Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/418083
40 DECEMBER 2014 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com But he passed on the opportunity to join Next Big Thing and grow SweeTango. "Both of its parents are 'problem childs,'" he said, referring to Honeycrisp and Zestar! SweeTango is a very delicate apple and appears very susceptible to russet, he's learned. He has one orchard platform from Phil Brown Welding and likes it for thinning and stringing trellis wire. But he doesn't plan to use it for harvesting—at least, not yet. "I hope I'll see the time we're machine-harvesting apples," he said. "That's the way we're designing our orchards." Phil Brown Welding is less than two miles away from Thomes, and that's where the DBR harvester is being developed. Thome shows up at its demonstrations. The Thome farm has seven wind machines now, added one by one. In the freeze year 2012, when Michigan had less than 10 percent of an apple crop, Thome Orchards had apples near the wind machines, so they proved their worth. "We even had to thin them near the machines," he said. "We want to have a crop every year," he said. Still, he says, one machine can only affect about 10 acres. Long history Thome is the fourth generation to own the farm. His great-grandfather emigrated from Germany in 1846 and began growing peaches on the Ridge. It was called Peach Ridge then. After a few years, the farm began shifting to apples, and it's been that way for more than a century. Thome and his brother took over the farm and farmed together until a few years back, when they decided to split the farm and create new enterprises that would carry on with their children. The split resulted in some fragmentation of the land, but not much. Harold and Steve have 220 acres now in four blocks, but all within less than a mile of each other. Land not suited to apples is rented out to growers of field crops. Although his land has been in apples for many years, Thome says he's found no replant issues. "The soil is quite heavy here, all clay-loam, so we don't have nematode problems," he said. When renovating, they tip the trees with a backhoe, pile them and burn them, roots and all. "We work the land for a couple of years, then replant," he said. The Thome farm now grows 13 varieties, newer fresh-market varieties like Gala, Honeycrisp, and an early strain of Fuji (Aztec). "We still grow Red Delicious, and we still plant them," he said. "But we're heavy to Gala." They also still grow some of the early apple Paulared, which was discovered a half-century ago in an orchard not far from theirs. They sell their fruit through Jack Brown Produce, which provides storage, grading, and sales services. Next year, however, the Thomes will build CA storage rooms in a large new building. PHOTO BY RICHARD LEHNERT Thome Orchards had one of the earliest plantings of Royal Red Honeycrisp, which Harold Thome found out about while traveling with Neal Manly at Willow Drive Nursery on a trip sponsored by International Fruit Tree Association. The wind machine in the backgound is one of seven he installed after learning about them on another IFTA trip. Visit us at the Hort Show Booth # 128 Kennwick , WA • Dec. 1 st - 3 rd , 2014 Win a Gripple Trellising Pack Valued at $1,000. Mention this ad, and watch a short Gripple install video to enter. Dynamic 6 Gripple Plus www.gripple.com Bill Johnson Western & Central WA (509) 728-0664 bill@wilsonirr.com Steve Kuhn Western & Central WA (509) 728-1929 steve@wilsonirr.com Juan Piñon WA & OR (509) 728-1339 juan@wilsonirr.com Matt Blevins Tri-Cities, WA (509) 728-0570 mattb@wilsonirr.com Chris Siems California (507) 301-5106 chris@wilsonirr.com