Old Varieties Boost Business At Apple Orchard

Old Varieties Boost Business At Apple Orchard SPECIALTY/SERVICES Specialty/Services 28-3-7 There are many good reasons why commercial apple growers switched away from the old apple varieties. They can be difficult to grow, store and ship. But what, unfortunately, was lost was outstanding flavor and texture. Louis Lego decided to go back to the heirloom varieties and, as a result, his orchard business is thriving. "There are so many different varieties with so many different flavors," explains Lego, co-owner of Elderberry Pond Farm, Auburn, N.Y. "New York once had hundreds of varieties." Elderberry Pond Farm is a 100-acre farm producing organic fruit, vegetables and flowers for sale at the farm and at local farmers' markets. While some new apple varieties are raised, the marketing niche Lego has carved out centers on the older ones. Some of Lego's favorites include the Spitzenberg, which was introduced from France by Thomas Jefferson, and Cox's Orange Pippin and the Caville Blanc. "The Spitzenberg has a very strong flavor, but many of our customers get hooked on it," says Lego. "Cox's Orange Pippin apples were developed just for cider. We make an heirloom blend that is just extraordinary, like a nectar almost." Caville Blanc is a French baking apple that Lego admits "tastes pretty bad before it is stored. Store it for six or seven months, and it changes color and taste and then bakes up creamy and smooth, almost unlike an apple." Selling heirloom apples is an education process, warns Lego. He points out that people have to taste the varieties for themselves. "It takes a long time to get people to try apples they haven't heard of," he says. "People are trained to look for Red Delicious, and these heirlooms may be either flat or conical and have a russet color or a thick skin." Growing heirlooms is also a learning process. Golden Russets that Lego planted early on were green and bitter when they started bearing fruit. He cut down most of them and regrets it today. "It took ten years for the trees to mature, and now the fruit is just wonderful," he says. "I wish I still had every one I cut." Lego advises talking to university specialists about regional sources and looking for old books on apple production. One of his favorite sources for trees is Southmeadow Gardens in Michigan. (www.southmeadowfruitgardens.com; ph 269 422-2411). Their catalog supplies a history of each variety. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Louis Lego, 3728 Center St. Rd., Auburn, N.Y. 13021 (ph 315 252-3977; email: llego@baldcom.net).

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