Parc Ferme Apple Selection

We have been diligently working with the Penn State Extension team on our Apple Marketability as it is known in the Orchard business. They have given us three guiding principles in which to launch the Orchard @ Parc Ferme.

Plant a Variety of Apples to reduce the risk of disease and to support pollination. We have selected 10 types of apple trees and will begin our spring of 2024 planting with a total of 20 trees. If they are still alive by summer, we will plant more!  Starting with a smaller quantity allows us to ensure that an adequate infrastructure is in place for the apple trees to flourish. It will also allow us to purchase more mature trees that can bear fruit in the next year or two. We are purchasing our trees primarily from Fast Growing Trees. The company uses a grafting process that increases the number of well-developed branches that bear more fruit and produce faster. In most cases we purchased three-year-old trees that are between 4 and 5 feet tall. The trees are shipped in three-gallon containers for a healthy transition and to increase our chances of successful planting. Starting off with more mature trees will provide our first harvest in 2026.

Plant in a Grid to maximize the number of trees and to allow grouping of trees that fruit at the same time. This accomplishes two key orchard layout requirements. First, you don’t have to walk all over your orchard to harvest the apples, they are in rows, and you can focus your labor and equipment on the most immediate tasks for harvesting. Second, you maximize the sun exposure by planting North to South and apples need about eight hours of sun each day to thrive.  We have purchased semi-dwarf size trees which will mature at 10 to 15 feet tall. Our grid will be 20 rows with 20 trees each for a total of 400 trees over 100 yards.

Extend the Harvest by planting trees that fruit at different times. Our current selection will allow us to harvest apples from July to November each year.

William’s Pride July
Ginger Gold August
Gala September
McIntosh September
Red Delicious September
York Imperial September
Stayman/Winesap October
Fuji October
Pink Lady November
Jonagold November

Our plan should reduce our production costs and increase our chances of profitability in the long term. What are we most happy about in our Orchard plan? That we can plant the York Imperial apple tree as we are in York County, Pennsylvania!

This is the only antique variety of apples that we will grow at Parc Ferme. While we love the history of this cold hardy apple first harvested in 1830, the York Imperial, like most heirloom apples, is lopsided in shape and has poor color uniformity and therefore not a big seller for farm stands. We hope to use our yield for making cider in the coming years.