One thing we’re always excited about at Fair Oaks Farms is for the apple picking in late August, September and October. Nothing is better than spending a crisp fall day in the Orchard picking Honeycrisp apples with friends and family. This past Harvest Season, we had seven apple varieties available to pick, which each apple had its own distinct flavor, texture, and crunch! This year, we’re excited to say that we will plant more apple trees to continue with this yearly tradition of picking your own apples in our Orchard!

Planning to Plant Starts in the Fall Season

Casey is our Orchard Manager, and Casey oversees the crops that are planted around our campus for the fall season, including the apple trees in our Orchard. Every year, Casey makes sure that our apple trees are planted correctly, are growing appropriately, and are given the correct amount of nutrients and water throughout the seasons. For this spring, Casey is planning to plant 350 more apple trees, which include: Crimson Crisp, Evercrisp, Ludacrisp, Rosalee, Jonagold, and Sweet Zinger! We asked Casey a few questions about how he plants and grows the apple trees in our Orchard to lead to success, and Casey first mentions that planting these trees actually starts in the fall before the spring planting season:

“The fall before we plan on planting trees, the two tasks we like to get done are setting up the support system and running our irrigation line.”

Doing these tasks makes sure that our apple trees have enough support to grow upright and strong. Having an irrigation line set-up helps the tree receive an adequate amount of water during the most crucial moments of the tree’s life.

Adding Trees, Not Apple Seeds, to Our Orchard

When the spring arrives, Casey and his team are ready to plant the apple trees, which are already partially grown. We receive our trees from another grower, and we don’t start with planting the apple seeds. This is because apple seedlings need constant care within a nursery to receive a strong start in growing and to be able to withstand heavy environmental conditions when transferred to another orchard. When we receive the partially grown apple trees, Casey explains the process of how him and his team plant the trees into the ground:

“We will dig a hole next to our support post that is wide and deep enough, so that the root system is not bundled or bunched up when we back fill the hole. After all the hard work is done, our last step in our planting process is to go back through and tie all our trees to the support post.”

Keeping the Trees Growing

After everything is planted, there are a few things that Casey monitors and manages on the new trees as they continue to grow:

“In the early stages of the tree’s life cycle these two things we like to keep an eye on, and they are going to be irrigation and nutrients. So, my first tool to help with this is our Orchard well that irrigates the whole Orchard. That’s why we have our irrigation ready at the time of planting, so the second our trees need water, we can supply it to them. My second tool is a 200gal water tank with a pump that goes in the back of a Gator. This is a great tool that we can mix fertilizers in and individually give water and fertilizer to each tree.”

Within a few years, these small apple trees will bear fruit that is ready to be picked and enjoyed by you! But for now, we still have plenty of apple trees in our Orchard that already have apples ready for you and your family during the fall season. Get ready to join us in late-August to pick your own apples and try varieties like our sweet-tart flavored Honeycrisp apples, or our Cameo apples that have nuances of honey and citrus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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