Apple Picking Time
Fall in the northeast is simply spectacular. A deep blue sky comes with sunny, cool days; the leaves, especially
Since my husband is teaching a class on food this semester, a group of about twenty first-year students accompanied us and we were treated to a tour of the orchard. We learned that Bowman’s is one of the oldest working farms in Clifton Park. The land was purchased from William and
As for the Bowmans, the second generation is now running the
farm which has more than sixty varieties of apples
on ninety-eight acres. A new
addition is the dwarf tree which takes up a smaller area and yet produces a
larger yield than its bigger cousin. The
small trees have to be wired up to posts to keep the fruit from bringing the
tree down in the fall. Colonies of bees
are brought in each spring to pollinate the trees. Our guide Donna told us that you can tell the
number of times bees have come to the apple flower by the number of seeds
inside the ripe apple. The farm has its
own weather station to help workers prepare for whatever Mother Nature has in
store. The spraying of pesticides on the
trees is done in a judicious manner after insects have been identified and in
consultation with fellow apple farmers.
We learned that, just because apples look ready to eat, the only way to
tell for sure is by cutting one open to look for the brown seeds inside. Our tour took us to see where the apples are washed, separated by different sizes for sale, stored at 34 degrees, or pressed into cider. There’s a store on the property where cider donuts and other apple products can be purchased.
Many preschoolers come to farms like this one each year. Bowman’s has other plants such as pumpkins, raspberries, strawberries, as well as an array of farm animals. We noticed horses, goats, sheep, and pigs—which were as much of a treat for us as for the small children around.
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