In the local royal gala orchard, long past the renewal date of 10 years for slender spindle high density, high-capital orchards, a snowball bloom has settled out into a lousy crop.
The apples will be big, for sure, but the costs of cutting away all this foliage to the few there are, and the concerns of poor nutrition through old wood that the leaves are expressing are not exactly suggestive of great flavour, or sustainability.
I see 2 good apples in the image below. It’s not even worth the cost of throwing the others on the ground.
I think an apple-training system that can’t pay its way needs a re-think. This is the indigenous crop of all peoples from Khazakstan to the Irish Sea and for 500 years of North America as well. Disrespecting it like this is a sign not only of agricultural inadequacy but of cultural poverty. It is time to be honourable people once more.
Categories: Agriculture, Industry
Okanagan Okanogan 
As a young student I used to work on the apple harvest in Sussex, England having cycled with my mother through country lanes to reach the orchards. Last year I went into our local Walmart style food store looking for apples from the new harvest and found only tasteless foreign imports. I try my best to support local growers in farmer’s markets and shops but fear that I am fighting a losing battle.
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Time to plant some apple pips in the last remaining hedges, I think. Cold storage has become so good that 14-month-old apples can now compete with the new crop.
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