Organic Apples

As the saying goes, an apple a day keeps the doctor away.  But if that apple has been sprayed with aggressive chemicals and pesticides, it may be more of a danger than a healthy fruit!

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The process of growing apples is very complex.  Apple growers need several different types of trees to cross-pollinate each other and grow together.  This can make it very difficult for small farmers and apple growers to successfully raise an apple orchard, because of the extensive amount of pruning and care.  The farm I grew up working on was also an apple orchard and every fall the owners spent countless hours cutting back limbs, mowing grass in perfect patterns around the trees, and controlling the bees that were pollinating the apples.

http://www.kuipersfamilyfarm.com/blog/tag/apple-orchard/

Since apples are so sensitive to weather, insects and many other factors, chemicals have been developed to keep them looking ideal while still ripening properly.  Many of the chemicals used in the past have been found to cause cancer in humans, and thus been removed from the market.  The American idea that produce has to be physically perfect in every way and accessible every day of the year has demanded that chemicals essentially shape the way fruit grows.  In my opinion these techniques create apples that look too perfect.

http://cooklearngrow.com/2011/11/an-apple-a-day-keeps-the-doctor-away/

But this doesn't have to be the way.  There are many different organically-created sprays and techniques for maintaining a healthy apple crop.  There are "safe" chemicals that can be sprayed on the trees that do not harm the crop or the environment.  There are also pollination techniques that don't require chemicals at all, such as releasing a swarm of bees at the right time to pollinate the fruit so that it can grow on its own, without the forced control of a chemical.  These techniques are time-consuming and are certainly easier to do with a smaller orchard, but can avoid all of the dangers that come from the mass-produced orchard pesticide spraying and growth control.

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This picture is of Adam's Apple Orchard in Williston, Vermont!