While farmers in the southern and central parts of Maine are assessing the potential damage of this summer’s drought on their apple crops, growers in the northern part of the state are on track for a pretty good harvest.
“I think we’ve had enough rain up here so things are going to be OK,” Angie Wotton of the Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District said. “I know my own personal little orchard looks pretty good, and things look better the farther north you go.”
The County is known more for its annual potato harvest, but Wotton and her fellow orchardists want the Aroostook apple to have its own day in the sun.
Aroostook Apple Day is slated for 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 8 at the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum in Littleton.
“Apples are definitely a growing crop in northern Maine,” Wotton said. “There are a lot of old orchards up here that people are looking to reclaim.”
As part of the event, Wotton said an expert on identifying apples will be on hand and regional apple growers are encouraged to bring any mystery apples they have growing to learn what they are.
“Originally, people did not think we could grow apples up here,” Wotton said. “But that proved to not be the case, and a lot of the later fall varieties that do not do well in other parts of Maine do really well up here.”
Many of the newer apple varieties growing in northern Maine came over the border from New Brunswick, according to Wotton, including Dudley, Duchess and The New Brunswicker.
“We want people to be more aware of the varieties that are out there and what works well here in northern Maine,” Wotton said. “A lot of people want to bring old orchards back into production or start newer trees.”
Aroostook County’s landscape, Wotton said, is dotted with older apple trees that are still viable.
“I saw one the other day in amongst a stand of other trees,” she said. “There was this apple tree, and I thought, ‘I bet that was once part of someone’s little orchard.’”
Workshops throughout the day will cover organic pest and disease management, starting and maintaining apple trees, variety identification and grafting. There also will be workshops devoted to growing pears and plums in colder climates. Participants will have the chance to sample a variety of apples grown in northern Maine and local growers are invited to bring some of their own apples for people to try out.
A press will be available for those wanting to bring some of their own apples to make their own cider.
“There is going to be tons of information for people,” Wotton said. “There are a lot of tools available for people who want to grow apples, and we just want them to be aware of what is out there and hear from people who have been at this for a long time and are a wealth of information.”
