(Montreal) U-pick, picnic tables, mini-farms, abundant orchard produce… apple season has well and truly begun.
Posted at 2:20 p.m.
According to the owner of Vergers Cassidy in Franklin, Montérégie, with cooler temperatures, it’s the perfect time to enjoy pick-your-own and other family activities offered by Quebec apple growers.
Claudia Parent says most of the apples are ready for picking. The Lobo, McIntosh, Gala varieties and also pears are ripening in his orchard. “All the other varieties will follow quite quickly with the coming weekends. […] It’s really time to come with the family and spend some time picking your own,” she says.
Alexandra Leclerc, the daughter of the owners Chez Leclerc & filles, whose stand is set up at the Marché des Jardiniers de La Prairie, also notes that the majority of the varieties have arrived. A few are still missing, she says, but the most popular such as McIntosh, Cortland and Lobo are ready to be tasted.
The McIntosh is the most popular with customers of Chez Leclerc & filles. “It’s an apple that will be rather sour and very crunchy at the start of the season, explains Mme Leclerc. A little later (in season), it will become a softer apple, a little sweeter”. People then use it more for cooking.
Mme Leclerc believes the Honeycrisp, which is a slightly more expensive but highly sought-after apple by customers, will be ready to pick probably early next week.
In addition, the owner of Vergers Cassidy notes that it has been more difficult to recruit employees for the past two years, although she believes that she has been a sector rather spared by the pandemic.
While activities were limited, people tended to visit the orchard more regularly rather than for a single weekend. “The traffic was there every day of the week. People came to pick their apples, it had to be an activity during COVID-19, ”says Mme parent.
Like all apple growers, the owner mainly needs seasonal employees, from the end of August to the beginning of November. An ideal job for young people who do not necessarily need a year-round income, but when they go back to school, employers find themselves understaffed.