Winter wonderland. Snow covers the tramlines in the apple orchards. The air is fresh. The sun is low on the horizon. The mercury is even lower. Quiet buzzing interrupts the silence. The lift makes its way between the row of trees. With concentration and skill, we organic farmers guide the pruning shears around bare branches. Click. Click. Click.

This is how we prepare our apple trees for the next harvest during their dormancy period. The idea is to shape the trees such that the apples receive sufficient sap and light later. The way they are pruned depends on the apple variety. And of course on the farmer’s philosophy.

We prune the trees that we have not yet put in to the ideal shape. And we put ourselves into shape as well by means of lively group discussions and advanced training. We attend lectures and seminars on a range of topics that includes everything from occupational safety and hygiene to apple cultivation.

And it’s now time to create a few new apple orchards... in the areas we cleared in the late autumn.
Not an easy task: stretching wire between pillars, inserting watering hoses and fitting crosswise tensioning, for example. And fitting hail nets where they are required. At the end of the month, the sun exerts its power again. During the day, the temperature rises slightly. The sunlight and warmth stimulate new elan in the groves and the first buds start to swell. Spring tests the waters: furtively, without making waves.

Hello spring! Nature gathers momentum and the buds on the apple trees burst open. First green tips appear, and then “mouse ears” unfold from them. A fascinating spectacle – and not only for the astonished eyes of the organic farmers. On some nights, Jack Frost still haunts the orchards. We wrap the delicate buds in a protective cloak: the water in the frost watering system freezes when the temperature is below zero. It warms the buds and flowers, as the act of freezing dissipates heat. Yes, this is nature’s intelligence.

From the beginning to full bloom. Countless flowers: hundreds, thousands on each apple tree. Breathtakingly beautiful. The bad news: if they all remain on the tree, an overhang will result. In the event, the apples will ripen poorly and fail to develop the required size and flavour characteristics. This is why we thin the flowers mechanically, with a rotor.

Flowers attract bees. Our own, or the bees of neighbouring beekeepers. In some tramlines, we sow cover crops. Their roots penetrate the soil, they offer natural antagonists a habitat, they blossom for insects. And for our eyes. Breathtakingly beautiful.

In the new apple orchards, it is time to plant the curated saplings in the prepared furrows. Before they have developed deep roots, they support themselves on the wires that we stretched between the pillars. They grow for the next two years and bear only a little fruit. From the third year, they present us with an abundance of our favourite fruit.

Without plant protection, aphids, fungi and scab enjoy easy access. This is why we also help to protect our organic orchards. But with alternative means. We organic farmers only use substances that occur in nature and only use nature-identical pesticides. With rigorously agreed limit values that are monitored just as rigorously.

Now is also the best time to till the soil. Crumbling clears the rows, loosens up the soil and enriches it with oxygen. The apple trees receive more nutrients and can absorb water more efficiently, and this in turn benefits fruit growth. We also mulch the apple trees: cover the soil around them with organic material. Alongside grass clippings, tree bark, straw and compost have a beneficial effect. Mulching admits valuable nutrients into the soil and the extra layer protects the soil against drying out. It also suppresses the growth of weeds.

After the late spring frost that usually occurs mid-May, most nights are frost-free. Now the apples are in the cell division phase in which they prepare for their growth spurt.

Thinning out. Thinning out. Thinning out. Although the flowers were thinned out in April, there is still too much fruit on the trees. Small, poorly developed, damaged or surplus fruit is plucked from the branches by hand now. Identified with a trained eye and easily separated by a quick thumb and index finger. They make way for larger, stronger fruit and enable the trees to nourish the remaining fruit with all their power. For ideal growth, optimal colouration and an excellent harvest. They simply fall to the ground. And return to the cycle of nature.

The weather decides when the hail nets are closed. For protection against destructive showers, and against too much sun as well.

The drip irrigation in our orchards sets to work in the summer heat. It systematically applies water instead of wasting it. We are already thinking about the next step. Planning our harvest. Contacting our harvest workers. From the region and around the world. We have known many of them for years and some of them for decades.

Trust is good, but control is better. During the growing season from April to October, internal inspectors and external auditors can knock on the door to the farm at any time. They take a critical look at our orchard register, our farms, our orchards... and also at the accommodations for our harvest workers. That’s good!

The right time for harvesting is crucial. At that time, flavour development, shelf life and storage compatibility are ideal. The altitude, weather and solar irradiation all influence ripeness, and therefore between two and five picking rounds per variety are necessary. Random samples with tests for starch degradation, among others, help to determine the degree of ripeness. They reveal the harvesting schedule to us and define the harvest window. And also provide the information to our fellow farmers.

And our own random samples are what distinguish our apples as 100% “organic” – taken with greater frequency on the boundaries to orchards with integrated apple cultivation. Free from prohibited pesticides, pure nature.

And then it’s harvest time! The first early varieties are ripe for the picking. Empty apple crates are filled: a solid 300 kilogrammes of pleasure. The perfect size and beautifully ripe. Apple by apple, hand by hand. Some of the apples need a bit more time. We’ll return later.

Many of our apple varieties were harvested some time ago, while others are now on their third or fourth picking round. And some don’t take centre stage until September. Orchard by orchard, tree by tree and apple by apple – this is how we gather the fruits of our work year.

Crate by crate, they are transported to the cooperative, where they are stored. The season also starts for the sorting line. A productive year gets the green light. It selects the apples according to size, weight and quality. In the process, they are cleaned, measured, weighed and scanned. And sorted, of course. In the packing room, each apple is carefully inspected again before it lands in the packaging with its colleagues. Apple by apple, crate by crate. Grouped onto pallets and loaded into refrigerator lorries. Fresh fruit section, here we come!

At this time, we harvest our late varieties. Crate by crate, they join their colleagues in the cooperative, where they are sorted, packaged and loaded. We store the apples that are not immediately sold in locked refrigeration cells until we find their sales opportunities. A special oxygen-nitrogen mixture puts them to sleep: they breathe more slowly and their ripening process decelerates. They remain fresh and crispy; even for months at a time.

And thanks to our wide range of varieties, their excellent storage compatibility and long shelf life, we are diverse enough to perfectly cover an entire year.

The last apples of a long harvest season are separated from their trees. At the same time, this is the month in which we organic farmers begin to think about next year. Which trees are still good, which ones should we replace? The variety of apple and age of the tree are the key criteria for this decision. A decision about making room for new growth. The excavator does not remove the roots and stump until the pruning shears have lopped off the branches and the chainsaw has cut down the trunk.
We dry the branches, trunks and stumps, and then use them as fuel for our fireplaces. We look forward to the cosy warmth of the parlour when we return home after work on a raw November day. For example, when we make our machines fit to survive the winter by cleaning, lubricating – or, if necessary – repairing them.

Nature goes into hibernation – and we do the same. We use the quiet time for retrospection and look ahead to the future as well. New machines? New pruning techniques? Innovations in organic farming?

Some of us are even back in the apple orchards, pruning. This helps the plants through their dormancy period and ensures that they can grow properly in the new year. Here’s to a prosperous new year!