Bloom and Wander event showcasing fruit trees at their best
CONN – If you can’t get to Toronto to see the cherry tree blossoms in High Park, perhaps you can get to Lorna and Dwayne McLean’s farm in Conn for their first Bloom and Wander event.
The event ran over the long weekend and continues this weekend from 1 to 4pm on May 23 and 24.
It’s quite a sight to see the trees in bloom, said Lorna, and exciting to realize that come autumn, every one of those flowers will become an apple.
“When they are in full bloom, it’s quite beautiful,” she added.
They typically hold an Orchard Day around harvest time, where the public can enter the property, enjoy some food and vendors, and pick their own apples. This is the first year they are opening the orchard to the public in the spring.
Lorna said they’ve been inspired by the nearby lavender and flower farms that open to the public, and hope visitors will enjoy walking the trails, seeing the blooms, taking photos, and getting away from the busyness of urban life for an hour or two.
Dwayne’s family has been in the farming business for more than 100 years — farming is in his bones, he said. It’s outdoor work, it’s working with nature and the weather and learning how to improve year over year.
The couple had a dairy farm at McLean Crest Farms and Orchard, but, in 2019, they said goodbye to the cows and started planting fruit trees, specifically honey crisp, gala and ambrosia apples, plus some cherry, plum and peach trees.
They now have some 10,000 trees on the property, and this weekend they should be glorious, they said.
“The first year was the hardest,” Lorna said, noting fruit trees need a lot of attention and babying until they are established. That takes a couple of years.
Now the trees are on a regular schedule of pruning and spraying for fungus and insects.
Fruit trees take a lot of water and the McLeans have an irrigation system for those dry summers.
While much of the area experienced drought last summer, Conn, in its own ecosphere, was blessed with enough rain to keep the trees happy.
“We didn’t even hook up the irrigation,” Dwayne said.
Farming of any type is a race against nature and that’s true in the orchard, they said.
Too much rain. Not enough rain. Too hot. Too cold. Bugs that do serious damage — and birds.
“You need to pick the cherries quick because of the birds,” Lorna said with a sigh.
Fruit trees in your backyard
Home gardeners who want a fruit tree really need to have two, Dwayne said, for cross pollination.
As important as choosing the variety of tree is choosing the site. What type really depends on what you like to eat.
But some varieties are easier to keep than others, and some offer consistent yields.
Most fruit trees need six hours of sunlight to produce. They also need pruning, although different types of trees need to be pruned at different times of year to encourage growth and good air flow, discouraging disease.
Apples and pears, for example, should be pruned while dormant; apricots and peaches should be pruned in early spring before growth starts; damsons and plums should be pruned in early to mid-summer; and cherries in late July into August.
Different trees need different amounts of water, so consider that — and how you’ll water — before purchasing a backyard fruit tree.
Trees like to be watered slowly so they can use the water rather than be drowned by it.
Similarly, mulching around fruit trees is a good idea, but needs to be done at the right time of year as well.
If that all sounds a little off-putting, don’t let it dissuade you, Dwayne said.
Take some time, read up on it, talk to the nursery where you buy your tree, and keep an open mind.
Though there’s much you can’t control, a bountiful harvest and delicious freshly-picked fruit are their own reward.
Bloom and Wander tour details
Location: McLean Crest Farms and Orchard, 8209 Line 10, Conn (north of Arthur).
Date: May 23 and 24 from 1 to 4pm.
Cost: $5 per person or $10 per carload. Cider and freezies will be available for purchase.
For more, visit mcleancrestfarmsandorchard.com.
