The apple trees are loaded with ripe apples in the fall. You might ask, “Were these trees always this big?”

No. In fact they were like tiny sticks when we planted them. See the small trees in the front of this picture and the bigger ones in back? They grow a lot each year, just like you. They produce their first apples when they're about four years old.

Johnny Appleseed used to plant the seeds inside the apple to start the many apple trees all over the countryside where he traveled. Did you know the seeds inside the apple form the shape of a star? The blossom was a star shaped flower with five petals that grew into an apple, leaving the seeds inside and the bottom and stem to remind us of the flower from springtime.

Here is the orchard in the springtime with the trees full of fragrant blossoms. During this critical time of year, we need good weather. This means nights with no frost or freeze conditions that could kill the blossoms, and days with sunshine and no wind, making it possible for the honey bees to do their job of pollination.

Trailers of bee hives are placed in the orchards so that the bees can fly from blossom to blossom collecting pollen and returning to the hives to make honey. Our beekeeper bottles the honey and we sell it in Grandma’s Pantry here at the country store. The size and quality of the apple crop depens on a lot of different factors, but the springtime is a very important start to the year.

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