FENTON, Mich — It may still feel warm outside, but across metro Detroit, fall traditions are already in full swing.
Apple orchards are entering the heart of picking season — and while families are filling bags and enjoying cider, farmers say this year's harvest still depends heavily on one thing they can't control: the weather.
It's mid-season for apple picking in Michigan, and at Spicer's Orchard, growers are hoping to harvest half a million pounds of fruit. Whether they hit that goal is largely up to the weather.
"We do have about 80 varieties here and about 50-thousand trees," said Ryan Spicer, on his farm's 150 acres.
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Those 50,000 trees produce dozens of apples each — and Spicer calls apples his main crop.
"I think this is pretty close to an average year," Spicer said.
An average year for Spicer means producing roughly a half a million pounds of apples. As the orchard marks the midpoint of its late August to early November picking season, Spicer says they're projecting to fall several thousand pounds short of that goal — a shortfall he attributes almost entirely to the weather.
"You're flicking a coin against the weather here every morning," Spicer said.
Spicer says an early, hard frost could hurt the harvest because apple trees only bloom once per summer and fall, leaving no opportunity for a second crop. On the other end, a season without frost can cause trees to bear too much fruit — spreading the tree's energy too thin across all the apples it produces.
Right now, it's primarily pie apple season. Spicer says when the sun shines too intensely, it can cause discoloration — baking and ripening one side of the apple while the other side doesn't develop properly. During fall, however, the combination of warm days and cold nights creates ideal conditions for a quality apple.
That hasn't stopped apple pickers from enjoying the season. Dar Lorang called it "the perfect apple picking day." Apple picker Logan described the taste of what she found.
"It's like super sweet," Logan said.
Logan says she doesn't plan to waste any room in her bag.
"All the way up to the end. That's what I hope. All the way up filled," Logan said.
Apple picker Emma McFarland summed up her motivation simply.
"I like to find apples and eat them," McFarland said.
It's prime time apple picking season right about now at orchards across metro Detroit.
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