This last weekend, Big Ag and I dedicated some time and energy towards our future apple pies by heading over to the lovely next-door town of Templeton to visit a U-pick apple farm. We got an empty box from Carolyn, the owner, and headed out into her small, well-pruned and heavily bearing orchard to pick our fill of Granny Smith apples.
With assertive pruning, an apple tree can be only around 6 feet tall, perfect for gathering apples with ease. While it's tempting to think that a larger tree will bear more apples, when the apples are 12 feet off the ground they pretty much go to waste, so keeping up with pruning makes sense.
We have three apple trees in our orchard right now -- two Granny Smiths and one heirloom Grimes Golden Delicious, but none of them are old enough to bear any fruit yet. So visiting Carolyn's farm was perfect.
We gathered up 37 pounds of apples, paid for them, and brought them home. Now they sit in their box and wait until I have time to get the canner fired up and process them into apple pie filling, at which point they will be stored in the pantry, some for us and some for gifts to friends.
37 pounds! I'm surprised that your apple picking is about a month behind ours here? Maybe it's more to do with variety. Most of our orchards here full of (delicious) Braeburn and honey crisp. I've always said the second I leave the closing for my country property I will be on the way to buy apple trees. I hope that'll be someday soon! I'll be excited to read when your trees begin to produce!
ReplyDeleteOur best apples, apparently, come in November, before the frosts, but late enough that they're nice and sweet. But in October it's still way too hot here, according to the owner of the orchard. I envy you your long apple season!
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