Life Among the Orchards
By “Awake!” correspondent in Canada
LET me act as your host in the orchard country overlooking Okanagan Lake in southern British Columbia, the westernmost province of Canada. It has been said that this is one of the most delightful areas in Canada, located as it is about 280 highway miles east of the metropolis of Vancouver.
The winters here are usually mild and the summers warm and sunny. Spring offers a panorama of fruit trees in blossom, while fall sees the fruitage of the tree and the vine reaped. All of this within sight of a series of lakes that nestle like placid mile-wide rivers between the mountains. These lakes, of which eighty-mile Okanagan is the longest, are the lifeblood of the area. Without irrigation the average rainfall of twelve inches a year would be sufficient only to grow sagebrush and thin trees. But with irrigation many types of fruit are grown. The frost-free season is too short for citrus growth but long enough for cherries, prunes, peaches, pears, apricots and grapes. And it is ideal for apples.
Growers have explained to me why this is one of the finest apple areas in the world. The dry summers, they say, reduce disease, while the usual high average of hours of sunshine during the growing season enhances the production of starches and sugar. Important, too, is the preharvest period of cooler nights. With temperatures often approaching freezing, the apples gain a delightful crispness and depth of color. In fact, the B.C. apple has become well known in many parts of the world as an outstanding product.
I must caution you not to be frightened if our stroll should suddenly be interrupted by a loud bang. It is simply one of the latest devices used to try to increase the cherry harvest. As the cherry is the first fruit to mature in the spring, many birds are eager to add this dessert to their staple fare of grubs and worms. So, you can see, it is not just humans who are anxious for cherries to ripen. As a result, some orchardists have turned to using automatic noisemakers that go off at timed intervals to discourage birds. It is really harmless. But if a number of growers are using them in one area, at times it can sound like a small-scale revolution.
Striving for Quality and Economy
Over there, through the trees, you can see the orchardist. He is driving his tractor, with that big spraying machine, between the rows of trees. He needs quite a bit of specialized equipment even though his orchard is only about twelve acres in size. That is slightly bigger than average, although there are large company holdings of up to 300 acres and more.
While you might feel this would be the ideal life, I can tell you that the orchardist is beset with many problems. Here in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia there are more than 3,000 growers farming 35,000 acres, not including those whose land is too small to register with that of commercial growers. Furthermore, almost everyone else has a few trees in his backyard. For most of the growers, it is difficult to make a good living. Costs of land, machinery and labor are rapidly increasing, while prices for fruit received by the grower are about the same as twenty years ago.
In addition to low prices, another problem that the grower has no control over is the weather. To counter that, he must use good management and common sense. His orchards must become productive enough during the good seasons to “ride out” the storms, both financially and physically.
This particular orchardist we are now watching at work has become more efficient by striving for higher quality along with increased production. He cuts costs by using specialized machinery. Now, instead of hiring labor throughout the season, he needs some extra help only briefly during harvesttime. The rest can be handled by him and his family.
In addition, he has found that, by replanting with a variety of smaller trees, as much as three and four thousand bushels to the acre can be grown. These new varieties allow distances between trees to be reduced drastically. Some have even planted full dwarf trees in rows that appear like hedges about eleven feet apart. One of the problems encountered when the trees get too small, however, is that late spring ground frosts may kill the fruit buds, which, by virtue of the smaller tree, are a lot closer to the ground.
You may have thought, as I once did, that a bigger tree would have a lot more apples on it. But the grower says it just is not so. Additionally, the best fruit is on the outside of the tree where the sun can get at it. The smaller tree has less wasted area inside. Besides, it is so much easier to pick the fruit. In some cases no ladders are needed at all.
Along with smaller trees, growers are turning to new strains that produce a richer color. These bring higher prices. The growers know that a housewife likes to provide her family with fruit that is good-looking as well as good-tasting. Thus, varieties have been developed that fairly sparkle with depth of color. More than fifty different varieties of Red Delicious, for example, are available. Yet that is very few compared to the nearly ten thousand different apple varieties grown throughout the world.
New Methods of Pest Control
I can see that you are quizzical about the spraying done by the orchardist. You are likely concerned about the global charges being made that all sprays have a detrimental effect on the environment. The orchardist has been keeping up-to-date on that too, No longer does he attempt to kill every insect and nurture the fruit in an almost sterilized atmosphere. Interestingly, he has learned that even some so-called “harmful” pests can be of assistance to him. For example, some varieties of mites that appear in the early part of the season are food for other insects that do not harm the tree. Now if these mites are killed by using an insecticide, their predators will also likely be killed or driven away and will not be around to devour other more dangerous varieties that show up later. So, later, another spray would have to be applied. Now growers are getting the same results by not using insecticides at all. They just make sure they have plenty of helpful insects. It saves time and money and shows respect for the ecology too.
This orchardist is spraying nourishment for the trees. He tells me that they try to make up for deficiencies in the soil so as to have healthy trees, which can fight off diseases and harmful insect damage on their own. It has been discovered that this particular area of North America, known as the Interior Dry Belt (which extends south to the orchards of California), is deficient in the mineral boron. Although not fully understanding how and why it works, they know they must add it to this soil about every three years in order to promote healthy growth of the trees.
Another innovation for pest control concerns the codling moth—a notorious apple pest found in all apple-producing countries except Japan and Korea. You have heard of it? Then you know the damage done by the larvae as they bore through the apples. Now, imagine, orchardists here are putting codling moths into their orchards! I can see you are astonished, but it is not as crazy as it seems. You see, the moths that are being introduced are all sterilized males. They go about their lives in a normal manner, competing with normal males for the affection of the female, but no offspring results. The moth population thus dwindles, and all without the dangerous side effects possible from using pesticides. So far the largely experimental program is producing satisfactory results.
Now let me tell you about some of the advantages of living amidst 35,000 acres of fruit orchards.
Benefits from Living Nearby
In this fruit country one learns to recognize the characteristics of different varieties—for example, the Sour Cherry is better for pies, while the Lambert and Bing are larger and sweeter, delightful for fresh eating. Similarly, MacIntosh apples are ideal for juicing, whereas Golden Delicious taste somewhat like pears and are one of the favorites for fresh eating.
Living here, of course, means that we have fresh fruit regularly. We can get it at a reasonable price if we wait for the opportune time. A lot depends on how much we want to do for ourselves. If we want just a little, there is always the convenience of the nearby supermarkets. But we have to be prepared to pay substantially more than if we were to go, in season, directly to the grower. Even then, if the orchardist allowed, we would save more by picking our own. Of course, we would want to be careful not to pick only the fruit easiest to reach nor to damage the tree in any way or we would quickly wear out our welcome.
There are times, too, that much can be had for almost nothing if one is willing to work and is not fussy about getting the top grade. Much hinges on whether you get to know the grower or not. If you have purchased boxes of fruit from him on several occasions and he has come to recognize you as well-mannered and decent, he may agree to let you come into his orchard after the main picking has been completed to gather some of the “windfalls,” the apples that have fallen off the tree to the ground. So, if you choose your time—right after the harvest or a windstorm—you may find that “picking” from the ground is good, and costs next to nothing. After washing, select for storage only those without any cuts or heavy bruises; the rest can be quickly processed and preserved.
Produce Enjoyed All Year Long
Have you ever wondered how it is possible to keep apples all winter long so they still have that “just picked” condition in the spring of the year? Well, it is more than just cold storage. The growers in this region refer to it as CAS (Controlled Atmosphere Storage). Somewhat technical, it basically recognizes that the apple “breathes out” carbon dioxide (CO2), which, together with heat, breaks down the structure of the fruit and makes it soft. So they are stored just above the freezing point (32° F.) in a sealed room that keeps the air “scrubbed” of excessive amounts of carbon dioxide. Of course, this does not work equally well with all varieties. Some have naturally softer “flesh” to begin with and do not stand up to even CAS as long as the Winesap variety.
As with apples, so with grapes. If you become friendly with the farmer, you may sometimes be able to arrange to go into his vineyard after the first frost of fall when there may still be a considerable amount of fruit left on the vines. This makes excellent jams or jellies and, of course, wine.
Say, how would you like to try some of last year’s fruit juice? We’ll stop by a friend’s place. He has a small orchard that he uses primarily for himself, although he does sell some fresh fruit to others. His wife processes and preserves a lot for the family’s use. Let us get her to tell us how she does it.
“We do a lot of our preserving in the usual cooking manner, making jams and jellies. But in our family we all like juices. Here, have a glassful of apple juice. That is one of our favorites. But we also make juice out of prunes, cherries, apricots, peaches, as well as other fruits and vegetables from the garden.
“For most, we find a double boiler, which steams the juice out of the fruit, the best method. However, if we want to make a wine we must add some fresh yeast, as the heat kills all the bacteria. We try to use all the fruit. We even feed the pulp to the chickens and ducks. Or we might mix apple pulp with honey for a wonderful applesauce. But there is not much pulp left when you consider that an apple is about 84 percent juice.
“Here is another of our family’s favorites. Frozen cherries. It is not a fruit that is normally frozen, but we have had good success by eating them cold just as they start to thaw. If you leave them to thaw completely, they tend to get too soggy. But eaten cold they are delightful on a hot summer day. Remember, too, when freezing them, spread them out on a flat surface, keeping them separate. In that way, I find, they do not stick together in a large lump when put into a container for permanent storage.
“You can do the same with other fruits, too. You may find it best to peel some of them, like apples, peaches and pears, and if you sprinkle some ascorbic acid on them it will prevent their discoloring.”
Time to go? I am sorry your visit must come to an end. It has been a real pleasure to show you part of our lovely valley. Please come again.
In the meantime, enjoy the kind of fruit that grows in your part of the earth, wherever you live. In every country of the world fruit can be eaten and enjoyed by man. It adds variety to our life in both color and taste. Even in the Arctic the brief spring and summer season produces bramble berries, which the Eskimo preserves by freezing. And as you have opportunity to sample the endless varieties, reflect with me on the love shown by our Grand Creator in providing mankind with such delicacies as fruit.