Apples

We grow 27 acres of apples in 3 orchard sites. We grow over 30 different cultivars of apples, with harvest dates ranging from mid-July through mid-November. Our goal is to produce high quality, flavourful apples for specialty markets that appreciate good eating apples.

Our main cultivars are Empire, Gala, Red & Golden Delicious, Mutsu (Crispin) and Idared. We are learning how to grow some exciting "new" cultivars like Gingergold, Sunrise, Jonagold, Fuji and Braeburn. Our customers like the great flavour and eating quality of these new apples, especially fresh from our trees.

We grow a small test orchard of new cultivars, some of which have not yet been named by their breeders. Look for numbered selections like 9P-15-30 to try a new flavour of apples. Last year, we added a few more trees to our test orchard: Redcort and Northern Spy on dwarf rootstock to try in our warm climate.

We use intensive tree management techniques like dwarfing rootstocks, support for trees, high density plantings, crop load management, and twice yearly pruning to encourage our trees to produce good crops of large apples. We learned about the Solaxe training system at Apple School in 1997, and are quite enthused about training our trees this way.

We use Integrated Pest Management techniques to keep our apples free of pest damage. We scout our orchard each week, looking for both beneficial and problem insects. This allows us to only spray when needed. We use computer based programs to predict disease problems, and minimize fungicide use. We have even purchased beneficial insects to "seed" in our trees to control pests. When pest controls are needed, we choose pesticides that preserve our beneficials with the least effect on our environment, and apply them at the lowest rates possible in our dwarf trees.

Growing apples is a year-round job: pruning from January to April, fertilizing in March & April, planting new trees in April, bees in for bloom in May, controlling spring diseases & insects through June, mowing grass from May to October, thinning fruit in May and July, training new trees from June to August, and then Harvest! Our busiest harvest season is September and October. Then we spend a few weeks cleaning up the orchard, catching up on bookwork and fixing up our machinery. We celebrate Christmas and start over!

For more information on apples:

See our Recipe File
Foodland Ontario Produce Facts - Apples
British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Food Apple page
Michigan Apple Committee

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