As we enter the peak of orchard apple tree harvest season , I nominate a fun way for hobby husbandman with gravid , mature fruit trees to undertake the task of cull and preserve their apple harvest ( which I hope is abundant ) .
Every fall , when the orchard apple tree are ripening , the mass on my farm fervour up ourJohn Deere Model 40then invite Quaker and family to participate in a especial apple - pick hayride . This includes a hay Charles’s Wain adorned with hay bales for seat . It ’s a combination of practicality and fun that everyone finds enjoyable .
The idea for these yearly hayrides originated from a pauperization to make the apple harvest easier . We have heaps of gravid trees scattered across our farm ( which is vulgar on older properties in our country ) , so traveling from tree to tree on metrical unit becomes quite a journeying , especially when you ’re totingapple pickersas well as basket upon basketful of mature apples . It ’s a pleasant journey no dubiousness , but then we thought , why not load up a hay beach wagon with all our supply and only beat back from tree diagram to tree ?
Granted , an ATV or lawn mower pulling a poke might cultivate just as well for transporting supplies . But there ’s another boastful welfare to bringing along the hay wagon — it ease up you an rarefied platform for the Malus pumila harvest .
When picking from large trees , this help a lot . The deck of our hay wagon model about three feet off the ground , so when we park the wagon underneath or alongside a tree , digest on the wagon bring a set more apple within easy reach . You still need apple pickers for reaching the gamy yield , but when half the play is pick apple with friends and family , it help to have lots of apples within promiscuous reach for children and adults likewise .
Wemodified our hay wagon several years ago , building enhanced sides for supporting large load of hay . These side also process as precaution rails during apple harvest time of year , ensuring that overeager pickers do n’t lean too far over the bound of the wagon while straining to reach that oh - so - perfect bright red apple .
Here ’s he biggest advantage of combining a hayride : It lets family line and friends of all age to participate in an loose and relaxed style . My nan ( in her mid-90s ) might not be eager to tromp all over the farm , but she ’s glad to go up up on the hay wagon and help harvest yield . I remember pick plums last twelvemonth and passing a big handful from my untried hands into her previous 1 , which prompted me to stop for a consequence and appreciate how special it is that she can still amount along and cull fruit with us .
If you ’re rosy enough to have a hay wagon and some large orchard apple tree trees , I encourage you to begin the annual tradition of taking Friend and family on an apple - harvesting hayride . Add some hay Basle , stock up with basket and chooser , choose a sunny twenty-four hour period , and position off for a wonderful good afternoon . The practical aspects are obvious , but it ’s the family time — make memories on the farm — that is truly priceless .
