08/29/2026
GREEN BENCH ORCHARD UPDATE
SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 2026
NO U-PICK APPLES THIS FALL !!!
A 28 Degree freeze on May 18th killed almost all the developing apples in the orchard.
The freeze didn’t do any harm to the trees, just the apples, so I expect a good crop next year.
That is the first time this has happened since I started the orchard in 2011.
Another first this season is fire blight disease on some trees in the orchard. We have been pruning out the disease for the last couple of weeks. The fire blight hit the Wealthy trees pretty hard, but didn’t seem to affect the Honeycrisp variety. Left untreated the fire blight can have long-term impacts on apple trees in the orchard.
I am considering using my apple juicing equipment for people who do have apples and want to make juice. I know that the freeze was not widespread and many people do have apples on their trees. I will post again in a few weeks once we have a better idea of local apple harvest.
Thanks for supporting local agriculture in Missoula County.
5% of all sales, $146, was donated to Missoula Food Bank to further their feeding programs.
Hope to see you at the orchard. Farmer Fred