It looks like we're going to get a good apple crop this year. There are numerous wild apple trees spread around my farm, and last autumn was abysmal. One single tree yielded well, while all the others grew zero or just a few small fruits. I've read that wild apples often exhibit a biennial heavy cropping pattern like many other trees (notably oaks). Between that and the late frosts common in this part of New York it seems the apples are roughly an every-other-year sort of proposition. I'm pretty sure the trees set a good amount of fruit this spring, even though we did have one borderline frost at the end of their blossom period.
Garth mentioned he made a bunch of cider last fall from eating apples we picked elsewhere, but it was really bland stuff. So, if you know anyone who likes very bland apple cider, give me their contact info... I have gallons and gallons of it. Think the pigs would drink it? The wild apple blend native here has a wide variety of aromas, acidity, and tannin, and makes for complex and delicious hard cider. I hope to have another post or two to write on this topic before the year is out.
-Edmund
