Summer’s bounty ripens

Cayden Olszak picks Paula Red apples from Surowiec Farm in Sanbornton Thursday afternoon.  (Karen Bobotas/for The Laconia Daily Sun)

Lakes Region apple crop is now ready for pick-your-own

By ROGER AMSDEN, LACONIA DAILY SUN

SANBORTON — Local apple orchards are filled with ripe early season apples as the pick-your-own season arrives.

Among the first to open was the Surowiec Farm on Perley Hill here, which opened last weekend and has an abundant crop of Paula Reds and will soon have Ginger Golds ready.

“It’s incredible this year. We’ve got great size and a great crop,” said Katie Surowiec, adding that her one regret is that her late mother-in-law, Jean Surowiec, can’t see the abundant crop.

“She’s the one who planted the first apple trees here in 1971 and started the pick-your-own business and she always loved seeing the apple crop,” said Surowiec.

Jean died at the age of 84 earlier this year. She had married Albert Surowiec in 1960 and the couple ran the farm, which has been in the family since 1917, as a dairy farm until Albert died unexpectedly in 1970. She sold the dairy herd and dairy equipment and planted apple trees, opening the farm as a pick-your-own operation in 1976.

In addition to the early varieties, Surowiec said his 7-acre orchard offers McIntosh, which will soon be ready, as well as Cortland, Macoun, Empire, Fuji, Gala and Honey Crisp, the latter of which is not available for pick-your-own visitors but can be bought at the farmstand.

“It’s a great apple for eating. Great flavor,” said Surowiec.

Also open over the weekend was Stone Brook Farm on Glidden Road in Gilford, which is operated by Tony and Mary Balsamo, and features Ginger Gold and McIntosh.

A spokesperson for the farm said that there is an abundant crop with lots of good-sized apples.

Among those picking at Stone Brook were Pat and Earl Brough of Laconia, who said it was their first visit to the orchard since the new owners took over three yers ago. They were impressed with the bounty.

“We’ll be back for more later this fall, that’s for sure,”said Earl Brough.

Opening Friday in Belmont this week  will be the Smith Apple Orchard, owned and operated by Rob and Wende Richter since 1985. Under previous ownership, their farm was a pioneer in pick-your-own apples back in the 1950s.

Richter said he has a huge crop this year, “Maybe one of the biggest I’ve ever seen.”

He and his wife always look forward to the apple season.

“We do love it and wouldn’t want to be doing anything else,” said Rob.

He and his wife view themselves as the caretakers of a long tradition of apple growing at the orchard, which still has many of the original McIntosh and Cortland trees planted by Charlie Smith in 1928, when he was entering his senior year at the University of New Hampshire.

The 15-acre field which was planted by Smith had originally been an open pasture across the road from a large farmhouse on Leavitt Road. The farmhouse burned and was replaced by a smaller home the Smith family built.

Over the years Smith hired crews of workers to pick the apples, but by the 1950s, when only the reddest fruit was considered acceptable for sale and there was no wholesale market for the rest, Smith made the novel step of opening his orchard to sell directly to the public, becoming what may have been the very first “pick-your-own’’ operation in the entire state.

“He told us he made more selling that way than he did on the wholesale market. And it became very popular with people coming here and picking the orchard clean every year,” said Rob.

There’s even a story about the tradition of opening the orchard on a Friday. Smith told the Richters he had so many complaints from local people that out-of-staters were flocking to the orchard and getting the best apples when it opened on a Saturday that he decided to open it a day earlier so that local people would enjoy the first picking.

Today, in addition to the McIntoshes and Cortlands, some of which are growing on 80-year-old trees, the orchard offers Red Delicious, Yellow Delicious, Jona Gold, Ginger Gold and McCoun.

As the older, full-size trees are lost to old age (some 200 remain), the Richters are replacing them with dwarf and semi-dwarf trees and now have about 3,000 apple trees.

The smaller trees are easier to take care of and produce larger apples according to Rob, who got his start in the apple business in Madison, Maine, not far from Skowhegan, and was being groomed to take over the management of a large apple orchard there when he tore up his knee two days before the apple harvest started.

He said he made his living in the corporate world until he moved to Laconia, where one of the first people he met was Charlie Smith, who, once he got to know about his interest in apple growing, told him “You should buy this place.”

The Richters continue the orchard’s long tradition as a place for preschoolers to visit and don’t charge the many school groups who plan their field day visits every September or October.

“Watching the kids have a good time is reward enough,” said Wende Richter. Both she and her husband were thrilled to be honored several years ago with the Lakes Region Child Care Business Champion Award for their support of early learning programs in the Lakes Region.

Visitors to the orchard this year will be greeted by Alpacas from a neighbors’ farm who are kept in an enclosure at the orchard during the times when it is open to pickers.

Sharyn Tabor of Laconia stops in Surowiec Farms for some apples, peaches, corn and potatoes as part of her CSA membership on Thursday afternoon.  (Karen Bobotas/for The Laconia Daily Sun)

Pat and Earl Brough of Laconia picked McIntosh apples Saturday at Stone Brook Farm in Gilford. (Roger Amsden/Laconia Daily Sun)

Stone Brook Farm in Gilford opened its 1,000 tree orchard to apple pickers over the weekend. McIntosh and Ginger Gold varieties are available. (Roger Amsden/Laconia Daily Sun)

Paula Red apples, ready for picking at Surowiec Farm in Sanbornton. (Karen Bobotas/for The Laconia Daily Sun)