Monday, September 22, 2014

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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16 comments:

  1. Good to see there are tons of apples to harvest this year. I LOVE apples. :)

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  2. So nice to see the apple growing still happening there. It's a tough business and so weather dependent. Our friend has the orchard down the road from us and planted the espalier style last year in one part of the orchard. He is preparing to plant hundreds of Honeycrisp as they are so popular. His biggest issue is the deer that get in and damage the trees. My favourite is Cortland followed by Gala, which are imported here.

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  3. What great captures of the apples!! Like EG, I do LOVE apples!!! Wonderful post for the day!! Have a great new week!

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  4. What a great post! I love the fresh picked apples at this time of the year.. Honeycrisp is one of my favorites.. Thanks for sharing, enjoy your week!

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  5. Mmmmmmmmmmm, apple dumplings, apple crisp.....apple salad with walnuts....apple cider....apple pie....and just picking one off the tree and munching away.

    You have me drooling.

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  6. Those apples look delicious and the trees are under a lot of stress with the weight. I'm a fan of Jonathan apples or the Jonagolds, but Honeycrisp is also good. Yummmm

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  7. Wonderful pictures and great crop.

    Sadly we have few apples left here. The place we sold had a good orchard. My favorite late harvest and easy keepers were the Arkansas Black.

    When pruning take out the interfering limbs and prune your other limbs in front of a top bud or a bottom but depending on which way you want it to grow.

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  8. Gorgeous shots of the delicious looking apples ~ great post for OWT ~

    artmusedog and carol (A Creative Harbor)

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  9. Oh they are some nice looking apples. I like gala apples but my favorite is Granny Smith.

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  10. Those apples look so good! Nice shots too!

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  11. Nice pics! I love apple picking. Unfortunately there are not many organic orchards around here, kudos to your friend for not spraying. I'd have to say Honey Crisp are my fave right now.

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  12. My cousin took on the orchard his parents started. It's further south from there, but does good business.

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  13. How wonderful to have such a choice of apples. My favourite is Jazz although I do like Spartan.

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  14. Good apple harvest here too. It's on my blog list so you'll see ours soon.

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  15. Yummy - they look so tempting!
    Great shots!

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