Village Squire, 1978-10, Page 9M
control. In all. about 30 to 40. applications of sprays were made
This year. a hit more than usual.
And then there's the picking. It begins early in the year with
the early peach crop and by the time the late varieties of peaches
are finished it's time for the early apples. The snow is flying in
November before the picking is finished.
Another factor which could give prospective apple growers
pause for thought is the length of time it takes to get an orchard
into production. A new plantation is made from one or two year
old trees (Buck prefers two year trees but they aren't always
available). It then takes four or five years for the trees to come
into production commercially. Take the cost of the trees and the
cost of the land and figure that it will be four or five years before
you get anything back on your investment and it might make you
decide that corn or white beans are a better investment. Of
course balanced against that is the longevity of the trees,
although Buck doesn't think the new dwarf varieties being
planted today •:ill have the long life of that old orchard that was
on the farm v. -lien his father bought the place 46 years ago.
While he feels there is a bright future for apple growing in
Ontario. Buck is not so confident of the peach industry. He isn't
planning on expanding his own peach orchards and is
concentrating on just keeping his trees alive. He feels that
peaches arc on the v: ay out. even to the south in the Leamington
area. Part of it is due to the seeming climate change of the past
fey: years v. hich has seen much harder winters and an increase in
diseases. The hard %%inters not only kill off some trees but
damage others leaving them more susceptible to disease.
The Lassalinc farm is located in one of the few areas of
Western Ontario where peaches have been able to be grown
successfully. The small arca with an almost micro -climate
extends for only a fey: miles between Goderich and Bayfield
along the Lake shore. Tender fruits can be grown there because
of the coincidental happening of an old lake shore which provides
light soil and the moderating effect of Lake Huron. Farther south
the old Take shore curves inland and the moderating effect is lost.
This tiny pocket has made it the centre for peach growing as
v.cll as apples and some experimental growing of grapes has also
taken place v:ith some success. Still. even with this beneficial
climate it's getting harder and harder to grow peaches. If
peaches do disappear in the arca it won't be the first district to
abandon peach grow: ing. The Simcoe area. once with a healthy
peach growing district now has given up almost completely.
With all the problems. it's easy to see why more people don't
;ant to gray.• fruit these da s. But for the consumer. the days of
pick your own operations alloy: many of the pleasures of fruit
trees without the grief. Mane families like to make it an outing
for an afternoon to go to an orchard and pick a bushel or two of
apples. just the '.ay the cutting your own Christmas tree has
become a popular thing to do after years of people just buying
.pec -cut trees off a city street corner. With a nip in the air it seems
like a natural part of life's rhythm of the seasons to go out to pick
apples for Y.inter. We may have lost most of our farming
traditions but harvesting the crops for v: inter still seems to be an
urge buried deep inside us all.
iscontIuct
No running. No walking.
No exercise. No effort.
Penalty—a shorter life.
No argument.
Fitness is fun.
Try some.
■
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PART/C/Pal7/Of7
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VILLAGE SQUIRE/OCTOBER 1978. PG.7.