Johnny planted over 100,000 square miles of apple orchards in Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.  Mmm…one hundred thousand square miles…

Questions or comments?  Contact me at DiaryOfAmerica@gmail.com.  Thanks.