You probably could market the crop - check out any farmer's markets in your area. I've thought about apples, but from what I have learned they take a heck of a time to get to the point where they produce much fruit. (Five to ten years - it doesn't seem right, but that's what I've read so far.)
I'll let you know in six months. We have a bunch of pears and plums that I've done as a hobby - most of the fruit has been wasted. But this year I'm going to try to market it. I'm giving small scale farming a try (nothin' better to do and it keeps me out of trouble).
We planted a couple of apple whips in 1999 that came from the local soil covnservation district. They have yet to bear fruit. They might have, but the deer ate them off the second year. Beware the deer.
<font color="blue"> Beware the deer. </font color>
Hi Steve,
Oh, I FEAR the deer! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
I'm trying to figure out how to control them. So far the only answer is an 8 foot fence - but that gets darn expensive, even if you go with "cheap" deer fencing. And my wife is worried that it won't look nice [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img].
What has worked so far is to make hoops out of field fence. The hoops are about 5' across and we just put them around the trees. Not all of the trees have them, but to get to the ones that don't, the deer have to walk between some of the hoops. So far, no problems since the hoops went up. (knock on wood)
>> My question is - could I market the crop at all?
Probably, I've met several people in the past year who are successfully marketing small quantities of apples either through farmers markets or directly. I've also talked with a local CSA and they would like to sell organically grown fruit.
There are a lot of opportunities to sell, the big question is whether on a small scale you can earn enough of a return to justify the time you will spend.
There is a group in Albany, The Regional Farm and Food Project, which works with local growers and organizes a lot of different seminars. They are coordinating a series with a small scale commercial orchardist this year which may be of interest to you. You can find them on the web at: http://www.capital.net/~farmfood/.
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