Hard Freeze 'Pretty Much Kills' Apple Crop
WOODSTOCK, Ill. (CBS) -- A northwest suburban apple orchard owner says of the latest hard freeze, "Bottom line – this pretty much kills the crop."
But as WBBM Newsradio's John Cody reports, Velma Downes, owner of More than Delicious Orchard in Woodstock, says the hard frosts this week have been a problem, but may not be in the long run.
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Downes says "this pretty much kills the crop," referring to hard freeze that followed warm weeks and early buds on the apple trees. She estimates the spring freezes have killed 75 percent of the apple crop at More than Delicious.
But there is long-term hope.
"The tree will be fine, and if we have not much crop this year, we will probably have a huge crop next year, unless we get taken out then," Downes said. "The tree will try to make up next year for what it didn't do this year."
Downes says fortunately, the More than Delicious orchard is a hobby that got out of hand, so she and her husband Michael will do OK – even with an apple crop cut by the cold.
