Ok, So I am a Bit Obsessed with the Apple Trees

 

Some, including every staff member over the last eight seasons, get concerned with my seeming obsession with the Rushton Apple Trees. This comes from some time spent at the

Santa Cruz apple trees- slightly different environment

University of Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS). My brother Aaron introduced me to professor and noted orchard specialist Orin Martin. Orin was a well regarded New England apple grower who had fled the cold climes of New England to the arid climate of North Cali.

Orin Martin Holding Court in Chadwick Gardens (Aaron de Long on left)

I spent the month of January conversing with him and learning about growing apples and tending trees. At the end of my training he informed me that growing apples in our SE PA climate is incredibly difficult and I might want to stick to growing summer veggies instead. Challenge understood. A year later Rushton Farm was started and Aaron and I planted a dozen apple trees before the first crops were even planted.

Ok, so this is technically a peach orchard in Vermont but I dare not make this pose until the apples are harvested

Seven Years Later- 2014. Brother Aaron is picking apples in Vermont, Brother Eric is picking apples in upstate New York and Brother Fred is staring at barren trees with the laughter of Orin rattling in my head.

 

What a difference a year makes. 2015 and the trees are loaded. They look beautiful and bright but they still need a couple of weeks to "get their sugar up". That is where the paranoia sets in. The Wait. Fred is beginning to see deer in the shadows waiting to steel his hard earned efforts. He is imagining staff members picking apples before they are ripe (been done before). He is not entirely unsure CSA members are not plotting to rush the trees on pick up days. He is thinking of sleeping in the fields to ensure the harvest (been done before in protection of The Great Pumpkin of 2003- another story for another time).

In the Gloaming

In all sincerity the challenges I faced farming in my early days have faded and I have relished the challenge of growing organic apples. Honestly with a hundred families I am expecting the share might only be two apples but you can rest assured they will be the best damn organic apples you have ever had from conserved land in Willistown. Look for them in two weeks.

 

Seasonality; Changes in the Field

 

We have arrived at Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer, and while it may still be blistering hot with smothering humidity we are seeing changes in the crops we harvest. The zucchini and eggplant that have graced the shares since June are fading fast as the tomatoes make a valiant push to keep producing into September. Watermelon will make a big appearance in the share this week with two varieties being offered but after that the "fruit of summer" will be gone. We are harvesting the last of the green beans this week as well with hopes for a significant quantity in the share.

 

While we see the summer crops disappearing from the field our fall crops are coming on fast. Red Bliss potatoes will be in the share this week thanks to staff member Todd Alleger and his desire for Labor Day potato salad. The fall greens will begin as well with a hearty harvest of arugula. The summer watermelon may be waning but the pick your own raspberry crop is ready to be picked. Our fall root crops are looking good with carrots coming within the next two weeks. We also have winter squash, turnips, salad mix, radishes and beets on the way with leeks, broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts looking good for October.

 

As you visit the farm to pick up your share take a look around to see the quiet changes taking place. The lower fields have been opened to harvest red bliss (red), yellow fin (white) and Magic Molly (blue) potatoes. The okra blossoms and sunflowers are reaching high to capture the fading summer light as the first crop of Rushton apples weigh down branches and glisten in the gloaming. The flowers are blooming like mad in a desperate attempt to finish with a flurry before the cool winds of fall slowly shut them down. Around Willistown the upcoming weeks will represent a chaotic time with people returning from vacation, school starting and the "fall social scene" starting up. At Rushton Farm all is quiet and calm as we saunter through the end of summer towards the cool colorful respite of autumn.

-Fred