Post by tailnbone on Sept 16, 2006 12:20:37 GMT -5
Sunny, wet summer leaves growers awash in apples
Saturday, September 16, 2006
John Horton
Plain Dealer Reporter
There's no excuse for falling ill this fall. Why? Let's just say millions of reasons can be found hanging around Ohio apple orchards.
Forecasters anticipate the state's largest apple crop in more than a decade, providing plenty of opportunity to keep the doctor away. Production is expected to reach 2.5 million bushels, said Bill Dodd, general manager of the Fruit Growers Marketing Association.
That's a harvest large enough to provide roughly 21 apples to every man, woman and child in Ohio.
"There are apples all over," said Bill Gammie, who oversees 130 acres at Quarry Hill Orchards outside of Berlin Heights in Erie County. "They're practically growing on the fence posts."
The core reason for the bumper crop? Weather. Apple trees soaked up the summer rains and sunshine, resulting in plumper-than-normal fruit. Picking of fall varieties recently began, and the plucking won't stop until the end of October or early November.
This makes consecutive above-average years for Ohio's 150 growers, and the best single season since 1995's haul of 2.8 million bushels. Apples represent the state's largest fruit crop. The value of this year's harvest may surpass $30 million, Dodd said.
;D
Everything seems to be yielding quite well this year. Pears, plums.....acorns are good size and plenty of them too. The deer will have plenty to eat this season. I've seen cornfields that gotta go 10' tall and soybean fields 4' tall in some places.
Lets just hope the farmers have an early harvest.....atleast before the second week of November.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
John Horton
Plain Dealer Reporter
There's no excuse for falling ill this fall. Why? Let's just say millions of reasons can be found hanging around Ohio apple orchards.
Forecasters anticipate the state's largest apple crop in more than a decade, providing plenty of opportunity to keep the doctor away. Production is expected to reach 2.5 million bushels, said Bill Dodd, general manager of the Fruit Growers Marketing Association.
That's a harvest large enough to provide roughly 21 apples to every man, woman and child in Ohio.
"There are apples all over," said Bill Gammie, who oversees 130 acres at Quarry Hill Orchards outside of Berlin Heights in Erie County. "They're practically growing on the fence posts."
The core reason for the bumper crop? Weather. Apple trees soaked up the summer rains and sunshine, resulting in plumper-than-normal fruit. Picking of fall varieties recently began, and the plucking won't stop until the end of October or early November.
This makes consecutive above-average years for Ohio's 150 growers, and the best single season since 1995's haul of 2.8 million bushels. Apples represent the state's largest fruit crop. The value of this year's harvest may surpass $30 million, Dodd said.
;D
Everything seems to be yielding quite well this year. Pears, plums.....acorns are good size and plenty of them too. The deer will have plenty to eat this season. I've seen cornfields that gotta go 10' tall and soybean fields 4' tall in some places.
Lets just hope the farmers have an early harvest.....atleast before the second week of November.
