MISSOULA — It has not been a typical year for Green Bench Orchard in Missoula. The popular orchard is down about 12,000 pounds of apples, resulting in this year's "u-pick" season being cancelled.
On May 18, the crop was destroyed by a freeze where temperatures dropped as low as 28 degrees. The trees were left with hardly any apples.
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"It only takes 30 minutes below freezing to kill the developing apples," Fred Stewart, Green Bench Orchard's owner, said. "So it only took a little bit of time, and sure enough it killed almost all of the developing apples. So that's why we don't have any apples."
But that's not the only issue at hand for Stewart, or Farmer Fred as the kids call him. Farming since 2010, this is the first time his apple trees have developed fire blight, a bacteria that can spreads throughout the tree and kill it, if not treated. This came following the freeze.
"We've had hardly any fire blight ever in the 12, 14 years that I've been here, and this year the fire blight came," Farmer Fred said.
Fire blight can be spread through the wind, rain, or insects. The disease thrives in humidity.
"Environmental conditions were just right in terms of humidity, warmth, and the spread of the disease, so we ended up with a lot of fire blight in the Wealthy variety," Farmer Fred added.
The only way to stop the disease is to cut off the branch with the fire blight, just like the amputation of a limb, to prevent the spread.
Farmer Fred said this is normally the time of year where you can see people all around the orchard for u-picks, but with no fruit, he hopes to have a much better crop next year.
In the meantime, those hoping to take part in a u-pick can check out Swanson's Mountain View Orchard in Corvallis, for example.
You can also visit this Montana Apple Orchard Directory for more possible options.
