“The weather was good for a long time,” said Elam Wills of Elam’s Organics. “We actually finished our harvest last month,” Wills said. “The trees are dormant now, so we’re beginning to prune them and I’ll spread compost on the ground soon. That soaks into the soil before they wake up in the spring. The compost also protects the roots somewhat from freezing temperatures.”
The weather in southern British Columbia, where Elam’s Organics is located was warm enough that Wills was able to begin harvesting his Gala apples in August. Normally, he would begin harvesting in October, but the fruit was ready for harvesting about two months early. By the end of October, Wills finished harvesting every apple variety grown on his farm. His farm, along with others in and around Cawston, British Columbia, provide the highest volume of organic apples to the fresh market in Canada.
Competitive local market
“Once we’ve picked the apples, they go into air storage, then we pack and ship them out. Our prices were reasonably good. I was actually kind of surprised,” Wills said. “Our local market was competitive enough that we didn’t get as high a price for our apples as I was anticipating. We sell to buying groups, wholesalers and retailers. Where we sold in areas away from here, we did better,” Wills said. “The market was pretty good [for organic apples] in the Pacific Northwest. The volume and size were both good. We had lots of fruit on the trees. We got the rain we needed, but not much hail. We’re working on getting our harvest sold as quickly as possible. I have about two weeks’ worth of apples left, so I anticipate finishing my sales by mid-December,” Wills estimated.
For more information:
Elam Wills
Elam’s Organics
Tel: +1 250-499-2327