There’s something about picking fruit directly off the tree. When I was completing a permaculture internship at a community called Wind Spirit, we ate so many citrus that our tongues started to hurt from the acidity. It’s been posited that ripe fruit, eaten directly off the tree is higher in antioxidants than food that is picked prematurely, ripened artificially, often sprayed with chemicals and transported in trucks. As always, there are many in-between options available: buying local and organic fruit directly from the farmer’s market is certainly an option. But nothing beats harvesting it yourself if you have the opportunity.
It was with this idea in mind that I joined a bunch of friends in a local community group to harvest apples and pears at Apple Annie’s Orchard in Willcox. More than 7,500 apple cultivars have been identified, though over half of commerically sold US apples are grown in the state of Washington. We actually buy a lot of apples shipped from New Zealand, a practice that makes little sense to me since they grow right here.
Golden Delicious, Red Delicious and Granny Smith apples were aplenty, though the specific varieties are available only when ripe. I looked at Apple Annie’s harvest calendar before the trip, though of course Mother Nature doesn’t follow a strict schedule but only approximations. The pears were also delicious, with trees sporting Asian varieties I had never even tasted. It astounds me that there are so many cultivars available that are unknown to the public, and yet people feel the need to artificially create new variations through genetic engineering. But that is a different rant for a different day.
Apple Annie’s Orchard, like many of those around the country, is especially suited for children. They teach lessons on seasons, pollination, water usage, pest control and harvest for groups of lucky students on field treats, and then the students are in for a treat– taking a wagon ride to the orchard and picking apples.
If you’d like to find an orchard near you, All About Apples has a list of them. Enjoy the harvest!
