Canada: After years of weather damage, Nova Scotia's apple crop is looking good this year

After several years of late frosts, too little rain, too much rain, and damaging winds, apple farmers in Nova Scotia finally seem to have had a low-stress year. “Some of the early varieties like Gravenstein had a little bit of frost damage, but the later varieties made it through the frost no problem,” says Andrew Johnson of Willowbank U-pick Farm in Starrs Point, which has about 12 acres in production. He said spring weather was good for both blossoms and bees, leading to good pollination. “We headed into a wet spring and then a dry August, and I would say overall the Annapolis Valley experienced a very good growing season.” Traditional apples like Gravenstein, MacIntosh and Cortland did well, he said. “The newer varieties such as Honeycrisp seemed to really enjoy the heat we had this summer,” Johnson said. “Across the Annapolis Valley the general consensus among farmers is that they’re probably some of the best Honeycrisp that the Valley has ever produced this year.” He said his ...