Time has slipped away! We’ve made it through another harvest season and now trying to get back into a writer’s mode. Lots of good intentions but as previously stated, time slipped away.
We are currently digging out from 5 inches of snow and experiencing zero temperature. Wow, winter is here. With winter temperatures, the trees become dormant or maybe a better analogy, a deep sleep. Apple trees turn a deep gray in color when they attain dormancy. With dormancy comes our next challenge and that is annual pruning. When these cold temperatures become somewhat more moderate the pruning equipment will be taken out to the orchards and work will begin. We consider pruning as the beginning of another season and so another season will soon be underway.
We had a good harvest season with a bountiful crop of produce. Peaches were not as productive as other years but we did have a limited crop to offer to our customers. Apples, however, were very good in quantity, appearance and flavor. Both the peaches and apples had great flavors this season. We were blessed as some of the area orchards were damaged by a late Spring freeze.
The time period between the last days of apple sales and the beginning of pruning is spent repairing and putting equipment in storage, orchard cleanup, taking soil samples, applying fertilizer and any other odds and ends that arise. We try to organize and inventory supplies and get an assessment of what worked and what didn’t work so well in our business. Even small family businesses have to evaluate and make improvements to survive.
We are in the process of developing new plans for the orchards. Removing older trees and replacing those trees with plantings of more popular varieties, ways to reduce herbicide usage and improving marketing strategies are just a few of the areas we are concentrating.
Hopefully, 2026 will find me more focused in my postings. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.