814-Lincaster Farming, Saturday, Octobar 23,1993 Record Setters JOYCE BUPP York Co. Correspondent YORK (York Co.) Bemic Lehman is in the market for some apple trees. But the Wrightsville fruit grower doesn’t want just any kind of apple trees, he is specifi cally. searching for a variety named Eve’s Delight A single Eve’s Delight apple tree grows in the nearly four acres of fruit orchards on the Ellsworth, Jr., and Kathy Lehman family’s dairy, crops and produce farm at Wrightsville R 2. This year, it pro duced a whopping 2.49-pound fruit that broke all previous apple records at the York Fair, besting about 10 other hefty-sized apples in the running for the title. Lehman has been entering pro duce in York Fair for several years, some of it In friendly com petition with a neighboring grow er. Last year, his uncle, John Leh man, won the fair’s biggest apple category with a 2.18-pounder from a Stark’s variety tree in his Heliam Township orchard. Bcmie Lehman set out to beat that. "We’ve always thinned this tree to get good size on the apples; we just thinned it a little harder this year,” says Lehman. “Usually, the apples grow to about a pound and a half.” In quest of extra-large apples, all but IS to 20 fruits were removed from the dwarf Eve’s Delight tree early in the summer. Neighboring trees were thinned just a bit harder, as well, to assure plenty of light reaching the poten tial prizewinners. The 10-year-old tree was irrigated along with the rest of the orchard during a few dry spells, but received no other special treatment. Bemie did check it regularly, though, observing two apples ear ly in the season that were outsiz ing the others. “I did pick it a little early, to make sure it didn’t fall off and onto the ground,” he relates. “When we weighed it, we figured it would be close to being a winner.” Like all the York Fair produce entries, only numbers identify the winners. Bemie recognized his winner right away, displayed in a glass-covered case. But the wrong name was initially given out to local newspapers. A phone call by his dad corrected the error and got Bemie his award. Along with the champion apple, Bemie took blue ribbons on his Jack-Be-Little pumpkins, string beans, cucumbers, peppers and various awards on other produce entered. The Lehmans retail their pro duce at their farm roadside mark et, just north of Route 30 at Wrightsville. “The big apples sell almost as soon as we sit one out, usually within a few hours,” says Bemie, of their customers’ interest in the giant fruits. His record-setter, refrigerated on display at the farm market for a few weeks following the fair, ripened quickly. By early October it was beginning to show signs of bruising and was ear marked for one last round of enjoyment by the family in a pic. Next year, Bemie plans to thin the tree even a little harder. In fact, he jokes that if he could find a few more of the Eve’s Delight variety, he would grow one apple per tree, aiming at breaking the world’s record set by a 2.73 pound Washington state-grown one. Meanwhile, the York Fair’s largest-ever pumpkin, weighing in at a whopping 37S pounds, is cur rently in use as a fall-season decoration. Sam Brubaker, Sunrise Court, Lebanon, grew the monstrous pumpkin in one of two hills he planted in a small plot behind his home. Brubaker, who cultivates only a few pumpkins in a small backyard garden set out to grow a record-setter. “We always visit the York Fair; and a couple of years ago, he looked at the giant pumpkins and said T can do that’,” relates Sam’s wife, Audrey, who was admittedly skeptical at the time. “He's not a gardener, otherwise.” Nevertheless, Brubaker began planting a couple of hills of pump kins in the rich soil of their yard. Last year’s effort showed prom ise, Audrey recalls, until one day her husband checked the progress of his largest pumpkin and found the back of it rotted away from the season’s extreme moisture. Brubaker’s plans for this sea son’s planting initially went awry when the seeds he sent for never came in the mail. Two hills of “just a pack of pumpkins seeds” were then planted, but later than originally intended. Some pack- Sam Brubaker sits on his 375-pound pumpkin, a prize- winner at this year’s York Fair. Herb Group Forming ELIZABETHTOWN (Lancas ter Co.) A new herb group is forming on Monday, November 8 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Herit age House Museum, 43 E. High Street, Elizabethtown. The top for discussion at the first meeting is rosemary, its - history and uses. The group will meet once a month beginning in January. There is no charge to attend or belong to the group. The meeting is sponsored by the Radon In The Home LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.) To find out about radon, what radon is, its health effects, how you can test for it, and what you can do about it, plan to attend “Radon in the Home: Myths and Realities,” an educational prog To Produce Pies Aplenty aged diy manure worked into the soil and occasional fertilizer feed ings kept two giant, and one smaller, fruits growing through the season. Only an occasional boost of drip irrigation was given during dry spells. “He had read that for every leaf a pumpkin has, it grows a certain number of pounds,” says Audrey Brubaker of her husband’s pumpkin-growing technique. By pinching back the vines, they were confined to (he small growing area while concentrating their strength into producing a few large fruits. By early summer, the eventual winner was already good-sized. Sam checked it every evening after work and Audrey took pictures of it every weekend. “It took six guys to get it on the truck,” chuckles Audrey Brubaker of the difficulty in loading the huge pumpkin, moved onto a wooden pallet, to haul it to York for the fair competition. While the couple would like to keep the pumpkin for Farm Show display, they were uncertain it would store that long without rotting. “We know a lady who bakes for a living; it may eventually go there Herb Garden Committee of the Heritage House Museum. The committee offers tours of the Museum garden in season, offers demonstrations on the uses of herbs during the monthly Herit age Days and special workshops, and creates a wide variety of herbal items sold during the Museum’s Christmas Craft Show, December 3 and 4. For more information, call (717) 367-4908. ram presented by Penn State Cooperative Extension. The prog ram will be held on Thursday, November 4, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Farm and Home Center, 1381 Arcadia Road, Lancaster. To register call (717) 394-6851. for her use," speculates Audrey of the pumpkin’s ultimate fate as a probable and plentiful pie source. She adds that the “meat” of the pumpkin variety is very thick and a deep orange color. The ’■baby” one at an estimated near SO pounds may entertain neighbor hood youngsters as a Halloween jack o’lantem. Sam’s goal, his wife notes, is to grow the largest pumpkin in the state. He has received numerous tips on growing giant pumpkins, including the advice to feed the Weighing in at 2.49 pounds, Bernle Lehman’s prizewin ner set a new apple record at the York Fair. The giant dwarfs the normal-sized Red Delicious stacked In the crate beneath. Pork Recipes (Continued from Pago B 8) HOT SAUSAGE 2 pounds sausage, stuffed 1 large onion 1 16-ounce jar cherry peppers Cut sausage into pieces about the size of a hot dog. Slice down the middle, lengthwise. Place in frying pan and brown. Drain off excess grease. Cut onion in slices and add to the sausage. Add cherry peppers and the juice from the cherry peppers. Simmer approxi mately 4S minutes. Serve on hot dog rolls. Doris Brenize Shippensburg CRUSTY HAM PATTIES 3 cups coarsely ground cooked ham 1 egg 9-ouncc can crushed .pineapple '/i teaspoon salt A teaspoon cinnamon 'A teaspoon nutmeg 2 cups mashed sweet potatoes l A cup crushed cornflakes '/ cup drippings Combine ham with lightly beaten egg, well drained pineap ple, seasonings, and sweet pota toes. Shape into 12 patties. Dip in cornflakes and fry in hot fat until well browned on both sides, for five to eight minutes. Esther Stauffer Port Trevorton plants milk. The milk is believed to enhance pumpkin growth because of the added calcium available to the plant. “Oh, yes. he'll save the seeds from this one,” affirms Audrey Brubaker of her husband's plans for next spring’s pumpkin patch. “He’s been teasing his friends that he’ll sell them some of the seeds.” A third York Fair record setter was a 20-pound cantaloupe, which unfortuantely rotted while on dis play. It was grown by Dean Beck er, Spring Grove R 2. ZESTY GRILLED CHOPS s /« cup soy sauce '/< cup lemon juice 1 tablespoon chili sauce 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1 garlic clove, minced 6 rib or loin pork chops Combine the first rive ingre dients. Place chops into a glass baking dish and pour marinade over. Cover and refrigerate 3 to 6 hours or overnight. To cook, remove chops from marinade and grill or broil 4 inches from heat to desired doneness. Brush occas sionally with the marinade. Yield: 6 servings. Doris Mellot Needmore PORK CHOP RECIPE 6 pork chops 4 unpeeled apples, cored- and sliced 'A cup brown sugar Vi teaspoon cinnamon 2 tablespoons butter Brown chops in skillet until browned on both sides. Place sliced apples in a greased baking dish. Sprinkle brown sugar on apples. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Dot with butter. Arrange six pork chops on top of apples. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 114 hours. Mrs. Carl Christ (Turn to BIS) Plne Grove
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