A Little History...
Apples have influenced society in more ways than just for food. Throughout history, apples have been used to symbolize human emotions and temptations through religion, mythology and folktales. Love, beauty, health, passion, knowledge, immortality, sexuality, pleasure and wealth have all been linked to apples.

Apples are members of the Rose family. It is believed they were the first fruit tree cultivated and many historians believe Romans were the first to plant and harvest this fruit and that its roots in Southwestern Asia. Without cultivation, apples might have remained an inedible, sour fruit  filled mostly with seeds like its wild ancestors.

When Colonists came to America, they brought seeds and cuttings from English apples along with bees for pollination. Planting apple orchards was among the first tasks they undertook. Apples became very important and many methods for preserving them were developed.


Apple Today
Today, apples are still one of the largest cultivated fruits in the world with about 130 billion pounds per year produced worldwide in 91 countries. In the United States, 35 states produce apples with Michigan being the nation's third largest producer. About 37,000 acres are used for apple production, with the majority of farms covering less than 200 acres, and 950 apple growers living and working in regions near Lake Michigan and along the western part of the state. Located a few miles northwest of Grand Rapids is an area known as the Fruit Ridge.

And this is where my story begins...

A small farm orchard from distance

Apple harvest begins in mid-August and continues throughout October. Why so long? Because different varieties of apples ripen at different times. In Michigan, October is apple cider month. Cider starts appearing in stores in late August and continues through to December, but, for the best cider, you want October cider. Why? By then, most variety of apples have been harvested and a lot of those varieties are in the cider. The result is a balanced, distinctive cider taste that's not too tart and not overly sweet. Early cider is quite tart and borders on sour. Late cider is quite sweet and, sometimes, has an almost rotting apple taste because the apple that went into it were old. 

Picking apples is one area modern technology has yet to master. Apples have to be hand-picked to prevent bruising. Most growers hire seasonal workers to harvest the crop.

crates out in the orchard to put the harvested apples in

Apples are picked and carefully placed in bins which are loaded by a tractor with a fork lift onto a wagon/truck. They are sold on the farm or transported to storage. Bins of apples are stored either in short-term refrigerated storage or long-term controlled atmosphere storage rooms  which is sealed, oxygen level is reduced and the temperature kept below 38 degrees F. By removing the oxygen, the apple is "put to sleep" and ripening stops. This is how we can enjoy "fresh" apples year-round.

apple bins brought in from the field


At this orchard, you buy a bag and fill it with which
ever kind(s) you like...directly from the bins!

Many of the family-owned and operated farms are in their third or fourth generations.

This is Hunter. He's the "guard dog" at Klein & Sons


These goats are atop a high platform they climb to. One must put a quarter in a feed machine (kinda like a gumball machine) and put the feed in a little metal cup attached to a conveyor strap. Then ya turn a crank really fast so the strap with the cup on it goes up and feed the goats. Look at the anticipation. One goat was actually licking his lips


One the parking area is full, only place left to park is out in the orchard.


Giant apple measure yourself photo op


Forget what you've seen in Charlie Brown cartoons, this is what a pumpkin patch
really looks like in October. At the end of the growing season, the vines puts all their
life energy (qi?) into the fruit (the pumpkin) and died.




Country Basket's store. Lots o' goodies in there. They will even sell you dog treats
to give to their dog! The owner said people kept asking so he started selling them.


random goat


The market at Hill Brothers. They use to see cider slush. That's like a 7-11 Slurpie
only made from 100% apple cider. It was amazing *sigh* They didn't sell it this year  
But, I think I talked Mr. & Mrs. Hill into starting to sell it again next year


Hard to tell, but that yellow thing by the barn is one of those giant moodwalk,
inflated jumping thingies for kids. Kinda out of place on a farm but whatever works.


Pumpkin wagon. See the ring on the front? They're embroidery rings.
Each has a price on it. The one that fits around your pumpkin, indicates the price
you'll pay for it.

Curious, what's everyone else paying for pumpkins this year?


This is the same farm with the bouncy moon walk. I always buy lots of little jars of
homemade fruit preserves here--jellies, jams... ummmmm--and friends get the for
Christmas


Boy-child can't resist tractors


Didn't catch this guy's name, but doesn't he have gorgeous eyes?
He's Hunter the watchdog's "brother."


There's truly something for everyone at the orchard markets...


I made the mistake of saying out loud, "I wonder what all the step ladders are for?"



The one that's missing? It was in my hand when this pic was taken