Apple of my eye: Ohio's apple crop looks good

TUSCARAWAS TWP. − Issac Yoder stood among the bushels and bins of apples picked from his orchard with a giant smile on his face.

This year's apple crop at Sunny Slope Orchard was "very good," he said.

He grows about 38 varieties of apples on his 80-acre orchard, from the ever-popular honeycrisp to Granny Smith. He's also got newer "sport" apples such as Ludacrisp and sweet zinger.

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Ohio growers fared well this apple season, said crop insurance adjuster Kyle Goist, but he cited some crop losses due to a late frost and hail damage. Most of the damage occurred on two farms in the northern part of the state, he added.

"For the most part, the apple crop in our direct area looks pretty good," he said.

He hasn't heard many reports from farmers about battles with disease or insects.

The frost damage was hit-and-miss.

Zach Miller, who owns Dillon Fruit Farm in Lisbon in Columbiana County, said a late frost in the spring caused some scarring on the skin of some varieties and smaller fruit.

Overall, he had a full crop.

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"We are picking some galas now," said Miller, who grows 22 apple varieties. "They are big enough but about a quarter inch to almost a half inch smaller than normal. But we have a lot of fruit."

Rittman Orchards & Farm Market in Doylestown, in Wayne County, grows more than 100 varieties.

The wild temperature fluctuations during the winter caused trees to start to lose dormancy before it chilled back down, Chris Vodraska explained.

"It was a roller coaster of temperatures this past winter," Vodraska said. "We're a little light on a couple of varieties, but out of the huge number that we grow, almost everything looks great. Apples tend to be pretty hardy. These fluctuations hurt our cherries and plums more."

Honeycrisp is by far the orchard's most popular apple, he said, and it's ripe now and available at the orchard's market. After the honeycrisp, the most popular apples are gala, Jonagold and evercrisp.

Vodraska's personal favorite is the goldrush, which he said is high in acid and sugar.

"I tell people it’s like eating sour candy," he said. "It’s one of our latest apples. It ripens at the end of October."

Sunny Slope, Dillon and Rittman offer pick-your-own beginning this month.

"Overall, the consensus is there are good apples, and it was a good growing season," Goist added. "It was very dry early on but the apples seem to be resilient. We have a wonderful crop in this area."

Here's a look at some apple orchards throughout Northeast Ohio:

Stark County

Arrowhead Orchard, 11724 Lisbon St. SE, Paris; 330-614-2947; www.ArrowheadOrchard.com; info@arrowheadorchard.com. Pick-your-own season for this year is Sept. 8-Oct. 30, from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays, and noon-6 p.m. Sundays; visit www.arrowheadorchard.com/pick-your-own for details, including harvest schedule for types of apples or to book a picking slot. Visit Arrowhead Orchard on Facebook for updates. To confirm the status of a specific apple variety, call the Applehouse Market at 330-862-2733.

Sunny Slope Orchard, 14960 Millersburg Road, Tuscarawas Township; 330-833-9415; sunnyslopeapples.com. Pick your own apples or buy them at the market. Open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Lodi, transparent, early gold, Paula red, Jersey mac, gala and honeycrisp are being harvested now. Call for pick-your-own dates. For updates, visit facebook.com/sunnyslopeorchardohio.

Varian Orchards, 6340 Orchard View Drive SE, Osnaburg Township; 330-705-2607; varianorchards.com. Pick your own apples will begin 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 8 and noon to 3 p.m. Sept. 9, and will continue Saturdays and Sundays at those times until Oct. 9. Apples offered are gala, Jonagold, fuji, cortland, golden delicious, empire, melrose, McIntosh and Granny Smith. Visit Varian Orchards on Facebook for updates.

Wade’s Fruit Farm, 12915 Warren Road NE, Paris; 330-862-3313; fruitfarmer@frontier.com. Visit Wade’s Fruit Farm on Facebook for pick-your-own apples updates.

Ashland County

Scenic Ridge Fruit Farm, 2031 State Route 89, Jeromesville; 419-368-3353; or baumanorchards.com/locations/scenic-ridge. Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Visit Scenic Ridge Fruit Farm on Facebook for updates.

Springhill Fruit Farm, 5646 Ganges-Five Points Road, Shiloh; 419-896-2866; springhill-fruit-farm.com. Open 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. No pick-your-own apples, but the store sells them.

Carroll County

Manfull Orchards, 8146 Kensington Road, Augusta; 330-895-4861; manfullorchards.com; shop@manfullorchards.com. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. No pick-your-own apples, but the farm market sells them.

Columbiana County

Dillon Fruit Farm, 10841 Wayne Bridge Road, Lisbon; 330-424-5169; dillonfruitfarm.com. Open 9 a.m-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Honeycrisp, ginger gold, Mollies Delicious, Paula Red and early transparent now are available in the market. Call for availability of pick-your-own, or visit Dillon Fruit Farm on Facebook for updates.

Huffman Fruit Farm, 13075 Lisbon Road, Salem; 330-533-5700. Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Call for availability dates of pick-your-own apples. Visit Huffman Fruit Farm on Facebook for updates.

Sanor’s Fruit Farm, 2514 State Route 172, Minerva; 330-894-2375. Open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. No pick-your-own apples, but the store sells them. Call for updates.

Mahoning County

Haus Orchard & Cider Mill, 6742 West Calla Road, Canfield; 330-533-5305; hausappleorchards.com; ohcheb55@gmail.com. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. No pick-your-own apples, but the market sells them. Visit Haus Cider Mill on Facebook for updates.

Stahl's Farm Market, 10780 N. Johnson Road, North Benton; 330-584-2077. Visit Stahl’s Farm Market on Facebook or call for pick-your-own apples dates and available varieties. Stahl's operates locations in Ravenna and North Benton, but uses one Facebook page for both.

White House Fruit Farm, 9249 State Route 62, Canfield; 330-533-4161; admin@whitehousefruitfarm.com or www.whitehousefruitfarm.com. Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday. No pick-your-own apples, but the market sells them. Visit White House Fruit Farm on Facebook for updates.

Medina County

Geig's Orchard, 8468 Wooster Pike, Seville; 330-769-3276; www.geigsorchard.com. Open 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Pick-your-own apples the first two weekends in October. Visit https://www.geigsorchard.com/menu-1 for harvest schedule. Visit Geig’s Orchard on Facebook for updates.

Hillside Orchard, 2397 Center Road, Hinckley; 330-225-4748; hillsidefarmfresh.com; info@hillsidefarmfresh.com. Open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Pick-your-own apples will be for two weekends beginning Oct. 1, while the crop lasts.

Pick n' Save Orchard, 1222 Ledge Road, Medina; call 330-239-1480 for a recording of picking dates; picknsaveorchard.com; lynnorchard1@gmail.com. One-hour reservations are required for pick-your-own apples. Purchase tickets at http://pick-n-save-orchard.ticketleap.com. No admission into the picking areas of farm without a reservation. Apple bags are free; outside containers are prohibited. Visit the website for updates on which apples are available to pick.

Richardson Farms, 6984 Lafayette Road (Route 42), Medina; 330-722-4029; http://richardson-farms.com. Open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Pick-your-own apples begins the second weekend of September and lasts until the apples are gone. Farm market also sells apples.

Portage County

Beckwith Orchards, 1617 Lake Rockwell Road, Kent; 330-673-6433; www.beckwithorchards.com. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Visit https://www.beckwithorchards.com/#varieties for apple types and harvest dates. No pick-your-own, but gift shop sells apples.

Monroe's Orchard & Farm Market, 6313 Pioneer Trail, Hiram; 330-569-7464; monroesorchard.com; info@monroesorchard.com. Pick-your-own apples is mid-September to mid-October on the weekends. Apple Harvest Festivals are always 1-5 p.m. the last Saturday of September and the first two Saturdays of October. Farm market also sells apples. Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Visit Monroe’s Orchard on Facebook for updates.

Stahl's Farm Market, 4560 State Route 14, Ravenna; 330-325-0640. Open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. on Saturdays and Sundays beginning in mid-September. Visit Stahl’s Farm Market on Facebook or call for pick-your-own apples dates and varieties available. Stahl's operates separate facilities, in Ravenna and North Benton, but uses a single Facebook page for both.

Richland County

Apple Hill Orchards, 1175 Lexington-Ontario Road, Mansfield; 419-884-1500. And, 16908-16970 Upper Fredericktown Amity Road, Fredericktown; 740-694-7688; applehillorchards.info@gmail.com; applehillorchards.com. Mansfield location open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m-6 p.m. Sunday. Pick-your-own apples now through early November at either location. Find the harvest schedule on the orchard website, or check Apple Hill Orchards on Facebook for updates.

Summit County

Kuner's Fruit Farm, 5424 S. Arlington Road, Green; 330-896-1391. Open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. No pick-your-own apples, but the market sells them.

Tuscarawas County

Hillcrest Orchard, 2474 Walnut St., Walnut Creek; 330-893-9906. No pick-your-own apples, but the store, open 8 a.m-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, sells them.

Wayne County

Bauman Orchards Farm Market, 161 Rittman Ave., Rittman; 330-925-6861; office@baumanorchards.com; baumanorchards.com. Open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. Pick-your-own apples during Fall Festival on Sept. 23, 30, Oct. 7 and 14, when the orchard will have fall activities for kids, food trucks and musical entertainment. Also, The Corner Market, 10370 Akron Road (corner of state Routes 585 and 57) in Rittman, sells apples. Call 330-855-1029. Open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. Visit Bauman Orchards on Facebook for updates.

Moreland Fruit Farms, 1558 W. Moreland Road, Wooster; 330-264-8735. Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Call or visit Moreland Fruit Farms on Facebook for updates.

Rittman Orchards & Farm Market, 13548 Mount Eaton Road N, Doylestown; 330-925-4152; http://rittmanorchards.com, info@rittmanorchards.com. Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Pick-your-own apples available for about 15 varieties of apples from very early September through mid-October. Honeycrisp is early September on the weekends until picked out. A few other varieties are available on the weekends until the main season of pick-your-own apples starts Sept. 23. After that, pick-your-own apples are available every day but Monday for the next couple of weeks while apples last. Visit Rittman Orchards on Facebook for updates or https://rittmanorchards.com/whats-ripe/ for information on pick-your-own apples.

This article originally appeared on The Independent: Apple lovers ready for pick-their-own at local orchards