Spring Freeze, Hot Summer, Early Snow Take Toll On Apple Orchard In Longmont

From CBS Denver:

By Shawn Chitnis

October 8, 2020

LONGMONT, Colo. (CBS4)– The weather this year created challenge after challenge for farmers as the seasons changed, affecting the crop in their orchards and making it more difficult to protect their trees. Damage from the spring returned in the summer and now the hot and dry fall is leaving them to keep working during a drought.

“If you have fruit trees, you really need to keep them watered, they will not survive this type of weather, even into the winter time, you really have to keep them moist,” said Sharon Perdue, the owner of Ya Ya Farm and Orchard. “That’s typical in Colorado, that’s nothing different but it feels a little more powerful this year.”

Perdue took over the property in 2003. There was an old section of an orchard on the farm that dates back to 1936 but it was mostly a hay field. She rehabilitated the land and started taking apples to the Longmont Farmers Market. Everyone was excited to see her produce and told her it reminded them of “U-Pick” farms across the country. So she expanded the orchard to create the same experience; the property now has 1,000 trees.

Read more at CBS Denver