I got my apple today from the apple tree. Got my little piggy all grown up now. Feel a bit sad, he was so cute when he was a piglet!
You can
- buy an apple tree for gems,
- expand to the magic garden (it also drops it from time to time), -> that is gem free
- get the apple tree as a reward from adventures -> that is gem free
As you can see there are two options to get the golden apple without spending gems. You'd need to be patient, that's all
I just got a second gold nugget from a rock outcropping. I've been tending my chickens for days and no egg yet!
I got a nugget from one of my mines & an egg from either a chicken or the hatchery (never actually saw it). Can't get an apple tree with gems I don't have , so I'm doing the quests and working on getting to the Magic Garden!