A2B-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, May 16, 1998
Chester County Orchardist Moves Focus Away
From Strawberries, Onto Tree Fruit
(Continued from Page Al)
home to fill the freezer, bake pies,
or make jams and jellies. Now,
“people want the quarts picked for
them.
“The thinking is, I want it yes
terday, and I want it cooked,” said
Johnson.
Time has become an issue. Peo
ple have less and less of it, appa
rently, and don’t devote a lot of
time to preparing meals, even por
tions of meals such as desserts.
Because of a changing consum
er landscape, growers such as the
Johnsons have had to “retool” the
business. That means planting
more apple and peach trees.
It also means, according to Alan
Johnson, taking time and thinking
through what they will do with the
more than a dozen acres no longer
devoted to strawberries.
The Johnsons care for 128 acres
of orchard in the Brandywine Val
ley region southwest of West
Chester, near the town of Union
ville. The farm is only about a
Peaches total about 22 varieties. Including Lorlng, Crest
Haven, Late Summer Haven, New Haven, and others. The
peaches include four varieties of nectarines, four of white
peaches, and 15 of the yellow varieties. This stand weath
ered the cold weather In mid-March.
The farm is only about a quarter of a mile from the Brandywine River. Here Alan
Johnson inspects the apple trees. Behind him lies the Brandywine. ’
quarter of a mile from the Brandy
wine River.
Altogether there are about IS
acres of apples, 10 acres of peach
es, and about IS acres of
pumpkins.
The primary focus of North
brook Orchards is pick your own.
The goal of the orchard is to pro
vide customers with “tree-ripened
fruit something that can be
eaten right from the tree,” said
Johnson. “My goal is to provide a
crop that people' want And’ the
more tree-ripened, the better it is.”
The Johnsons don’t sell fruit or
vegetables on the wholesale mark
et, avoiding the labor challenges
and other headaches associated
with picking and shipping fruit.
When they first purchased the farm
from Robert Hayman in 1982,
most acreage was in apples (about
80 altogether). There were a cou
ple of acres in peaches.
Northbrook was once a hamlet
near the banks of the Brandywine
River near the orchard. That’s how
the orchard got its name.
Alan Johnson’s Northbrook Orchard farm store Includes meats and cheeses,
baked goods, fresh produce, flowers, and other Items.
“As the market changed, we
changed,” said Johnson, who grew
up IS miles from New York City.
He moved to central Jersey and
worked for an orchard, Battleview
Orchards in Freehold, NJ. His
wife was a teacher in Monmouth
College and lived on an orchard.
Alan was graduated with a horti
cultural degree from Delaware
Valley College in Doylestown in
1975.
Johnson was involved in the
strawberry business since 1976.
Additional acres of strawberries
were planted on the farm. For a
while, the strawberry business
thrived. Then, as more and more
supermarket and even the smaller
stores obtained strawberries year
round, customers were drawn
away. And now the tide has
changed to more “ready to serve”
types of fruit
“People want to pick big fruit
that jumps in a box,” said Johnson.
“And size is always an issue.”
There are about 20 varieties of
apples on the Northbrook
Orchards, including Red Deli
cious, Stayman, Golden Delicious,
Jonathan, Empire, Jonagold, and
others. Peaches total about 22 var
ieties, including Loring, Crest
Haven, Late Summer Haven, New
Haven, and others. The peaches
include four varieties of nectar
ines, four of white peaches, and 13
of the yellow varieties.
There are a couple of varieties of
pumpkins, all pick your own.
The apple picking season begins
in September and runs through to
the end of October. Pricing is a
two-tier structure, from 49 cents to
The Johnsons care for 128 acres of orchard In the Bran
dywine Valley region southwest of West Chester, near the
town of Unlonvllle. Altogether there are about 15 acres of
apples, 10 acres of peaches, and about 15 acres of
pumpkins.
69 cents or so per pound, depend
ing on the season.
The peach-picking season
begins the second week of July and
lasts to mid-September. Depend
ing on the overall season and avail
ability, the price is anywhere from
89 cents to 99 cents per pound.
Pumpkins ate about 30 cents a
pound. The season begins Sept. 20
and lasts until Halloween.
Like many orchardists with
pick-you-own operations, the
Johnsons also make use of “enter
tainment” farming, including hay
wagon rides. Also included is a
small animal petting zoo with
sheep and other animals.
m
if
The farm store includes meats
and cheeses, baked goods, fresh
produce, flowers, and other items.
The profit margins continue to
narrow over the years, noted John
son. While his customers are loyal,
' most are sdll price-conscious and
worry about increases in price of
what he sells.
But like all growers, Johnson is
dependent on the weather.
He learned a long time ago that
you should “hold your breath until
you got it in the box.” He’s since
learned that you have to “hold your
breath until the money is in the
bank.” he said.
me l
m