Just this past week, we — Olivia, Pascale and Karyn — ventured out to Keswick Ridge to visit Sandow Farm! We were excited to learn more about this organic apple orchard, pick apples and have an afternoon out of the office!
We hit the road from Conserver House in Fredericton, taking in the beautiful New Brunswick landscape and changing tree leaves. Just before we arrived at Sandow Farm, we came across five deer nibbling on someone’s front lawn.
We arrived, greeted by Philip Chaplin, who owns the farm with his wife Marieka and two children. Marieka gave us a tour and excitedly told us all about what it is like to own an apple orchard! The Chaplins purchased the apple farm in 2011 from a family who had maintained it as a pesticide-free orchard. They decided to keep with the organic tradition and in 2013, gained organic certification from the Canadian Organic Regime (COR). They use no man-made chemicals or sprays of any kind on any of the trees at their farm! Marieka and her husband are members of Apple Growers of New Brunswick, a group of farmers dedicated to promoting apple and fruit growing in the province. Seminars and learning opportunities are provided by Apple Growers of NB to the public and growers to promote this growing industry.
The main variety of apples grown here are Sandow apples, which are a scab-free variety, making them a good variety to produce organically. The Sandow was introduced in 1935, but was never very widely distributed, being popular only in New Brunswick and Quebec. Sandow apples are a favourite for desserts and cooking! There are around 125 Sandow trees on their property.
When you arrive at the farm you have the option of getting either a 10lb bag, a 20lb bag, or you can bring your own and they will weigh it for you. The apples are yellow in colour, washed with deep crimson and often have patches of light brown russet that emerge from the top and bottom. They are crisp, juicy, and oh so delicious!
The Chaplin’s own 2 pigs which they raise for themselves; they are a big hit with many of the children who visit the orchard … however we were pretty excited to see them too! We continued our tour around the orchard and Marieka explained what they do with “drops” – the apples that fall on the ground naturally or by pickers that aren’t as good for eating. To maintain the orchard and have as little drops as possible, they rotate the rows available for picking. No apple is wasted! The drops are used for many things; Marika and her family often make apple rings, applesauce and cider for themselves and their family.
Once we finished our tour of the property, we decided to go pick some apples. We lucked out, since this year there was a really good crop of big apples! Most of the larger apples were higher up in the trees – the Chaplin’s have several long poles we used as a device to help reach the apples at the top. Many of the lower hanging apples are eaten by deer that roam into the orchard but some still remain for children to pick!
Marieka told us about their new soil building program to help bring woody debris back to the soil. In the winter time they prune the apple trees and add this woody debris to a pile with horse manure. They leave it there for at least a year and then add it to the apple tree orchard.
After filling a ten pound bag and learning lots from the Chaplin’s about their organic orchard, we were excited to head home and make something with these delicious apples. Stay tuned to see what we make and learn the recipe!
We used our online directory BuyLocalNB™ to search for apple orchards near Fredericton and found Sandow Farm. The BuyLocalNB™ website and soon-to-be-released smartphone application will allow today’s on-the-go, tech-savvy local foodies to easily find local farmers, artisans, and markets in the province. The app also focuses on local experiences that can be had – tours, u-picks, sugar shakes and more – all ways that we can encourage education about farmers and producers and their yummy products and at the same time encourage a fun sunny day in the country with friends or family. Marieka was very excited about the new app, stating that it is a “fantastic tool and a nice way to connect with producers!”
The BuyLocalNB™ app will be available for android users later this week!
