MN Apple Orchard Blog

A sure sign of spring is when the first robins show up. And this year they showed up before March, 20th, the first day of spring. We were closely following those unusually warm February days, leery of what an early spring might mean. A more normal March has us all breathing a bit easier.
So, what does spring look like at the orchard this year?
Right now, we’re focused on finishing up pruning. We prune trees in winter and late spring while they are dormant. We’ve gone through and made the major cuts and now we’re focusing on the detail pruning. Each and every one of our trees get attention.
This is an important task to ensure a good crop of apples in the fall. If you drive by, you can see the piles of prunings. If you look closely, you can see how neat and trim all the trees look.
We enjoy the longer days of spring and the more moderate temperatures while we work outside. We hear the sounds of spring all around us, robins, sand hill cranes and the geese as they return from their winter vacations.
Spring is still early, by traditional standards. The frost is working its way out of the ground, the ice is off the lakes, the grass is trying to turn green, and we see swelling buds on trees.
April is around the corner, and soon we check the soil temperatures on the strawberries and when they reach a certain level, it’s time to uncover them.  And when that happens, growing season is officially underway!
We all dream of eating fresh strawberries, but for now let’s enjoy all that is spring!