YAKIMA, WA - As we inch ever closer to the end of winter and the warm weather of spring, AndNowUKnow was more than ready to hear the latest Washington orchard update from the ever-delightful Dave Gleason, Chief Horticulturist for Domex Superfresh Growers®. Mother Nature has brought Eastern Washington a very snowy winter prior to the upcoming apple harvest, prompting Dave to compare his days in the orchards to Groundhog’s Day, coincidentally the favorite movie of Mrs. Gleason.
“We have inputs that we have no control over,” says Gleason, mentioning the vital, but often-repetitive pruning process. “We may do the same thing every year, but the weather is different, the water is different, the timing of the spring, when things are harvested, all of those things are dictated by what nature gives us every year. We really don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring!”
According to a press release, Superfresh Growers® uses this winter downtime as an opportunity to reflect and plan for its future harvests. While predicting what consumers’ favorite apples will be in the coming decade is a challenge, its one the company is confident to take on, especially with the aid of the flavor profile of its Autumn Glory® apple. In addition to increasing Autumn Glory® acreage for the upcoming season, Domex plans to be a key participant in the Cosmic Crisp™ variety, the latest variety from Washington State University’s tree fruit breeding program.
Want to learn more about the day-to-day happenings in Domex’s snowy Washington orchards? Get the scoop straight from the rosy-cheeked treefruit-whisperer himself in Dave’s short video update above.
