The season is underway and as it has been the last few years, the weather is playing with us.....again. Under normal circumstances, the trees usually are blooming this weekend.  Right now, they are about 1-2 weeks away from that happening.  The picture I put up is of a Chestnut Crab which is usually the first to bloom each year.  As you can see, they are getting close, but still a week or better from bloom.  I will put up some pictures of the trees when they are in full bloom, as it is quite the site to see.  The bees will be in heaven when it happens.
  The bees are also doing there best and I'm always amazed at how they are able to find pollen, but then that's what they do.  Trees that should have bloomed a month ago are just now blooming.  Maple and oak trees. are what they are finding now.  I planted about an acre of wild flowers and between that, the apples and the dandelions which are about to pop, the bees should be fine.  Lets hope and pray that this summer will be a more normal one and that the rain will happen more like it should.  If all goes well, we will have a good crop this fall.  Fingers crossed and here's hooping!

Frost, Heat and Drought have caused the Perfect Storm and because of that we will not have apples this fall!
  1st.  Frost and Freezing Temps.
  Very warm temps in early April were a lot higher than they should have been both North and South. Huge temperature swings caused many orchards to have frost damage and loose the majority of their crop.
  2nd.  90 degree Heat
  Our trees are not programmed to have this type of heat in April and early May.
  3rd.  Drought We started spring with very dry conditions and have had very little if any rain.
  Perfect Storm
  We thought we were going to have one of the best crops we have had in quite a while.  The trees had an easy winter and were loaded with fruit spurs which leads to more blossoms than you can imagine.  Look at my last post both here and on Facebook and you will know what I mean.  The bees were in heaven!
  Now as of early June the trees have decided that they needed to save themselves so they aborted the majority of the fruit.  This has happened in both the Northern and Southern parts of the states.  After checking with several other orchards in different parts of the state I can tell you that this is what's happening.  Some of this info has come from other orchards too.  After checking our orchard the last few days, I found about 2 dozen apples on almost 400 trees.  I may have missed a few but you get the idea.  Our orchard is also irrigated but the I intense heat and lack of moisture is really hard on them.  The bees also need the rain.  Most of the flowers that should be blooming right now are not because it is so dry.  Lets all keep our finger crossed that things will get better.  A good rain would help us all.  Maybe when fall gets here we will have a decent honey crop.  Heres being hopeful and thankful!

And just like that, the bloom is done!  In a normal year, the bloom lasts 10 days to 2 weeks.  This year, it was over in less than a week.  Thinking back, we had temps in the high 70's in early April followed by the low 20's a week or so later.  Thats really hard on apple trees.  Once the buds begin to wake up, low temps like that kills them.  It doesn't hurt the tree, kit just means there wont be any fruit this year on those trees or very little.  The early varieties seemed to have done well.  The later ones...McIntosh, Sweet Sixteen, Haralson and Honey Crisp got hit pretty hard.  They call that farming!   At any rate, Im happy to get what we will get and large or small, we will have a good crop in the end.  The bees are also doing well and between the apples and dandelions, they are as happy as can be.  It wont be too long and the clover will start to show up a nd that makes some awfully good honey!  Right now we need some sunshine and a little rain and everything will work out.  In a couple weeks the apples will be about the size of a nickel and I'll be able to get a better look at the crop as a whole.  I'll keep you posted!

Its been a while since I updated this so I thought today would be a good time.  Right now the orchard is about 2 weeks or so from full bloom.  We need warmer weather and a little rain would also help.  The last 2 years have been a challenge to say the least.  Last year we had a hard frost on Memorial Day weekend and the year before that had a hard frost on June 6th.  Both of those took out quite a bit of our apples.  I would like to see a more normal spring.  But then wouldn't we all!
  Right now the trees are at what's called a tight cluster.  The flowers are beginning to show themselves.  When that happens we need the temps to stay above 28.  Bloom usually happens around the fishing opener, but as I said it hasn't been that way the last couple years.  Maybe this year it will be or soon after.  I'll keep my fingers crossed!
  The bees also had a hard winter and my new bees showed up yesterday.  The ones that made it through the winter are already leaps ahead of the rest.  You can see all the pollen they are bringing in.  The next major source of pollen will be the dandelions and then the apple trees.   When the orchard is in full bloom and the bees are working the trees, its quite the sight.  I can almost taste the honey now!  Heres hoping it turns out to be a bit more normal this spring!  I'll keep you posted.

And just like that, another year has come and gone in the orchard! Seems like we just started picking a few days ago.  If I had to rate this year, I would give it about a 7.  The weather has been odd and a challenge to say the least the last 2 years.  But we have still managed to put up a decent crop of both apples and honey.  There is always a positive, you just have to look for it!  The trees are already setting their buds for next year so if we have a more normal spring, then the trees should do fine.  I want to thank all of you who came out to the orchard this fall and also apologize to those of you who came out only to find out we had sold out already.  In a normal year, the orchard would have made it another week or 2 but this year it was not to be.  So thank you to all of you again and we will see you next fall!!

With a hard frost on the way we made the decision that this Saturday will be our last day of the season.  We will be open from 10-5 on Saturday or until we sell out.  We will. have Haralson and Snow Sweet. We will also have seconds for those of you who want to make pies or apple sauce.  We will also have one last batch of cider.  So if you want some, don't wait too long.  We will have honey too.
  With colder temps on the horizon, we decided to pick the last 20 or so trees because I don't want them to freeze.  The weather has played an interesting role this year and you just have to go with the flow.  Usually we make it a couple more weeks but not this year.  I feel very fortunate to have had the crop we did, even with all the weird weather.  But the weekend looks to be nice so stop out and have a hot cup of cider and enjoy our nice fall weather!  See you this Saturday!!

Yesterday was a very busy day in the orchard and because of that we are making some changes today.  The orchard will be open from noon-3 today, Sunday.  We may close even earlier if we are busy again like yesterday...just a heads up.  We picked a lot of apples yesterday and because of that we will have less available today.  We will have Haralred and Haralson and a few McIntosh today.  We will also have seconds available for those of you who want some.  It also looks like some rain will be headed our way...again, which is another reason for the change of hours.  Thank you to all who came out yesterday and picked!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
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The time has arrived for what some of you have been waiting for. The Honey Crisp are ready.  Just so you know, the supply is limited this year but we will also have some seconds of these as well.  This weekend we will also be picking Haralred/Haralson, Frostbite and a few McIntosh that survived the frost.  We also have a good supply of seconds for those of you that want to make apple sauce or apple pies or apple crisp.  They aren't as pretty but they taste just as good.  If you want to pick your own, the Haralred/Haralson will be available for that.  We also will have both Apple Cider and Honey.  There are just a couple weekends left so this might be a good one to come out and enjoy a nice fall day outside and away from all the hustle and bustle.  We were very lucky to have a decent crop this year and are also glad to get to share it with you.  We will be open both Saturday and Sunday this weekend unless we sell out early, so we will see you this weekend!!

Fall has arrived and for me that's the best time of the year!  The orchard will be closed this weekend and will re-open next weekend.  As I have said a few times already, the late frost we had this spring took out about 40% of our crop and that is why we will be closed.  More specifically, the frost took out most of our mid-season apples.  Sweet sixteen, McIntosh, Snow Sweet and about 2/3 of our Honey Crisp were the ones that had the most damage.  When you grow just about anything, you learn to go with the flow and that's what we are doing.  I will make do with whatever is dealt to us!
  On a brighter note, next weekend we will have Honey Crisp, Frost Bite and the start of the Haralson/ Haralred.  All are good in there own right.  In almost 20 years of growing apples I have learned to enjoy what we have not how much we have and this year is exactly what I mean!  In case your curious, the pictures are of Haralson, Frost Bite and Honey Crisp.   Next weekend the apples will be ready and we will also have some hot cider to go with it!

We are almost at the mid-way point of our season.  As I mentioned in previous posts, the orchard had severe frost damage in late May and because of that, our crop is not what we would like it to be.  That being said, we will be open on Saturdays only the next 2 weekends.  This weekend is not a total loss.  We will have Zestar, Goodland and Prairie Magic this Saturday.  The Prairie Magic will have a limited crop because of the frost but I think there is a trees worth so there will be a few bags.  We should also have some seconds and we will  have both cider and honey!  Also, in about 2 weeks, the Honey Crisp should be ready  If the Honey Crisp should be ready early, I will let you know.  Just keep checking back here. The positive in all this is that we do have apples!!!  Maybe not as many as we would like but enough.  I can make do with whatever we are given. See you on  Saturday.