Apple growers see good harvest

Ran on Saturday, August 25, 2007

Apple growers see good harvest

By Keighla Schmidt
Leader-telegram Staff

Rejoice fruit lovers and pie makers: Apple season has arrived.

Early season apples are being harvested and are ready to eat. Many orchards throughout the Chippewa Valley get business rolling Labor Day weekend.

Eau Claire Orchards, 6470 Balsam Road, will begin all-day events Sept. 1.

Todd Kimball from Eau Claire Orchards said the orchard is family oriented and focused on "agri-tainment," a hybrid of agriculture and entertainment.

The 12,000-tree, 400-acre orchard has a corn maze, an apple sling shot aimed at a target where apples reach speeds as high as 75 mph, an apple train with wagons made of apple-picking bins, pumpkin bowling and, closer to Halloween, a haunted house.

"We think it's important people bring the family out," Kimball said. "We try to make it kid friendly."

Having two sons of his own, Brandon, 10, and Trent, 4, Kimball and his wife, Amanda, see the impact the orchard has on children.

"The whole orchard experience should be a family experience," Todd Kimball said.

The Fall Creek family has been involved with the orchards for 11 years. This year, the early summer weather looked as if it may be hard on the crops, but the recent wet, cooler weather has helped considerably, Todd Kimball said.

"A drought is rough on any crop; apples are the same," he said. "But we got enough rain when it was needed most."

There are about 20 varieties of apple trees in the orchard. Some of the early season varieties, such as Paula Red, Redfree and Zestar, may be slightly smaller, but not significantly.

Other varieties, such as Mcintosh, Cortland and the coveted Honeycrisp, are harvested later in the season and are on track to be of normal size, Todd Kimball said.

He said the Honeycrisp, an apple genetically engineered at the University or Minnesota, has been gaining popularity for about six years. Of the orchard's 12,000 trees, 5,000 are Honeycrisp and Zestar varieties.

The early season variety, the Zestar, is engineered and tastes similar to the Honeycrisp. It's just harvested a few weeks earlier, Todd Kimball said.

"People just love to eat 'em," he said.

The sweetness of Honeycrisp means they don't require much sugar if made into pies. It will be available later in September.