Thursday, July 24, 2014

Orchard Update

The amount of apples we are seeing at the orchard this year is tremendous and so are the pressures from pests and diseases. 

The wet spring has been an incubator for fungus issues at the orchard this year causing us to see things we have not seen before like Fro-Eyed Leaf Spot, which is present on nearly every tree.  The wetness also fed an outbreak of Secondary Scab in addition to Primary Scab.  Coddling Moth and Plum Curculio are present and affecting a normal amount of apples, but at the moment its tolerable and we are able to deal with it.  We are not complaining, but rather informing you of some of the issues we deal with at apple orchards across Minnesota.  We are thankful to be able to manage such an orchard and enjoy its beauty.



This year we have made sticky traps to catch Apple Maggot and keep them from laying their eggs on the apples. There are a total of 104 traps in the orchard and we hope they are successful, especially for those early apples like State Fair and Sweet 16. 


On another note, the Wealthy apples look amazing! They are already the size of a racquet ball but still have more than a month and a half before they are ripe. These are quite the treat when they come in.



2014 Apple Shares Now Available! Delivery starts in early September, find more details in our most recent Newsletter

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