Where Apples Love to Grow

For Michigan apple growers, summer is all about achieving just the right balance of fruit. Thinning, the process of removing some of the developing fruit from the trees, allows the remaining fruit to utilize more of the nutrients and energy from the tree to grow bigger and more flavorful. Growers are continually checking the size of the fruit and monitoring development.

Fall is the season everyone has been waiting for! Beginning in August with some early varieties such as Ginger Gold and Paula Red, workers begin hand-harvesting the fruit into large apple buckets, that are then transferred to large bins. One bin full of apples weighs about 800 pounds! Harvest continues through the end of October. More than 16 varieties of apple (and nearly one billion pounds of apples) are harvested during this three-month window.

Michigan’s apple trees are dormant in winter, storing nutrients and energy they will need to produce the next crop. Even though the temperature has dropped and snow covers Michigan’s orchards, growers are still hard at work during the winter months. The apple trees get pruned and many growers take advantage of the colder weather ensure their facilities and equipment are ready for the season.

Spring is a busy and beautiful time in Michigan orchards. Typically April is a time for planting new trees, and in May orchards become wonderfully fragrant with the rows and rows of pink and white apple blossoms. The orchards are literally buzzing during this time as well, as bees are hard at work pollinating the blossoms. These blossoms are the beginning of the crop for the coming fall.