All About Apples

According to the US Apple Association, apples are grown in every state in the continental U.S. Top-producing states include Washington, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, California and Virginia.

Here in Kentucky, we have 672 apple orchards growing fruit trees on more than 1,000 acres (2017 Census of Agriculture). Rowan, Warren, and Harlan Counties have the most land dedicated to growing apples.

Only sour crab apple trees were native to America, until European settlers arrived and brought with them their English customs and favorite fruits. Native Americans appropriated what they liked, cultivating apples extensively.

The first American orchard was planted around 1625 by William Blackstone on Boston’s Beacon Hill. The first governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, William Endicott, was a distinguished orchardist. Endicott’s account book noted his children had set fire to part of his operation, destroying 500 trees, a very considerable operation at that time in history. Well-known American apple orchardists include George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

Most apples are harvested between late August and October. Each apple is hand picked by people using ladders and cloth buckets. The average annual U.S. apple crop is 224 million bushels. Each bushel contains on average 126 medium-sized apples.

Read

The Apple Orchard Riddle - Margaret McNamara

In this playful and humorous story, the students learn a lot about apples and apple orchards—including how apples are harvested, how cider is made, and what the different varieties of apples are—while trying to solve a riddle.

More books about apples recommended by the AFB Foundation for Agriculture

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Watch

The following are part of our Kentucky Farms Feed Me Virtual Field Trips

View all of Apple Orchard and Honey Bee Lessons that pair with this video. There are several Google Classroom-friendly options:

• Life Cycle of an Apple Tree - Grade 3 Science

• Apple Sort & Count- K Math

• In the Basket - Grade 1 Math

• Comparing Apples - Grade 2 Math, Writing, Financial Literacy

If you are in school, here are our standard lesson materials:

• Lesson - Apples are Awesome! (PDF)

• Parts of a Flower

• Parts of a Honey Bee

• The Business of Bees - from Kentucky Ready Set Grow

• LESSON: Buzzy, Buzzy Bee
  Provided by Food, Land, and People, this lessons helps students understand a bee’s role in pollinating apple blossoms.

Kentucky kid Peyton visits Hinton's Orchard and Farm Market to learn how they grow and sell apples and other fruits on their farm. This video is part of the ...