“Essence of winter sleep is on the night / The scent of apples: I am drowsing off,” wrote poet Robert Frost when describing the fall harvest.
But it is this crispness in the air that makes the fruit so delicious, said West Montrose-area farmer Stuart Bauman as he worked to collect this year’s juicy bounty.
“With the cool nights, frost can help to make them sweet,” said the 31-year-old, who owns an orchard on Wollis Road, near Line 86, where customers can also pick their own.
Until the recent cold snap, the pleasantly warm and bright days during September and the first half of October also made for a particularly ripe product, Bauman noted.
“Lots of sunny weather makes redder apples,” said the owner of Bauman’s Garden Care, which also sells compost.
However, while the latter part of the growing season has been “perfect,” the unseasonable cold and damp in the spring has meant his harvest is significantly smaller this year than last.
