SEPTEMBER APPLES AVAILABLE

Honey Crisp, MacIntosh, Ginger Golds & Zestar!’s

Available pre-bagged
or
bag-your-own


OUR OWN APPLES

We grow 24 varieties of apples and 8 varieties of pears and pick each when they are ripe and at their peak of size and taste. All of our apples ripen at different times of the season, some being early like Ginger Gold, Paula Reds, and Zestar! and some later such as Northern Spies, Red Delicious, and Russets. Come by our store to see what is available now or give us a call if you would like more details about when your favorite variety will be ready. Don’t forget to try a variety that is new to you. Our friendly staff can advise you on taste but it’s best to ask for a sample and taste for yourself. You might find a new favorite.

A Few of Our Apple Varieties

Visit our Pick-Your-Own page for details.

Learn about 'CA' storage here!

Apple season starts in July here at Campbell’s Orchards and a regular refrigerated storage (32 degrees F or 0 degrees C)is used for our fruit. We sell as much of our crop from our cold storage and any left, we sell off in the later winter months 2 for 1 as they are getting soft. In the fall, we stash some bins of premium varieties into a Controlled Atmosphere Storage off-site. These premium apples are pulled out of CA and we bring them home to our Cold Storage to sell. When the proper growing and harvesting techniques are used, many varieties of apples can be stored for 12 months when CA storage is used

CA storage as we know it got its start in England before World War II when farmers discovered their produce kept longer if stored in an airtight room. Commercial CA storage of apples in the United States had its early start in New York State and almost entirely in the Hudson Valley with the McIntosh variety. The first three CA rooms were put into operation in 1940. By late 1940, the Hudson Valley area had a 24,000 bushels CA capacity, and by 1949 this had increased to a 100,000-bushel capacity.

Buying crisp, sweet fruit year-round is possible due to controlled atmosphere storage. CA storage involves careful control of temperature, gases (oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen) and humidity; all kept at specified levels. Apples take in oxygen and give off carbon dioxide as starches in the flesh change to sugar. In sealed CA rooms, this respiratory process reduces the oxygen level to slow the ripening process.

CA storage is a non-chemical process. Oxygen levels in the sealed rooms are reduced, usually by the infusion of nitrogen gas. Oxygen levels drop from approximately 21 percent in the air we breathe to 1 or 2 percent. Temperatures are kept at a constant 32 to 36 degrees Fahrenheit. Humidity is maintained at 95 percent and carbon dioxide levels are also controlled. Exact conditions in the rooms are set according to the fruit variety. Researchers develop specific regimens for each variety to achieve the best quality. Computers help keep conditions constant.

Timing of the harvest is critical for good storage results. Fruit picked too early will not store well in CA nor will those that are picked past their proper maturity. In mid-August, apple growers start testing the maturity of their apples to accurately predict when to harvest their crop to put in CA rooms so the apples are mature, but not too ripe. Pear growers soon follow with similar tests. Firmness, skin color, seed color, sugar level and flesh chlorophyll are al

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