By Peter Collins-Brown
Apple Festivals, like the one Bedford held the last weekend of September, are always fun and tasty events. But this year we probably should have held the festival in early August. Our unusually mild and dry winter had a lot to do with this year’s crop ripening and falling from the trees way ahead of “schedule.” For those of you looking forward to picking locally-grown apples in nearby orchards this year, you may be too late.
The mild winter of 2011-2012 meant an early start to the growing season around Bedford, and with temperatures reaching the high 70’s and low 80’s in mid-March, fruit trees began sprouting and pollinating nearly four weeks early. In spite of a cool spell in early to mid-April, temperatures remained above freezing overnight, so apple blossoms continued to grow, coming to full bloom by late April. The dry spell, which continued through June, stressed the early fruit, and as a result apples ripened quickly under the hot summer sun and many apple orchards around Bedford began seeing fruit that was at full maturity in mid-July.Who thinks to pick apples when the temperatures are near 95°? Many of us in Bedford may go to local orchards this month to find trees that are bare—most of the fruit having been picked and shipped in early August.
So, if most of the local apples have already been harvested, are there any other places in New England to find great apple-picking conditions well into October? Maybe, maybe not.Although last winter was colder and much snowier in northern New England, theearly warmth in March spelled disaster for apple orchards in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.A strong series of cold fronts caused temperatures to plummet to the high teens and low 20’s in early April, freezing the early blossoms on the trees. Right now it is difficult to find many orchards away from the coastline in northern New England that were not in some way damaged by the hard freeze in early April. Many farmers’ markets in northern New England have had to rely on shipments from Michigan and Washington state to supplement their low-yield crops. This is an example of the downside to a mild winter. Early warm spells in March in New England can still be followed by dramatically colder temperatures that last into May, wreaking havoc on local farmers.
Thus, unfortunately, most of the apples locally-grown in and around Bedford have for the most part been picked and shipped. There may be a few orchards to check out in northern areas, but it might be best to call ahead. The time to pick local apples appears to have come and gone before fall has even gotten underway. If we see a more average winter with normal temperatures and snowfall this coming year, then next fall we will be able to pick sweet Macintosh and Cortland apples well into October. As for now, you may want to stick to leaf-peeping.
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