Fruit picking
Fruit picking, particularly in the context of apple harvesting, has become a popular seasonal activity, especially for city dwellers seeking a direct connection to nature and agriculture. During autumn, many people visit orchards to personally harvest apples, creating a festive experience that often includes family and friends. The apple, known for its variety in taste, size, and color, is a staple fruit that can be enjoyed fresh, cooked, or turned into cider.
To participate in apple picking, individuals typically find a nearby orchard and arrange transportation, bringing along baskets or boxes to collect their fruit. The picking process involves understanding the appropriate technique for harvesting ripe apples—gently twisting them off the tree to avoid damaging the branch. While some apples may lie on the ground, they are often not recommended for picking due to the risk of rot and contamination.
As apple pickers navigate the orchard, they are encouraged to use ladders or fruit-picking poles for apples that are out of reach, while being mindful not to climb trees. Careful handling of the fruit is essential to avoid bruising, and it’s important to wash apples thoroughly before consumption. At the end of the picking adventure, participants should also consider the environment, ensuring they leave the area clean and free of debris. This practice not only enriches the experience but also fosters respect for the land and the ecosystem.
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Fruit picking
In the modern era, many people, particularly city-dwellers, buy their food from stores rather than personally planting, tending, and reaping the fruits of their own land; however, during autumn, in areas where apple trees grow, many people flock to orchards to personally pick their produce as a seasonal celebration.
The modern apple (Malus domestica) varies in taste, size, and coloration because of the multitude of regions in which the apple tree has flourished, the corresponding variety of soils in which their seeds have been nurtured, and the intentional cultivation of favored types by farmers. Noted for its sweetness, the ever-popular apple provides a source of sugar, once a rare and precious commodity. Apples may be eaten raw, cooked, preserved, juiced, or pressed into cider.
Overview
First, a nearby orchard must be located (if that is not already known) and arrangements made to transport the apple-pickers. It is suitable to bring baskets or boxes in which to collect the apples being picked, although oftentimes orchard owners provide receptacles for visitors.
Standard apple trees typically grow between twenty-four and thirty feet tall; dwarf and semi-dwarf apple trees grow to between twelve and twenty-four feet tall. Ripe apples can often be plucked from low-hanging branches. While it is possible to collect apples already lying at the base of the tree, their prolonged contact with the ground can lead to rot, insect damage, or the presence of bacteria such as E. coli that can sicken the eater. To remove an apple from the tree, gently rotate it upward and twist. Do not pull straight down, as this can break off the part of the branch where future fruit would grow. If the apple does not release, it is unripe.
To access higher branches of the trees out of arm’s reach, use ladders or fruit-picking poles. Orchard owners discourage harvesters from climbing up trees in pursuit of less accessible fruit or for the sport of it. Fruit-picking poles with metal tines may be purchased at hardware or home-improvement stores or borrowed at many orchards. Such fruit-picking devices are also simple enough to construct out of ordinary household items, such as two-liter plastic bottles.
Care should be taken not to bruise the apples in transport. If an apple is tossed into the container carelessly, it may bruise itself or the apples it lands upon. Keep fruit cool and wash it to remove any microbes or pesticides before consuming it.
At the end of an apple-picking expedition, it is considerate to check for any signs of human debris left in the vicinity: food wrappers, errant clothing, and sundry objects that may inadvertently be left behind in the environment. It is important to not only benefit from the fruits of the land, but to respect and properly care for the environment, which pickers disturb by their presence.
Bibliography
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