Premature Apple Fall
by Matt
Unfortunately the winds had claimed the top half of one of the apple trees in the meadow. I had debated with myself, all the preceding week leading up to my holiday, over whether or not it would be wise to thin the fruits that were beginning to weigh down the bows, in case there was a tough wind while I was away. Wise, frustratingly, it would have indeed been.
Removing the broken young limbs cleanly with secateurs, I collected up the premature apples, still developmentally inseparable from the spurs. Other than a handful of lepidopteran-invaded, destined for the compost, I took the small haul home and followed Hugh’s simple steps to a redeeming apple chutney, to make the best of a fairly dismal situation.
Lesson learned. Although, early apples do make a bloody good chutney..
The Orange Tip 
We have some early apples here in Missouri that we harvested just to keep the squirrels from getting every last one, and I was thinking applesauce. But chutney would probably be best for such green ‘uns. Think I’ll try it….