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Keeping Up With the Johnsons at Buffalo Ridge Orchard – Testing Apple Varieties for Readiness
Tuesday, Sept. 22 | 12:30 – 1:05 p.m.
When your farm raises an array of vegetables in the field and high tunnels, has a full production apple orchard and is gearing up to open a farm store, there is plenty to show and learn! In this three-part series, Emma will show Buffalo Ridge Orchard’s new packhouse procedures for food and employee safety with vegetable crops. We’ll join Emma on a virtual tour of the farm’s cherry tomatoes growing in the high tunnel. Finally, we’ll see how the Johnsons test and determine when different apple varieties are ready to be picked.
Hosts: Emma & Marcus Johnson | Buffalo Ridge Orchard | Facebook
The Farm: Marcus and Emma Johnson operate Buffalo Ridge Orchard near Central City, Iowa, with Emma’s parents, Mary and Vernon Zahradnik. The 80-acre farm has 5 acres of diversified vegetables in the field and high tunnels, and 13 acres of orchard, including 3,600 apple trees consisting of 50 new and classic varieties. Their packhouse, completed in 2019, includes a farm store (open in 2020) and a processing and packaging area for dried apples.
Topics:
- Apple varieties
- Iodine test
- Brix test
- Pressure test
Other Events in the Series
- June 2: Enhanced practices for COVID-19, employee health, food safety, sanitizing , collaborative box packing and distribution
- July 28: High tunnel cherry tomato tour: transplanting, trellising and pruning, harvest, variety tour
Note: You may attend all events in the series, or pick the ones you’re most interested in.
Format: Virtual Field Day (#3 of Series)
Platform: Facebook Live
Acknowledgements
This field day was made possible in part by the support of Ceres Trust.
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