The apples are falling off the trees due to the dry conditions. But there will be plenty of produce to pick from inside without making a trip into the orchard yourself. Most commercial orchards offer related apple products such as cider, jellies and pies for the public to buy, as well as combining the fall harvest of pumpkins, squash, and gourds with the apple harvest. Spring and summer vegetables and seasonal fruits like strawberries, grapes, and raspberries keep an orchard in business all summer long until the apples are ready for harvest in September and October. Packaging and selling fruit boxes mixed with jams and jellies keep the orchards busy through Christmas.
Homemade pies are also popular with the public.
The winter months are spent pruning the trees and planning for the following year. For Patrick Garrity, part of that planning involves anticipating how the public's taste buds will change. When we planted our trees in 1984, the most popular apple was Granny Smith, a tart apple. When it came time to harvest six years later, it changed to Fuji, a sweet apple from Japan. You have to look in a crystal ball and see what people will buy 10 years from now.