Horse Apples! What caused the bumper crop.

[danktx]

Hello all, I went out today and picked up what I consider a bumper crop of horse apples or Osage oranges. When I look around it seems everyone has had a fine crop this season. This just what I picked up under one medium sized tree! I dumped them on the burn pile and then couldn't get the juice to rinse out of the bucket. OK, I'm through grousing... Had a beautiful day to to do the clean up so all is good.

 

[Bob77064]

Here they are called hedge apples. We had a bumper crop this year too, I figured the all the rain we had caused it.

 

[/pine]

Natural cycle...?

 

[Bob77064]

We also had a bumper crop of walnuts.

 

[/pine]

We also had a bumper crop of walnuts.

Natural cycles often cross wavelengths...

FWIW...about every 5-6 years we have an exceptional crop of wild butternuts (similar to black walnuts)...regardless of the WX...

 

[Bob77064]

Makes sense to me.

 

[powerpace]

Most bearing trees will alternate years of high and low production.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

When we first got married some 50 or so years ago, our first apartment was, shall we say, already inhabited. The inhabitants were cockroaches; after spraying and sweeping them out in piles, someone told us to cut a couple of hedge apples and put them under the sink to keep them under control. We did; and it worked. We never completely got rid of them, but seems they were somehow killed by the hedge apples. I figured they probably ate the juice, got stoned and died.

 

[Bird]

I've seen websites selling them for use as an insect repellant in your house, but never tried them.

And I'll never forget the first horse I had when I was less than 10 years old; an old tall sorrel gelding. We were told that he was a retired rodeo bucker that wouldn't buck unless a flank girth was used. Back then we didn't have any bois d'arc trees in our pasture, but the landlord did and I'd get those horse apples and feed them to that old horse. He loved them like a kid loves candy.

And I've never seen another animal eat one. The horses I later had wouldn't touch them.

 

[oldballs]

Bumper crop of walnuts and hedge apples here too. This season I bet I've picked up a couple tons of apples. Finally the recent winds and a couple freezes have dropped all of them. All that stooping keeps me fit and they are fun to throw as though I could still throw a fast ball...."Not". :laughing: