Blondee

August 31, 2023

By Rebecca Magron • September 1, 2023

Location	Variety	Fruit Diameter (in)	Soluble Solids (% Sugar)	Pressure (lbs)	Starch Rating	Percentage of Red in Surface Color	Tasting Notes	Comments
Blairstown	Gala	2.8″	10.8%	18.2	7.5	40%	Fragrant, Juicy, Sweet	Ready
Blairstown	Honeycrisp	3.4″	12.4%	15.7	2.7	30%	Tart, starch	Not Ready
Blairstown	September Wonder Fuji	2.9″	10.3%	15.3	5.5	40%	Juicy, Fresh, Tart	Ready
Hackettstown	Autumn Crisp	3.1″	11.9%	13.2	4.7	70%	Flavorful, juicy, tart	A few more days
Hackettstown	Brookfield Gala	3.1″	14.3%	18.1	6.2	80%	Juicy, crisp, light flavor	Ready
Hackettstown	Buckeye Gala	3.0″	11.8%	26.6	1.0	20%	Tart, green and dense	Not Ready
Hackettstown	Fuji ‘Daybreak’	3.4″	11.6%	14.0	4.5	50%	Sweet, Juicy, Flavorful	Ready
Hackettstown	Honeycrisp	3.1″	12.7%	15.3	2.7	60%	Tart, juicy, slight starch	Not Quite Ready
Hackettstown	Pioneer Mac	3.2″	13.6%	15.4	4.7	50%	Tart, crisp, green, starch	Not Ready
Hackettstown	Ruby Mac	3.3″	10.5%	16.9	2.5	60%	Tart, dense, juicy, some starch	Getting Closer, Not Ready
Pittstown	Blondee	3.0″	11.4%	17.8	6.0	N/A	Flavorful and Juicy	Ready
Pittstown	Buckeye Gala	2.9″	11.7%	17.7	7.3	82.5%	Flavorful and Juicy	Ready
Pittstown	Gale Gala	2.9″	12.5%	13.6	5.2	90%	Some starch	Getting closer, Not Ready
Pittstown	Honeycrisp	3.1″	11.0%	13.8	4.5	50%	Crisp, juicy, slight starch	Not Quite Ready
Pittstown	Jonathan	2.7″	11.3%	18.0	2.0	100%	Sour, hard	Not Ready
Pittstown	Royal Gala	3.1″	10.7%	13.1	8.4	40%	Tart, juicy	Ready
East Brunswick	Daybreak Fuji	3.3″	11.0%	14.8	4.2	50%	Dense, Juicy, Some Starch	Not Quite Ripe
East Brunswick	Honeycrisp	3.3″	11.6%	13.7	6.0	50%	Juicy and Sweet	Ready
East Brunswick	Mollies Delicious	3.7″	11.9%	13.3	5.3	60%	Crisp, juicy, light flavor	Ready
East Brunswick	Royal Gala	2.9″	11.3%	15.9	7.5	60%	Sweet, dry	Ready
Princeton	Bookfield Gala	2.8″	12.1%	20.9	5.2	80%	Slight starch, sweet, juicy	A Few More Days
Princeton	Honeycrisp	3.0″	12.0%	12.8	5.6	40%	Flavorful, juicy, aromatic	Ready
Princeton	Honeycrisp ‘Firestorm’	3.1″	13.3%	15.3	8.0	75%	Aromatic, sweet and juicy	Ready
Princeton	Rising Sun Fuji	3.0″	13.1%	13.8	7.2	40%	Sweet and Juicy	Ready
Princeton	Ruby Mac	2.9″	11.7%	14.9	6.5	85%	Some Starch and Juicy	Another day

August 24, 2023

By Rebecca Magron • August 25, 2023

Location	Variety	Fruit Diameter (in)	Soluble Solids (% Sugar)	Pressure (lbs)	Starch Rating	Percentage of Red in Surface Color	Tasting Notes	Comments
Hackettstown	Blondee	2.8″	10.4 %	20.6	1.6	12 %	Juicy and dense. Starchy	Not ready
Hackettstown	Brookfield Gala	2.8″	8.8 %	17.5	3	50 %	Juicy, Starchy	Not Ready
Hackettstown	Buckeye Gala	2.8″	8.9 %	18.8	1.8	60 %	Starchy and tart	Not Ready
Hackettstown	Honeycrisp	3.2″	11.6 %	16.5	1.2	40 %	Starchy and tart, flavorful	Not Ready
Hackettstown	Ruby Mac	2.9″	10.7%	16.1	3.0	90%	Tart, green, starch	Not Ready
Hackettstown	Zestar!	3.2″	14.1%	13.3	6	38%	Light texture, juicy, tart and slight starch	Just about ready
Pittstown	Blondee	2.8″	10.4%	20.6	1.6	12%	Dense, juicy and starch	Not Ready
Pittstown	Buckeye Gala	2.8″	11.4%	21.1	2.5	85%	Some flavor, hard and starchy	Not Ready
Pittstown	Gale Gala	2.8″	11.0%	21.2	2.7	80%	Juicy, sweet and starchy	Not Ready

August 18, 2023

By Megan Muehlbauer • August 18, 2023

Location	Variety	Fruit Diameter (in)	Soluble Solids (% Sugar)	Pressure (lbs)	Starch Rating	Percentage of Red in Surface Color	Tasting Notes	Comments
*Optimum*:			12-14% SSC	13-15 lbs	*6-7*
Pittstown	Red Free	3.8″	10.2 %	14.6	6.3	30 %	getting sweet with some acidity, candy like flavor	Not quite ready, could hang another week
Pittstown	Blondee	2.7″	9.9 %	21.1	1.5	0 %	sugars need to improve	Not Ready
Pittstown	Buckeye Gala	2.7″	9.5 %	21.9	1.6	70 %	tart, and bland	Not Ready
Pittstown	Gale Gala	2.8″	12 %	22.5	1.7	80 %	getting sweet, nice floral aroma	Not Ready

September 16, 2022

By Rebecca Magron • September 19, 2022

Location	Variety	Fruit Diameter (in)	Soluble Solids (% Sugar)	Pressure (lbs)	Starch Rating	Percentage of Red in Surface Color	Tasting Notes	Comments
Belvidere	Empire	2.8″	12.2%	20.94	1.8	89.1%	Crisp, tart, juicy starch	Not Ready
Belvidere	Fuji ‘September Wonder’	2.5″	15.3%	17.23	6.8	56.6%	Juicy, Sweet	Ready to Pick
Belvidere	Spartan	2.5″	13.7%	19.89	3.6	81.6%	Sweet, Crisp, Juicy	Not Ready
Hackettstown	Autumn Crisp	3.2″	15%	15.05	5.6	85%	Crisp, sweet, juicy	Ready to pick
Hackettstown	Golden Delicious ‘Gibson’	3.0″	15%	18.54	2.8	N/A	Tart, juicy	Not Ready
Hackettstown	Golden Delicious ‘Ultra Gold’	3.0″	13.1%	18.3	2.5	N/A	Tart, starch	Not Ready
Hackettstown	Jonathan ‘Ultra Red’	2.9″	10.9%	19.6	4.5	92.5%	Crisp, juicy	Getting closer to ready
Hackettstown	Macoun	2.9″	12.0%	20.39	4.8	50%	Tart, juicy, slightly strachy	Getting closer to ready
Hackettstown	Snow Sweet	2.9″	12.9%	20.4	6.5	42.5%	Tart	Ready to pick
Pittstown	Blondee	2.9″	11.5%	23.12	1.5	N/A	Starchy, juicy	Not ready
Pittstown	Jonathan	2.75″	14.5%	16.72	3.9	98.5%	Tart, starchy	Not ready
Pittstown	Macoun	2.42″	12.6%	20.00	4.4	70.84%	Starchy, juicy	Not ready
East Brunswick	Cortland ‘Royal’	3.05″	13.4	13.0	1.5	55%	Crisp, Tart	Not ready
East Brunswick	Crimson Crisp	2.7	14.1%	24.99	6.8	90.8%	Tart, crisp	Ready to pick
East Brunswick	Golden Delicious ‘Ultra’	2.7″	11.7%	19.26	3.1	N/A	Tart, crisp	Not ready
East Brunswick	Honeycrisp	2.9″	13.0%	14.43	5.17	43.3%	Sweet, juicy, crisp	Ready to pick
East Brunswick	Jonathan ‘Ultra Red’ Retain	3.00″	13.4%	15.1	5.8	81.6%	Tart, crisp	Ready to pick
East Brunswick	Jonagold	3.0″	14.9%	19.96	5.17	44.1	Juicy, tart	Nearly ready to pick
East Brunswick	Mollies Delicious	2.7″	13.3%	13.27	6.5	55%	Sweet, crisp, flavorful	Ready to pick
Princeton	Cortland	3.0″	13.9%	17.63	1.0	72.5%	Tart, starch	Not ready
Princeton	Crimson Crisp	2.5″	12.9%	21.60	6.1	76.7	Crisp, sweet, slight starch	Nearly ready to pick
Princeton	Empire	2.67″	13.3%	20.10	3.0	68.3%	Starchy, tanins	Not ready
Princeton	Fuji ‘Auvil’	2.75″	15.2%	13.9	6.7	65.83%	Sweet, juicy	Ready to pick
Princeton	Golden Delicious	2.75″	12.6%	17.76	5.3	N/A	Juicy, some starch	Getting closer to ready
Princeton	Golden Delicious ‘Ultra Gold’	3.00″	12.4%	17.17	3.2	N/A	Starchy	Not ready
Princeton	Jonathan	2.83″	13.2%	15.25	6.33	82.5	Tart, juicy, some starch	Nearly ready to pick
Princeton	Macoun	2.83″	13.6″	16.22	6.00	52.5	Sweet, juicy, slight starch	Getting closer to ready

September 9, 2022

By Rebecca Magron • September 11, 2022

Location	Variety	Fruit Diameter (in)	Soluble Solids (% Sugar)	Pressure (lbs)	Starch Rating	Percentage of Red in Surface Color	Tasting Notes	Comments
Belvidere	Honeycrisp	2.9″	13%	15.1	4.5	52%	Flavorful, juicy	Ready to spot pick
Belvidere	Gala	2.7″	14.2%	17.82	8.8	73.3%	Crisp, Juicy, Sweet	Ready to pick
Hackettstown	Autumn Crisp	2.96″	14.1%	13.90	5.0	86.7%	Tart, Juicy	Nearly ready to pick
Hackettstown	Jonagold ‘Crimson’	3.17″	12.2%	18.55	3.5	56.7%	Juicy, Flavorful	Ready to pick
Hackettstown	Jonathan ‘Ultra Red’	2.92″	13.5%	17.19	4.2	92%	Tart, slight starch	Getting closer to ready
Hackettstown	Macoun	2.83″	13.2%	18.0	2.8	51.7%	Starchy, Tart	Not Ready
Hackettstown	McIntosh ‘Pioneer’	2.92″	15.1%	15.9	4.5	85%	Crisp, Juicy, Tart,	Ready to pick
Hackettstown	McIntosh ‘Ruby’	3.25″	14.1%	15.43	5.3	96.8%	Flavorful, Juicy	Ready to pick
Pittstown	Blondee	3.2″	12.1%	23.42	1.5	N/A	Tart, juicy, dense, starchy	Not ready
Pittstown	Honeycrisp	3.0″	15.5%	17.24	4.5	65%	Sweet, Flavorful	Ready to spot pick
Pittstown	Honeycrisp II	3.0″	14.7%	18.08	5.1	70%	Sweet, Flavorful	Ready to spot pick
Pittstown	Jonathan	2.75″	13.9%	18.97	3.6	95.8%	Tart, dry	Nearly ready to pick
Pittstown	McIntosh ‘Linda’	2.83	15.2%	16.42	5.3	80.8%	Tart, Flavorful	Ready to pick
East Brunswick	Fuji ‘Daybreak’ retain	3.0″	16.4	14.69	5.7	52.0%	Sweet, juicy	Ready to pick
East Brunswick	Gala ‘Royal’ retain	2.66	13.6%	17.04	7.5	59.2%	Juicy, sweet, crispy	Ready to pick
East Brunswick	Honeycrisp retain	2.7″	11.5%	16.71	4.7	72.5%	Some starch and tart	Getting close to ready for spot pick
East Brunswick	Jonagold Retain	3.0″	14.9%	19.77	4.3	63.3%	Some starch, good flavor, crispy, juicy	Getting close to ready
East Brunswick	Jonathan ‘Ultra Red’ Retain	2.58″	11.9%	18.6	5.4	82.5%	Some starcy, Juicy	Close to ready
East Brunswick	Golden Delicious ‘Ultra’	2.78″	11.9%	18.09	3.5	N/A	Juicy, some starch	Not ready
East Brunswick	Mollies Delicious Retain	3.42″	14.5%	14.2	7.0	69.2%	Juicy, some slight starch	Nearly ready to pick
East Brunswick	Red Delicious ‘Super Chief’ retain	2.7	13.1%	18.01	4.5	68.3%	Sweet, floral	Ready to Pick
Princeton	Golden Delicious	2.83″	12.2%	18.74	2.0	N/A	Tart, starch	Not ready

September 2, 2022

By Rebecca Magron • September 6, 2022

Location	Variety	Fruit Diameter (in)	Soluble Solids (% Sugar)	Pressure (lbs)	Starch Rating	Percentage of Red in Surface Color	Tasting Notes	Comments
Belvidere	Honeycrisp with Retain	2.8″	15.3%	18.18	4.0	58.3%	Sweet, juicy	Close to Ready
Belvidere	Gala	2.8″	9.2%	21.85	6.5	55%	Starchy,	Close to Ready
Hackettstown	Autumn Crisp	3.0″	12.5%	16.52	4.8	73.3%	Tart, Juicy	Nearly ready to pick
Hackettstown	Fuji ‘Daybreak’	3.17″	12.0%	15.5	4.75	43.3%	Sweet, Juicy	Ready
Hackettstown	Gala ‘Brookfield’	3.01″	13.5%	17.27	8.0	85.8%	Sweet	Ready to pick
Hackettstown	Gala ‘Buckeye’	2.92″	11.9%	19.61	6.5	91.6%	Sweet, Juicy	Ready to pick
Hackettstown	Honeycrisp ‘NAK59337’	3.17″	13.8%	15.88	5.0	50.8%	Sweet, tart, juicy	Ready to pick
Hackettstown	McIntosh ‘Pioneer’	3.22″	31.8%	18.54	4.3	54.1%	Tart, starchy	Not ready
Hackettstown	McIntosh ‘Ruby’	3.0″	13.2%	18.22	4.3	83.3%	Tart, some starcy	Getting close
Pittstown	Blondee	2.75″	12.25%	28.95	1	N/A	Tart, juicy, firm	Not ready
Pittstown	Gala ‘Buckeye’	2.83″	13.7%	19.32	7.8	74.3%	Sweet, juicy	Ready to pick
Pittstown	Gala ‘Gale’	2.42″	15%	19.59	3.0	73.33%	Sweet, firm, hint of starch	Getting close
East Brunswick	Gala ‘Royal’	2.67″	12.7%	18.49	7.5	43.3%	Sweet, juicy, very slight starch	Very close to ready
East Brunswick	Fuji ‘Daybreak’	2.83″	13.9%	16.18	6.4	46.6%	Sweet, slight starch	Very close to ready; within the week
East Brunswick	Mollies Delicious	3.33″	13.7%	16.31	5.9	59.1%	Some starch still	Getting close
Princeton	Fuji ‘Auvil’	2.67″	11.4%	18.9	5.0	44.1%	Juicy, sweet, hint of starch	Getting close to ready
Princeton	Honeycrisp	3.04″	12.0%	17.0	4.8	52.5%	Juicy, crisp, ripe	Ready to spot pick
Princeton	Honeycrisp ‘Firestorm’	3.08″	14.0%	18.3	8.6	36.0%	Flavorful, juicy	Ready to pick
Princeton	McIntosh ‘Ruby’	3.02″	13.7%	12.26	7.6	80%	Sweet	Ready to pick
Princeton	Fuji ‘Rising Sun’	3.0″	13.7%	16.29	4.4	35.8%	Sweet, firm, slightly starchy	Not ready to pick

August 19, 2022

By Megan Muehlbauer • August 23, 2022

Location	Variety	Fruit Diameter (in)	Soluble Solids (% Sugar)	Pressure (lbs)	Starch Rating	Percentage of Red in Surface Color	Tasting Notes	Comments
*Optimum*:			12-14% SSC	13-15 lbs	*6-7*
Blairstown	Gala	2.7″	10.3%	23.5	1.1	28%	Starchy	Not Ready
Hackettstown	Blondee	2.7″	11.2%	26.7	2	0%	Tart, Juicy, Starchy	Not Ready
Hackettstown	Zestar!	3.2″	13%	17.24	2.8	47.5%	Tart, Juicy, Starchy	Not Ready
East Brunswick	Honeycrisp	3.1″	12%	17.6	3	30%	Tart, Starchy	Not Ready
East Brunswick	Mollies Delicious	3.3″	9.4%	18.9	1.5	47%	Juicy, decent flavor, still starchy	Not Ready will taste good in a a couple weeks

September 3, 2021

By Andrea Martinez • September 3, 2021

Location	Variety	Fruit Diameter (in)	Soluble Solids (% Sugar)	Pressure (lbs)	Starch Rating	Ripeness in Surface Color (%)	Tasting Notes	Comments
Blairstown	Gala + NAA	2.73	12.0	15.91	7.16	55	Crisp, mild and sweet	Ready to Pick
Blairstown	McIntosh + NAA	3.27	13.1	12.17	6.33	66	Crisp, sweet	Ready to pick
Hackettstown	Blondee + ReTain	2.98	9.8	14.78	6.00	24.2	Crisp, sweet and flavorful	Ready to pick
Hackettstown	Ruby McIntosh	3.24	11.0	12.73	4.5	87	Tart, could use more sugar	Ready to pick
Hackettstown	Honeycrisp +ReTain	3.3	11.0	12.8	6.7	65	Crisp, tart, mildly sweet	Ready to spot pick for red color
Hackettstown	Pioneer McIntosh	3.3	9.2	15.8	1	50	Crunchy, not particularly sweet	Needs at least another week
Hackettstown	Autumn Crisp	2.9	11	13.7	5.8	86	Crisp and sweet, not much acidity	Ready to pick
Hackettstown	Daybreak Fuji	2.8	10.5	13.8	3.8	44	Crisp but could be sweeter	Needs a few more days to mature
Hackettstown	Buckeye Gala + ReTain	2.8	9.9	14.3	7	94	Great texture, mild sweetness	Ready to pick
Hackettstown	Brookfield Gala + ReTain	2.6	10	15.9	7.6	96	Subtly sweet and floral	Ready to pick
Pittstown	Honeycrisp	3.2	11.8	13.4	6.1	63	Crisp but a little low in sugar	Ready to pick for red color
Pittstown	Linda McIntosh	3.3	11.8	14.2	5	65	Crisp and sweet with a little tartness	Ready to pick
East Brunswick	Honeycrisp	3.27	12.0	12.74	8	65	Crisp, sweet, very flavorful	Ready to pick
East Brunswick	Superchief Red Delicious	3.12	10.0	15.56	3	84	Starchy, very firm texture	Not quite ready, one more week.
East Brunswick	Fuji	2.92	9	12.95	6	65	High water content, very mild	Ready to pick
Princeton	Honeycrisp	2.85	10.8	11.62	7.5	60	Crisp, sweet, mildly tart	Ready to pick for red color
Princeton	Firestorm Honeycrisp	3.17	12.2	11.45	7.7	70	Crisp and sweet	Ready to pick
Princeton	Top Red Red Delicious	3.12	8.8	14.5	2.5	90	Still quite tart and starchy	Not quite ready needs another week.
Princeton	Oregon Spur Red Delicious	3.1	8.9	15.94	2	72	Not yet flavorful, starchy	Not quite ready, needs another week.

August 27, 2021

By Beth Wheelan • August 27, 2021

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