"It's heartbreaking," Stow orchard losing business due to rainy weekends
STOW - Apple picking in New England has been paired with ponchos and umbrellas in the last month and Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow is feeling pain as a result.
"This past weekend we were probably down to about 30% of what we did last year, which was heartbreaking," said fourth generation Honey Pot Hill farmer, Chelcie Martin, who runs the farm with her dad.
Martin says there are plenty of apples, but the crowds are just not coming as nearly every weekend in September has included wet weather.
To make the situation worse, many farmers, like the Martins, spent much of the spring trying to protect their crops against cold snaps and frost.
"We work all year for this. We're open for six months, but we're out in the trees in the middle of the winter, you know pruning and, in the spring, trying to do frost protection," Martin said.
The apple picking season is surprisingly short, regularly ending in the later days of October. Martin says there is still plenty of time for customers to pick apples and there are a lot of apples to pick. They have 70 acres of apples in the ground.
"Please come out. We have tons of apples to pick. Like, tons! We have a great crop this year," she said.