Any chef knows, that to make a great dish you need high quality ingredients — and cider is no different. At The Orchard, we recognize that the best path to harvesting exceptional cider apples is to have healthy trees, and that means healthy soil and making intelligent choices about what goes into our orchard. While we are not certified organic and never will be, we use as many organic and sustainable principles as we can. Sometimes, with climate change challenges, a new insect or disease will present a threat to our trees that can only be resolved through the use of a non-organic treatment, but as our trees get older and stronger, those instances are rare. It is our belief that being good environmental stewards, promoting a balanced ecosystem full of natural beneficial insects and predators that manage the threats for us, and making the effort to sustainably meet the needs of our soil for a solid foundation, we reap the benefits of healthier trees, higher quality apples, and a cleaner environment.
Our focus centers on using naturally based inputs, such as kelp extract for growth regulation, elemental suspensions like copper for antifungal and bacterial protection, agricultural oils (canola) for insect defense, and foliar applied nutrients to keep the trees healthy and strong. Our Integrated Pest Management plan focuses on increasing bird habitats to reduce insect and rodent pressure, fostering a positive environment for beneficial insects, and careful monitoring of generational insect populations so we can react in a timely manner to any mounting issues.
The Orchard is a special place where we grow unique, old cider apple varieties that are difficult to find. Consistently producing high quality cider apples year after year depends on the health of The Orchard, which in turn relies upon a healthy ecosystem.
Creating a great cider depends on a number of factors, but none is more important than the quality of the juice. By using sustainable, environmentally friendly options to improve our ecosystem, our trees are healthier and we can deliver higher quality, cleaner fruit.
In order to ensure the longevity of The Orchard, we must carefully consider the consequences of every decision we make regarding soil amendments, nutritional inputs, irrigation, ecosystem development, and crop protection.
We love cider and we want every drop of juice we produce to make great ciders you can enjoy. Ease of fermentation, complex flavour profiles, and depth of character, are all affected by what we do before the juice arrives at your door.
