Peake Orchard takes measures to minimize impact of early start to growing season interrupted by freezing temperatures

by Kelli Boylen
freelance writer

It’s amazing that in most years everything goes right when one considers how apple orchards face so many obstacles in nature. Fungus, insects, drought and hail can all wreak havoc. And, of course, frost at blossom time.
But Al Peake of Peake Orchards west of Waukon says the damage from the recent frost and freezing temperatures was not as bad as it could have been, and he is cautiously optimistic that this year’s crop will not be affected in a major way.
This year’s growing season is three to four weeks ahead of how things usually are during typical northeast Iowa springtime. Unfortunately, the unusually warm days have not been without cold nights, which has the potential to decimate fruit blossoms.
So far, Peake says, the frost damage to the blossoms has been minimal. Certain varieties blossom at slightly different times, so not all the trees were as susceptible to the cold weather at the same time.
Apple blossoms typically develop in clusters of five, with the largest blossom in the middle that develops just ahead of the rest (similar to raspberries). This gives the tree a little more leeway to deal with cold weather. As long as one of the blossoms is pollinated, that cluster of blossoms will develop an apple.
Some blossoms in the flower clusters at Peake Orchard were damaged by frost, but it does not appear that on any of the varieties that entire clusters were destroyed.
On the night earlier this month that overnight lows were forecasted to drop to 22 degrees, the Peakes did cover some honeycrisp trees thinking that they would then at least have enough for their family if the blossoms were frozen, but fortunately the majority of blossoms on all trees made it through just fine.
That particular night they did make fires between the rows of apple trees in an attempt to keep the coldest air from settling around the trees. “It may have been a futile attempt,” says Peake. “But we felt that we had to try to do something."
Peake says that choosing a location for an orchard can be very important. Since cold air sinks, valleys are often colder than the ridges on frosty mornings. Peake Orchard is located between Waukon and Decorah off of Apple Road, at a good elevation.
Working with other family members, Al Peake planted his first 75 apple trees in 1979, and shortly thereafter planted 375 more. Today, Peake Orchard consists of approximately 1,000 apple trees on about six and a half acres.
They are currently growing about 10 varieties, and plan on selling about seven varieties of apples this fall. Dwarf root stock apple trees require at least four years before they first produce a crop, and standard size root stock trees require up to eight years.
Typically, the first apples of the year are ready to be sold about September 15, but Peake says he is not sure about this year. Since the apple growing season started about three weeks early, it is possible that harvest will begin earlier as well. “I’ve never experienced spring weather like this before, so we will just have to wait and see,” he says.
The vast majority of labor is supplied by the Peake family, including Al, his wife, Cathy, his son and daughter-in-law Jeremy and Jody Peake, Al’s parents, Hap and Jo, and good friends, Jeff and Kate Scott.
Although harvest is obviously the busiest time of the year, apple trees are certainly not something to be ignored the rest of the year. Apple trees can be pruned anytime after they become dormant, usually after January 1.
Usually, Peakes prune trees from about March 1 to about April 20, but this year pruning season was cut short due to the abnormally warm weather in March. They did not get all the trees pruned, which can be a concern as unpruned trees are more susceptible to disease, and they do not produce as many quality apples.
About the time of “bud break” they start protecting the trees from the fungus known as apple scab. “That is our biggest enemy,” Peake says. Apple scab does not kill the apple tree, but it significantly reduces fruit yields and fruit quality. The fruit that is affected has black fungal lesions which make it unmarketable.
Although they do all they can to keep spraying the apple trees to a minimum, they do have to spray in the spring before the fruit really starts to form, to prevent this devastating fungus. They rarely spray before April 20, but this year they sprayed March 28.
Apple trees in northeast Iowa are typically susceptible to apple scab from about April 20 to about June 25. This year, like every year, Peakes will closely monitor the temperature and moisture in the orchard for the certain conditions that are most likely to host the fungus.
The grass in the orchard must be kept mowed to control weeds, insects and fungus. Once the petals fall from the blossoms, usually around Mother’s Day, then they also begin closely monitoring for insects. The worst ones are coddling moth, apple maggot fly and plum curculio. Peake is concerned that because of the longer growing season this year, there may be more generations of insects this summer.
This spring has been hard on the “good insects” too. Fruit trees are pollinated in large part by bees, and the cooler days with wind and rainy days prevent the bees from fully going out to visit the blossoms. Last week Tuesday, the bees were making up for lost time.
Peakes rent eight bee hives in order to have more bees taking care of pollination. With as many as 60,000 bees per hive, that is nearly a half a million tiny workers helping to ensure a healthy apple crop.
About the first week of June, Peakes are busy thinning the small developing fruit, which is about the size of a “shooter marble.” On some varieties of trees they remove about half of what the tree has started. This helps to assure that the apples which are produced will be full sized and fully flavored at harvest time.
Even if orchards are hit hard by frost, the around-the-year labor still must go into the trees. Apple scab needs to be controlled, and the trees have already been pruned and the insects can not be allowed to take over. If upkeep on the orchards isn’t done every year despite the conditions, “It can come back to bite you the next year as well,” says Peake. Fortunately, it looks like everything is still looking positive for this year’s apple crop.
Peake Orchard is a family-owned, small corporation, and in addition to taking care of the orchard with his family, Al Peake is also a realtor with Friest & Associates in Decorah. The orchard is open Saturdays and Sundays starting about mid-September until the season is done. They also sell apples at local farmers markets as well as the Waterloo farmers market. They sell to local school districts, and their apples are carried at local supermarkets, including the Oneota Co-op and Fareway in Decorah.