Ask a Master Gardener: Manage apple tree pests this winter

The apple harvest is over, but there are still some important pest management practices to follow to ensure healthy trees in the spring. The pests we need to manage are not the little ones we typically see in the summer but are larger and fluffier and include rabbits, mice and voles.

After battling a devastating cold snap and heavy rains throughout 2023, orchards around Addison County have enjoyed a much sweeter apple season this year.

They’re the most familiar of fruits, but how much do you really know about apples?

Last week, I spent an afternoon pruning one of our three old apple trees. You probably didn’t know I could do stuff like that, but that’s OK; until last week I didn’t know it either.

At age 31, I’d never worked with my hands. I experimented with hand tools as a kid at my father’s cellar workbench when he was working.

Local apple growers have had to battle a late spring frost that decimated young fruit crops in May, as well as excessive rain that drenched the region this summer. While some orchards were spared the worst of this year’s weather-related challenges, many g … (read more)

Though many Addison County apple growers saw their crops damaged by a late spring frost in May, local orchards still have plenty to offer visitors this fall. 

A cruel spring frost robbed Middlebury’s Happy Valley Orchard of roughly 98% of its 2023 crop. So Conor McManus’s credo this year can best be described as, “If life doesn’t give you apples, bring some in and diversify your operation to make it resilient f … (read more)

Both new orchardists and longtime growers said they enjoyed a pleasant apple season this year, with plentiful crops augmented by mild weather that drew Vermonters and out-of-state visitors to orchards throughout Addison County. 

Trees in Bridport, Middlebury, Monkton, New Haven and Shoreham produced a bumper crop in 2021, and in some cases those trees are still giving.

One of my favorite ways to cook apples is to make applesauce. On its own or with cottage cheese or yogurt, it makes a delicious breakfast, side dish or snack.

SHOREHAM — After closing down more than a week ago to manage an outbreak of COVID-19 among its staff, Champlain Orchards is open again for pick-your-own apples. “It’s been quite a week here at Champlain Orchards, but we’ve all persevered thanks to the lov … (read more)

ADDISON COUNTY — The story of this year’s apple season has four chapters, so far: a dry summer, August rain, gorgeous pick-your-own weather, and COVID-19. A minor summer drought contributed to more concentrated flavors, but enough moisture got into the gr … (read more)

SHOREHAM — Two popular Shoreham orchards have come together under one owner. On July 8 Bill Suhr and Andrea Scott of Champlain Orchards announced that they had purchased Douglas Orchards and Cider Mill from Bob and Scott Douglas. “For the past 21 years I … (read more)

ADDISON COUNTY — Kent Ridge Orchards in Cornwall did not have its best apple season this year, but it could have been worse. “We had an odd bloom pattern this spring,” said orchard manager Blake Harrison in an email to the Independent. “The orchard is loc … (read more)