NEBRASKA CITY – The orchard manager at Arbor Day Farm worried that the golf-ball to softball-sized hail that damaged cars and roofs throughout the city in April would reduce this fall’s apple crop by 30 percent, but said plenty of rain in July and cooler overnight temperatures in recent weeks have helped the orchard’s bounce back.

Heusinkvelt: “It was very tricky in the spring. We had lots of big hail storm in the early spring. It knocked the blossoms off the trees, a late frost which knocked more blossoms off the trees and then the drought, which didn’t help anything, but come July we had lots of rain, a lot of cool nights helped ripen up the apples and some heat the pushed the apples. I think we’re looking at a really good harvest.”

Growing up in Columbus, Ben Heusinkvelt wanted to be a national forester. He took a job right out of college at Kimmel Orchard in Nebraska City and worked three years in New York before coming back to Nebraska to work at Arbor Day Farm.

 

Heusinkvelt: “Arbor Day is great, a great company to work for, a great orchard, room for expansion and room for improvement, which keeps me busy.”

Heusinkvelt said honey crisp apples are not usually available for u-pick, but there is a huge crop this year so they will join Johnathan, fuji, golden delicious and other varieties. There are also tasting opportunities for the preservation orchard.
Sterling Morton’s original orchard manifest included 300 different cider and heirloom apple varieties that he imported from Europe.

 

The preservation orchard still has 35 unique varieties that were on that list.

Heusinkvelt: “That’s a nod toward J. Sterling Morton’s original orchard. He planted about 200 acres of original trees. We have the original list of the orchard trees that he planted and so we’ve been able to find grafts of those apple trees and plant them in the orchard.”

Arbor Day Farm is preparing 2,000 caramel apples and Dena Stevenson of Kimmel Orchard says two shifts of bakers are making 50,000 apple doughnuts for week one.

Stevenson said five of the the 21 varieties grown at Kimmel Orchard are in the apple barn. U-pick includes a hayrack ride and nature trail hike in the tree dome. The conference center will have the bee lab, rodeo team and extension educators.

Carla Wostrel of Union Orchard and the Central Apple Market said box lunches will be available for the parade route downtown.

 

Heusinkvelt: “I love seeing the kids come out, the people. It’s literally a full year of pain, sweat and tears pouring into the orchard and to see everyone come out and enjoy harvest and enjoy the apples that you’ve been growing all year long, it’s a very rewarding feeling.”