Late Spring, Warm August Push Back Apple Harvest
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Minnesota September tradition is a bit trickier this year.
Because of the warm August, the apple crop is behind schedule. That makes picking them a little bit different.
Just north of Hastings lies Whistling Well Farms. Charlie Johnson owns it with the help of his English Springer Spaniel, Emmy.
"This is a very difficult year," he said. "We had a very late spring."
He says the late spring and warm October have harvests coming in about two weeks behind schedule.
Because the crop likely won't peak for another week, it's taking apple pickers a bit longer to find the good ones.
And that's what Wilson wants people to know: that it may take some patience. However, he says the labor is worth the fruit.
"They're gonna get a nice red honeycrisp that comes from Minnesota," Johnson said.
Some orchards say their crop is ready this weekend; others say you may want to wait till next weekend to play it safe. Either way, if you are looking for those honeycrisps, they say the best ones are the red ones.
