ORCHARD REPORT

-by Michael J. O’Brien

Nikiski

This report covers the production of fruit for this past season in my Nikiski orchard.

I have six Meteor cherry trees which produced one cherry each. These trees are seven years old.

Concerning apples, I had one-quarter to one-fifth the fruit as last year, approximately seventy five to one hundred pounds. The fruit was generally larger due to less fruit on the trees and an abundance of rain. With the number of bearing trees and the trees we continue to add each year, it was a real disappointment on the production. For the past two years we’ve had ample fruit which we’ve been able to sell at the Farmer’s Market. But we did have enough for our annual apple tasting party (Sept. 16) and our family’s needs. We have two hives of honey bees but the temperatures being too cold, along with the rain and the winds, the bees couldn’t fly enough to adequately pollinize.

On the bright side, we had an excellent growth year for the trees. The rain that kept the bees hived gave us a benefit in the growth of the trees. Growers being of a positive nature, we can only anticipate our next harvest to be very bountiful.