KAUKAUNA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Crisp, juicy and red. It’s a sign that fall is approaching.
Apple orchards around northeast Wisconsin are now preparing to sell– but they didn’t get to this point in the season seamlessly.
“We had a problem this spring, and we had a really nice bloom,” Roger Spranger, the owner of Sprangers Orchard said.
Around Memorial Day, Spranger tells FOX 11 the orchard got five inches of rain in a matter of days.
“That really washed the pollen down. So consequently, we have a late crop this year.”
But Spranger says there are still plenty of apples to go around. Years worth of work went into growing the apple trees.
“People think ‘well you plant an apple tree then you pick them in the fall and sell them.’ But you prune them in the winter. You don’t go to Florida,. We’ve got 1,800 trees so you have to prune them all.”
Spranger and his wife have been operating their apple orchard for about 45 years.
Generations of families have come to Sprangers to pick apples.
“The people came and brought their kids. And now their kids are grown up and they’re bringing their kids.”
Now, the apples are ready for families to come once again.
“Right now we have Paula Reds, Red Free, and Zestar. Those are earlier varieties,” Spranger said.
About 1,000 quarts of pickles have been canned, the pears are ripe and the pumpkins are growing– just in time for the seasons to change.
You can pick your own apples at Sprangers in a week or two.
