SASKATCHEWAN ORGANIC APPLES IN DEMAND: THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCE

June 23, 2003

Every spring, when Craig and Yvette Hamilton's 10 acres of apple trees are in bloom, visitors to the Radisson-area farm want to rush home and establish their own apple orchard. And the Hamiltons encourage them.

"Our operation is strictly U-pick and we are sold out within two weeks every year. Because we are organic, we have loyal customers who even come from Alberta and British Columbia. So, although we have offers from companies, we have no intention of changing from U-pick - nor of expanding," says Yvette.

"The stores definitely want organic apples from Saskatchewan. There are not enough apples to meet the demand."

There are not enough hours in the day to answer all the calls from potential growers either. That's why the Hamiltons prepared an Orchard Guide that they sell for $15, $5 of which is donated to fruit research at the University of Saskatchewan. Research at the University of Saskatchewan, after all, made commercial apple production in this province possible.

When the Hamiltons were looking for another form of diversification in 1993, for example, they phoned the university to inquire about the possibility of growing fruit. Apples were suggested, and they've been in contact with Rick Sawatsky, a technician in the Department of Plant Sciences, ever since.

"These apples were of commercial size and quality. We were so impressed," recalls Yvette.

They were so impressed, in fact, they planted 5,500 trees, all bred at the University of Saskatchewan, during the next three years. Sawatsky taught them budding and grafting, but the rest of their learning experience was by trial and error.

"We can definitely tell growers what not to do. For example, trial and error is how we learned to keep our orchard clean and black - weed-free - until the end of July. Then we let the weeds grow because, by using the moisture, they cause the apples to harden for winter. We also hand-weeded at first, but we eventually found in-row tilling equipment that is so incredible we're now its Western Canadian distributor."

They also learned that, because their apples were bred for the prairies and because they have a high water table, they don't need irrigation. This lesson was learned during wet years that caused their apples to split. Prairie weather, specifically the wind, also reinforced the value of shelterbelts and taught them the need for a stake at every tree, never a trellis for several trees: stakes reduce the stress due to wind, but a trellis will allow the wind to take down a whole row of trees, not just one.

Their decision to grow organically was made after they contacted the B.C. Department of Agriculture, and modified their growers' guide to suit Saskatchewan's season and climate.

"That's when we learned that Saskatchewan has the optimal climate for growing organic apples. In fact, a Quebec researcher visited us and recognized that Saskatchewan has the soils and climate for good apple production. It's great here. Diseases are minimal," says Yvette.

Today, they have 25 acres of fruit in total, which includes 15 acres of plums, cherry plums, dwarf cherries, black currants and saskatoon plants. While they have 51 varieties of dwarf apples, two varieties are their mainstay: SK Prairie Sun, a multi-purpose apple that Yvette compares to a Granny Smith and says is great for processing and incredible for pies; and 18-10-32, described as a "really good keeper, which is especially important for organic apples." The Hamiltons like to grow the other varieties so they can offer the apple their customers want, but they have found that SK Prairie Sun and 18-10-32 are still the favourites.

The 2003 season may offer a few new challenges, however. Last year, although they harvested a good crop, grasshoppers were such a problem that two trees died because they were stripped clean of all leaves and apples.

"Last year we got the crop off before the grasshoppers were so bad, but I don't know what will happen this year: not only are we organic, the grasshoppers are here already."

Ironically, the value of diversification, which the Hamiltons recognized in 1993, may once again be proven. As in 1993, they are still growing wheat, mustard and oats on 2,200 acres, raising buffalo and doing some manufacturing. They also have their tilling-equipment distributorship.

"We are well organized and busy year round: seeding in the spring, the orchard in the summer, fall harvest, manufacturing in the winter, and buffalo year round. Although we may have a few ups and downs, the orchard has been a great means of diversification," says Yvette.