The Apple Orchard
...Where Freshness Begins
Our orchard is made up of 1200 trees on 5 acres. Most of the trees are on semi-dwarf rootstock and grow 8 - 10 feet high, providing lots of apples within easy reach for pick-your-own visitors of all ages.
The trees range in age from 3 to 40 years, and there are even 6 big old standard trees near the Rideau Canal that were planted in the 1940's! Each year, we interplant young trees to replace older ones that are no longer healthy and productive.
We use no herbicides under the trees, and we continue to refine and reduce our pesticide and fungicide spray program with various strategies:
- Following Integrated Pest Management
- Using an organic product "Surround WP" in several orchard sections
- Choosing scab-resistant apple cultivars for replacement trees.
We have over 12 varieties of apples on mature fruit-bearing trees, and several more coming when our younger trees start to produce. The varieties ripen at different times from August through October and each has its own special flavour and appeal. We are also proud to offer some unique heritage varieties that are no longer easy to find.
In addition to the apple orchard, we have enhanced our farm's beneficial management practices through participation in the Canada-Ontario Environmental Farm Plan. Projects completed to date include planting spruce trees as shelterbelt, constructing a farm pond for water management and irrigation, and land improvements to enhance wildlife biodiversity.
2010 Harvest Starts!
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Early apples are ready, and we have farm-grown new potatoes too! Pick-Your-Own apples will start Labour Day weekend and this year you can also pick your own pumpkin from our new "Pumpkin Hill". Don't forget to mark your calendars for our 2nd Annual AppleFest Harvest kick-off and United Way Fundraiser Labour Day weekend on Sunday September 5th 2010!
Read about AppleFest.