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Fall means… Apples!!
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by Karen Starr
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We get amazing local fruits
and vegetables all summer at Honest Weight, but the fall brings my
favorite, apples. We’re really fortunate in the Capital District to
have so many fine orchards in the area and the Produce department makes
a point of bringing in as many varieties as possible. In addition to
MacIntosh, Gala, Cortland, Empire and other common sorts, you can find
a parade of lesser known stars such as Macoun, Greening, Fortune,
Burgundy, Empress, Mutsu, Northern Spy, Cox Orange Pippin, Gravenstein,
Honeycrisp and Ginger Gold. Grab a jug of cider, throw in a few fresh
home-made donuts and it’s truly fall in my book.
One benefit of the local food movement is that people are more
interested in how their food is grown as well as where it comes from.
In addition to the classic inquiry, “What’s the best apple?” Produce
staff get a lot of questions about what organic means versus
conventional. People also puzzle over why there are so few organic
apple orchards in the Northeast and ask, “What the heck is IPM
anyway?”Here are some short answers, but you can always come by for a
chat if you want more details.
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How
Growers Use Chemicals
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Conventional
veggies and fruits (including genetically modified organisms, aka GMOs)
can be grown with any fertilizer, herbicide or pesticide approved for
use on food crops by the federal government. Sometimes there is another
layer of state or county regulation as well. There are guidelines for
use which include, for example, the number of days that have to pass
between treatment and harvest. But clearly, there is evidence that
residues remain.
There is also the issue of worker exposure and harm to critters we’d
rather have around—like bees and other pollinators. That being said,
some farmers help themselves to the whole array of chemicals available,
others try to be judicious about what they use and when. Often the need
for herbicides and pesticides increases with the number of acres
devoted to a single crop, otherwise known as monoculture. Smaller
diversified conventional farms can do lots of things to reduce their
use of chemical “inputs”.
This judicious use of chemicals in its most sophisticated form is known
as Integrated Pest Management, or IPM. There are specifics for each
crop, but generally speaking farmers employ such methods as baiting
insects with mechanical traps, monitoring insect pest populations,
precision timed spraying with the least toxic and most specific
pesticides, and cultivating benefi cial insect populations as natural
control for pests. Attention to building soil structure and fertility
can also go a long way toward reducing chemical use. Healthy plants and
trees are much less susceptible to pest infestations and disease.
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“Organic”
Means…?
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Say
“Organic Farming” and most people think of Little House on the Prairie or The Waltons. But many organic
crops, most organic carrots shipped to the Northeast from California
for instance, are grown on enormous corporate farms in vast monoculture
fields. Not particularly my ideal of “organic,” but I’ll save that rant
for another day. There are a number of schemes in use to certify crops
as organic. Probably the most widely recognized is the U.S. Department
of Agriculture’s certification.
But there are others. The NOFA-NY Certifi ed Organic program, run by
the state chapter of Northeast Organic Farming Association, is a good
local example. The basic idea behind organic farming for most of us is
to leave the chemicals behind so that we can have safer food and cause
less harm to the environment. And there’s little doubt that in most
cases choosing organic produce goes some distance toward that goal.
There is, in comparison to conventional farming, a very narrow range of
natural pesticides and other pest controls available to organic farmers
and only approved soil inputs are allowed. Genetically Modified crops
are out, although Monsanto and its cohorts have tried like the blazes
to have them included.
However, certification can be an expensive proposition for many small
farms, both in licensing fees and because they must be farmed as
organic for three years before they can be certified. That means
operating with higher costs for a number of years without being able to
recoup expenses immediately.
Farms in this process of certification are often advertised as
“Transitional.” Many of these growers have signed NOFA-NY’s “Farmer’s
Pledge” to show their commitment to ecologically sound and socially
responsible practices. It’s important to support them as they make the
shift to organic.
Then there is Biodynamic. Biodynamic farms meet the same standards as
organic, but go beyond that to manage the land as a living organism.
Based on the principles of Rudolf Steiner, biodynanic farming relies
heavily on biological diversity and plant vigor to avoid agricultural
pests. It is the least reliant on outside agricultural inputs (which
are often petroleum-based) and consequently has one of the smallest
agricultural carbon footprints.
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The
Best Apples
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But,
back to apples. In the opinion of many apple lovers, myself included,
the best apples in the world come from the Northeast. Some suggest that
sandier soils of the West result in apples with less complex flavor.
More varieties are grown in the Northeast as well, so it’s particularly
irksome to us that there are so few organic orchards in this part of
the country. What’s with that? As it turns out, apple orchards in the
Northeast face nearly double the number of pests and diseases of
western growers. Still, a number of orchardists are rising to the
challenge. Organic strategies begin with the selection of disease
resistant varieties, with some claiming “natural” trees grown on their
own rootstock have an advantage over the more commonly grown grafted
trees. Insect traps help to identify the most effective timing of
approved pest sprays and plastic cards treated with female hormones
reduce the mating success of males. Optimum mowing between rows and
fertilization of trees also play a role in reducing pest and disease,
as does the introduction of beneficial insects that prey on pests.
Although progress is being made, for some time to come most orchardists
in the Northeast will probably continue to rely on IPM with its
judicious use of conventional sprays. Growing apples organically in our
region is labor intensive and exposes orchardists to higher harvest
losses and expenses. If we want local organic apples we need to be
willing to pay a little bit extra at the register and accept a few more
superficial blemishes.
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Orchards
Close to Home
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Honest
Weight gets apples from a number of local orchards. Conventional
growers include Hick’s Farm in Rexford, Kristy’s Barn in Castletown and
Samascott Orchards in Kinderhook. IPM growers include Knight Orchards
in Burnt Hills and Indian Ladder Farms in Altamont. We get organic
apples from Ricker Hill Orchards in Turner (Me.) and Biodynamic apples
from Threshold Farm in Philmont.
There’s no end to opinions about the best apples for eating and
cooking. Unfortunately, most of us tend to stick with what we’re used
to, but it’s never too late to branch out a bit and see what you’ve
been missing.
Some of the lesser known eating apples include: Fortune, Ginger Gold,
Macoun, Mutsu (also known as Crispin), Belle De Boskoop (short
availability), Empire, Empress, Honeycrisp, Liberty and Burgandy. Good
baking apples include: Gravensteins, Baldwins, Melrose, Greening and
Wolf River. I like to mix two or three varieties together when I bake.
Cortlands are a good choice for salads, as they don’t turn brown as
quickly as most other apples when cut. All-purpose apples include: Cox
Orange Pippin, Freedom, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Melrose, Northern Spy
and Twenty Ounce.
If you ever get a chance to try a Blue Pearmain, go for it. It’s the
best apple I’ve ever eaten, but hard to come by. The prize for best
apple name goes hands down to “Westfield Seek No Further.” Know where
we can lay our hands on some? We’d love to hear from you! The selection
of apples available to us shifts through out the fall and winter, so we
can’t always guarantee what will be available from week to week or even
year to year, but there’s always something good to try. For more on
varieties you can visit “All About Apples” on the web at: www.allaboutapples.com/varieties/
index.htm.
Produce staff are happy to assist you with your shopping needs and
we’ll be delighted to share a taste of any apple you’re interested in.
Come on now, don’t be shy!
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