In 1997, Gideoni Huber and her husband established apple orchards on what used to be a sheep and soya farm between Ermelo and Piet Retief, on the watershed that divides the waters for the Indian Ocean from those flowing to the Atlantic Ocean.
Lying close to 2,000 metres above sea level gives them the necessary cold units for apple production.
The escarpment drops quickly towards the east coast: a few kilometres down, she says, it's already 4°C warmer than on the high-lying plain where they farm. It's a hard climate, worlds away from the mildness of the Western Cape's apple-growing regions.
Much-diminished Highveld apple crop
It's been a scant apple harvest this year due to three freezing nights during the spring flowering season.
"This year we cherish every apple," she says. "All of us farming apples in the central parts of South Africa got hurt this season, and we're taking off probably about half of the crop we'd normally get."
Coming right at the start of South Africa's apple season by mid-January, it pays to farm the Gala types. They grow the varieties included under the Top Red umbrella, Granny Smith apples, Cripps Pink (Pink Lady) and Cripps Red (Joya) for local retail.
The Pink Lady apples are also used for drying.
CA facilities part of the long-term plan
The apple packhouse on the farm, operating under the name The Big Apple, was set up as a two-lane facility years ago. It has grown over the years to an eight-lane machine.
The packhouse runs 4,000 tons of apples over the line for a period of six months. The Big Apple supplies Freshmark and exports to Africa, the Middle East, Bangladesh and Malaysia through various exporters.
By the end of next week they ought to finish up the Cripps Red (Joya) harvest, highly sought-after by, specifically, buyers from Kenya and Zambia for its colour and long shelf life.
Outside of the Cape, in Mpumalanga and the Free State, there are no controlled atmosphere (CA) facilities, which limits their marketing opportunities.
"One would like to plant more Joya to market it in November when it's the only red apples around," she says. "Eventually we'll get there, but volumes will have to justify the large outlay of a CA room."
For more information:
Gideoni Huber
The Big Apple
Tel: +27 82 694 5973
Email: [email protected]