LAWRENCE: Warm summer brings apples out early

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   Take one warm winter, add one hot summer and the result? An early apple harvest season, according to apple growers in Lawrence and Chesterfield townships.
   While the first apples usually are not ready to be picked until September, Terhune Orchards in Lawrence and Orchard Lane Farm in Chesterfield are gearing up to begin harvesting operations in the next week or so, their owners said.
   Terhune Orchards, which is located on Cold Soil Road in Lawrence, is planning to launch its pick-your-own operation Saturday, said co-owner Gary Mount. The pick-your-own orchard is on Van Kirk Road.
   In Chesterfield Township, the MacIntosh apples are just about ready to be picked, said Marilyn Russo of Orchard Lane Farm. The apples — which are the first variety to be mature at the farm — are about a week or so early, Ms. Russo said.
   ”The warm winter meant bloom time on the apple trees came a little bit earlier,” Mr. Mount explained. “It’s been pretty hot (this summer). That combination puts the harvest a couple of weeks ahead. It has been the same with the peaches. (The harvest) was a couple of weeks early.”
   ”You know when the flowers come out early, you know you will have an early harvest,” he said. “Each flower on a fruit tree makes fruit. Once the flower gets pollinated by a bee, it makes apples. If you have flowers on a tree in April, you hope it doesn’t get too cold and freeze the flowers. They are tender.”
   Ms. Russo, whose farm is on Extonville Road in Chesterfield Township, agreed with Mr. Mount that the pollination of the flowers is key. If the flowers are not pollinated, there won’t be any apples.
   It is also vital that the trees receive enough rain, she said, and that’s why Orchard Lane Farm has set up an irrigation system.
   The warm weather might have affected the timing of the harvest, but it has not had much impact on the size of the apples or the yield, Mr. Mount said. The number of apples on a tree has a greater effect on the size of the apples — the more apples on the tree, the smaller the size of the apple, he said.
   That’s why farmers pick some of the apples when the fruit is still small and green, Mr. Mount said. Farmers aim to grow a medium number of apples, and removing the smaller ones is one way to ensure the number of apples.
   ”The apples are a pretty good size this season,” he said. “They are about normal size. The yield is just a little bit early. When you look at the trees year after year, you get a sense if the yield will be normal, heavy or light.”
   Nevertheless, the unusual weather has not had much effect on the length of the harvest season.
   Different varieties of apples are ready at different times, Ms. Russo said. The MacIntosh apples are “about on time,” she said, but Granny Smith typically are ready toward the end of October.