TIMBERVILLE – It’s now peak apple season in Virginia, and consumers can start enjoying a sweet selection of locally grown options following an abnormally dry summer.
Orchards across the state typically begin harvesting apples in July and continue through early November, with a majority harvested during the fall. There were 828 farms growing apples on 11,149 acres in 2022, according to the most-recent U.S. Census of Agriculture.
Rockingham County orchardist Shannon Showalter of Showalter’s Orchard & Greenhouse expects decent yields this fall.
“But like everything else in agriculture this year, it’s been a little trying,” he said.
A majority of Virginia was placed under a drought watch in June by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the Virginia Drought Monitoring Task Force. As of Sept. 4, a drought watch advisory had been expanded to 22 counties in the Big Sandy, New River and Northern Virginia regions. Drought warnings have been maintained for seven counties in the Shenandoah region, including Rockingham County.
While widespread precipitation from tropical storm Debby provided significant relief for drought conditions, summer’s severe lack of rainfall resulted in smaller apples statewide.
Showalter and other orchardists use smaller apples for processing into products like apple cider, but tapping into new markets is an ongoing challenge.
“We have plenty of apples, but finding a market for the fruit is the tough part,” Showalter noted. “With the drought, there’s just an abundance of smaller apples that go into the juice market, which seems to be a little flooded right now.”
While Showalter’s Orchard typically packs 70%-90% of harvested apples for fresh market, that percentage has dropped to about 50 the past year. Picking smaller apples also takes “twice as long, which is twice as expensive,” he added.
But dry, hot conditions usually mean sweeter apples – "just like peaches,” noted Kevin Drumheller of Drumheller’s Orchard. While his farm harvested fewer bushels this year, his customers still will have an array of fresh apples from which to choose – and plenty of homemade apple cider.
The Nelson County orchard grows 22 different apple varieties, with seasonal favorites like Red and Golden Delicious, September Wonder, Jonagold, Gala and Jonathan now available at the farm’s market.
“My two personal favorite apples are Golden Delicious and the old-fashioned Stayman,” Drumheller said.
His orchard will begin harvesting Stayman apples in late September or early October, and customers also can look forward to later varieties like Pink Ladys in November. Drumheller expects to have apples available until late December.
Growing over 30 apple varieties, Showalter’s Orchard is kicking off its Jonathan, Jonagold, and Red and Golden Delicious season ahead of Stayman, Winesap, Fuji, Granny Smith and Pink Lady harvesting. Customers can pick their own apples through early November and taste a vast selection of hard cider at the orchard’s tasting room year-round.
While their Fuji, Winesap and Stayman apples are popular, Showalter and his customers especially favor Golden Delicious.
“It’s a very good all-around apple – you can cook it, eat it, make cider out of it, and it grows really well here,” he remarked.
Visit showaltersorchard.com or drumhellersorchard.com for more information.
To find fresh apples near you, visit the Virginia Grown website at vdacs.virginia.gov/vagrown.
