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Take a bite of fall as local apple orchard harvests till month's end

Passion project produces bumper crop of apples

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First of all, know this. You don’t become an apple farmer in Alberta to make money.

Frank Sawyer, who lives in Edmonton’s east end and has a thriving U-pick orchard near Fort Saskatchewan, says he might gross a couple of thousand dollars for roughly six months of back-breaking work, and that’s before he deducts expenses. But hard as it is to imagine for most working folks, it’s not always about the bank account.

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Raised within a farming family and with a degree in agricultural engineering, Sawyer spent his career on the industrial side of agriculture, working for a grain dryer company. But his childhood memories of fishing in a dugout, and being around cattle, were always strong. In 2004, Sawyer bought a patch of high-quality land east of Edmonton. After purchasing five varieties of trees from the University of Saskatchewan’s breeding program, he plunged in. Attracted 2 Apples was born.

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Now retired, Sawyer has 12 varieties of apples and about 800 trees, which, by Alberta apple orchard standards “is very large.”

“As far as I know, I’m the largest one,” he says. “But in B.C. or Nova Scotia, this would be a hobby orchard.”

Sawyer grows what are known in the trade as dessert apples. This doesn’t mean, as you might expect, that they are best prepared in a pie or crisp. In fact, they are bred to be an eating apple, munched straight from the hand. The fruit, with names like Five of Diamonds, Festive Treat and Orange Pumpkin, all have a different flavour profile, a different balance of sugar and acid.

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Frank Sawyer with Attracted 2 Apples orchard slices a Five Of Diamonds apple, revealing its red flesh. Ian Kucerak/Postmedia
Frank Sawyer with Attracted 2 Apples orchard slices a Five Of Diamonds apple, revealing its red flesh. Ian Kucerak/Postmedia  Photo by Ian Kucerak /Postmedia

I sampled a few at the orchard last week, and they were delicious to a one. But if you’re interested in harvesting from Attracted 2 Apples, you’d best head out quick. Past about the end of September, the apples turn toward overripe, will soften up and eventually drop to the ground.

Being an apple farmer in Alberta is hard work, and best-suited to folks who enjoy being really cold in the spring and fall, and overworked come summer. From the middle of April, Sawyer is in the orchard five or six days a week, pruning and tidying. By mid-June, he’s thinning out the buds to produce more fruit of a larger size. July slows down a bit, and is mostly devoted to cutting the grass and grafting.

In August, things ramp up again, because that’s the time to replace trees that are no longer thriving. The harvest begins in September. Sawyer has a few friends and family members who help out, but mostly, it’s just farmer Frank in the field.

“I go out there in the morning, on a cold day, and it takes me an hour or two to get into it. But I enjoy the fresh air and it’s so quiet. You can hear someone talking a half-mile away if the wind isn’t blowing.”

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There are big challenges to being an apple farmer in Alberta. It’s not just the harsh spring that kills buds and robs the trees of fruit; winter kill takes a toll, too. Pocket gophers or meadow voles will eat the bark so that nutrients can’t get to the top, damaging or destroying the trees. On the upside, the cold climate means that bugs don’t survive. 

Frank Sawyer of Attracted 2 Apples orchard grows numerous varieties of apples, from Prairie Sensation (left) to Lucky Jack, near Fort Saskatchewan.
Frank Sawyer of Attracted 2 Apples orchard grows numerous varieties of apples, from Prairie Sensation (left) to Lucky Jack, near Fort Saskatchewan. Photo by Ian Kucerak /Postmedia

“We don’t have to spray, that’s the big thing,” he says. “But the challenge is that the bugs are moving in. In the city, we have apple maggot, a real problem for people. I think the climate is warming and things are changing.”

At this time of the year, Sawyer updates his website, attractedtoapples.com, daily, to let consumers know what varieties are ready to pick. On weekends, he often hauls out his apple press and makes juice. Families, particularly those of French heritage for whom apple picking in the fall is a cultural tradition, drive out on the weekends to enjoy the bounty. If you buy 20 pounds, the price is $1.25 a pound. It rises to $2 a pound if you purchase only five pounds.

“I really enjoy meeting the people who come out in the fall, and listening to the kids laughing and running around. That part is really fun,” says Sawyer with a slow smile.

Personally, having an orchard has been a great experience for Sawyer. At 59, he feels better, healthier and more fit than he did during his working years.

“I crawl under apple trees all daylong and I feel fine,” he says. “Most people can’t do that.”

For further information on Attracted 2 Apples, consult the website at attractedtoapples.com.

lfaulder@postmedia.com

Follow me on Twitter @eatmywordsblog.

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