Apple Harvest

The northern end of the Beaver Valley is the largest apple-growing area in Ontario, and it's apple harvest time this year.  It seems to have been a good year, and I've passed or dropped in to several orchards recently.

These apples are in a small, less-than-intensively-managed orchard owned by a friend.  The trees are small and don't get any special treatment, but I like it because I can drop in and pick a few apples any time I like.  And I know they don't get sprayed.

He was really worried this year after winter damage last year, but the damage wasn't as bad as he expected, and most trees have survived, even if his crop is light.

The setting of the orchard is spectacular, nestled in the bottom of the valley, near the Beaver River. Orchards are usually planted on slopes further up the valley, because the cold air drainage down the slopes  reduces the risk of last spring frost catching the blossoms just a little.  But the soil type here is really too heavy for what apples really  like.

 But apples are big business here too.  This is the largest 'intensively' planted orchard in the valley, the trees planted close together, trained to grow up fences (espaliered), and kept very small.  But the crop per acre is amazing. The tall fence around it is to keep out deer.

I'm fascinated with how apple trees get pruned so they end up growing down rather than straight up (pruning depends on the variety).  Early spring for pruning and fall for the harvest are the busy times in the orchards. As well as the right soil type (well drained gravels), the moderating influence of Georgian Bay is a big reason for so many orchards around here.  The colder waters of the bay hold back spring blossoms, lessening the risk that they will get hit by frost.

I dropped in to one orchard that has a pick-your-own operation, and found the owner wasn't busy, so I got to ask a few questions.  This farm grows 4.5 million pounds of apples on 125 acres, and has a team of 17 Mexican workers in for the season to pick them.  Most of the apples go for commercial pie filling or applesauce.  Their 'pick-your-own' operation and store is 'just for fun' - the apples above are MacIntosh.

I heard disembodied voices coming from the middle of this orchard when I stopped to take a picture, but then I realized, the apple pickers were hard at work.  A terrible picture (I've been having a lot of problems with my auto-focus recently), but can you see the tops of at least 5 ladders where the pickers are?

Since we've moved up here I've also learned about all the different varieties of apples available, from early softer Melbas through winter storing hard Red and Yellow Delicious.  This half-bushel is Spartans, quite a tasty apple.  We no longer buy 'apples', but buy 'Honeycrisp, Amrosia, or Galas' and my wife likes 'Russets'.

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