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Published: September 23rd 2009
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My home
Airstream trailer! Day One as a WWOOFer at the Androscoggin Apple Farm in Greene, Maine. The farm itself consists of about 55 acres of active apple trees and pasteur land. The Smith family (Allen & Jenn and their kids, Isabel, Zeke and Eli) raise organic sheep for markets and individual buyers and also raise non-organic chickens and goats. They grow organic apples for cider, apple cider vinegar and apple sauce. There about 6 bee hives on the property which they use to get honey for selling at local markets and to make beeswax for candles. They also have a vegetable garden and blueberries and raspberries growing all over the property.
Everything has been amazing thus far- the family is super nice and they feed me delicious meals every day which usually consist of food from their farm. Dinner the first night was lamb chops (from their lamb), roasted potatoes and a garden salad. Tonight they are grilling two chickens from their flock! I can eat all the apples I can handle- and since they are organic they are especially delicious (they don’t have that waxy shiny funky tasting stuff on the outside like store-bought apples). Most of them are Macintosh, but they
grow a variety, including golden delicious, red delicious and winter banana (yum).
Unfortunately there was so much rain this spring in Maine that the majority of their apple crop grew a fungus (called apple “scab”). This not only makes them grow much smaller, but fewer survive and the ones that do are usually scarred. It does not make them unsafe to eat, but they are unappealing for selling in markets. The orchard produced less than half of the normal amount of apples, and at a poor quality, so Allen reluctantly decided to cancel the official apple harvest this year. He is not picking for markets or making cider for the public like he normally does- instead he will only make enough for their family and friends consumption. Additionally, he will make apple cider vinegar, apple sauce, and apple butter- much of this he can sell at market since it is a byproduct of sorts.
I was wondering if because his crop failed this year, would apples be more expensive and harder to get in other places, not just here? That is not necessarily the case since most of what we are used to seeing in stores are non-organic.
Non-organic apple farmers spray their apples with pesticides which prevent the fungus from growing. Allen sprays his apples with organic-certified pesticides such as sulfur and plant extracts. So, unless you are buying organic apples in New England, you probably will not notice a difference in price, quality or quantity- if you do, let me know! I am still learning more about the differences between conventional and organic, and I will keep you posted, as there is a ton to learn!
Today we spent the day picking apples- from about 9-1 and 2-4. My back is aching and I have a sunburn (sorry Mom), but I feel pretty good. I hope to have some pictures of the actual apple picking so you can see what I’m talking about. Allen and I headed out in the truck full of empty wooden baskets. We each wear a plastic bin around our necks held on by this harness. Then you place a HUGE ladder somewhere on the tree where there is a concentration of apples, climb up, pick them and drop in the bin around your neck. When it fills up, you climb down, empty the bin and start over. There are usually
a lot that you can’t reach from the ladder or the ground, and for that there is this big pole with a metal net-like structure on the top to grab and catch those. There is a lot of balancing and neck-craning, ugh, but it is worth it when you see the barrels fill up. There is a picture here of what we filled today. We’ll use some of it to make cider, and the rest for vinegar or apple sauce. We’ll pick more tomorrow and some next week, then cook for the remainder of the time I am here.
Besides apples there are of course other farm duties. On Tuesday I milked a goat named Peaches. We then made goat cheese - super easy, surprisingly! First, pasteurize the milk in this big container, then add a culture and let sit overnight, separate the whey from the curd, pour the chunks into a cheese cloth & container, and let it drain for a day = voila, goat cheese.
After milking peaches and starting the cheese, I walked around the yard with the goats in an attempt to keep them from eating the apples off the trees while they were
roaming the yard. Of course they ignored me and Barry (Jenn’s sister's boyfriend who lives next door), had to come help me by tempting them with grain back into their pasture area which is fenced so they can’t escape.
The rest of the day was spent bee-keeping! So cool. Of course I looked like a total freak show in my yellow rain coat, orange gardening gloves and bee veil, but whatever, I’d rather be sting-free than not. Our job was to place this medicated pad in the hives to prevent mites from sickening the bees. The bees are really cool - I’m learning a lot about them and would like to find other farms that have a more extensive hive network. I could go on and on about what I learned, but I realize this is getting pretty long, so I’ll save that for another time.
We took the wax from the hives that Allen already took the honey from earlier in the summer and melted it down to make wax. Once the wax separates, we may make candles, but not sure if I’ll have time to do that while I’m here.
Oo, fun fact I learned
(not organic) - Windex kills fruit flies. Try it, see if it works. It works here. Cool, huh?
By the way, I am staying in the 70s Airstream Trailer on the property - very cool! I have electricity and lots of blankets for the frosty nights, and am welcomed to come up the main house whenever I want to. At night I can hear the coyotes hanging out around the trailer, howling. Kind of scary, no?
So far so good. I’m having a great time, learning a ton and working hard every day. Friday I plan to head to the Common Ground Country Fair in Unity, Maine. Saturday they are throwing a huge party for Jenn’s 40th birthday, then Sunday is meant for recovering. xoxo
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Margaret
non-member comment
Great first entry!
Sounds like you are having a great time, I love hearing about it! I'm not worried about you so far, sounds like a great place.