Last April’s freeze followed by a summerlong drought took its toll on apple orchards in Harvard and across the Northeast. The orchard on Prospect Hill Road owned by Community Harvest Project (CHP), a nonprofit that uses volunteer labor to grow food for hunger relief, was not spared. Executive Director Cordelia Lyon told the Press that half the apple crop was lost during the April freeze and that the surviving apples were smaller than normal. As a result, the group’s donations and revenues were down substantially from 2015. Local rumors that the orchard might be sold because of financial difficulties reached Lyon and the CHP board of directors, but Lyon said, “They are just rumors. We came through it, and we are definitely still here!”
Last year, CHP donated more than 40,000 pounds of apples to food banks and pantries, down from more than 100,000 pounds in 2015. In addition, the organization sold only about 5,000 pounds of apples to raise money to sustain the orchard, down from the 43,000 pounds sold in 2015. Faced with what might have been its first financial deficit, the organization reached out to some of its most generous Harvard donors. Help from those donors, along with an unexpected grant from the Amelia Peabody Foundation, allowed CHP to end the year in the black.
Orchard manager Susan Conant said that, because of last April’s freeze, the trees in the low spots in the orchard produced “basically nothing,” while those at higher elevations did better. Some varieties, such as Macoun, Mutsu, and Empire, fared worse than others. Drought was also a factor. Late last spring, volunteers planted 1,700 high-density trees at the orchard, and Lyon said that as the drought took its toll on the irrigation pond, most of the water had to go to the new dwarf trees. That left the older trees struggling. The new trees all survived, though, and Conant said that the pond has finally returned to its normal level, although it took all of the fall and part of the winter to do so.
Plans at the orchard for this year include planting two acres of peach trees. The trees will arrive in late April, and the organization is looking for volunteers to plant them on April 24 and 25 from 9 a.m. to noon. The land will be prepped in advance, Lyon promised, so no digging in the rocky soil will be required. She said that all of CHP’s partners continue to request more fresh fruit for families in need in Massachusetts.
Student interns sought
CHP also wants two college interns this summer to work at the Harvard orchard and at its produce farm in Grafton. Lyon said that interns can earn college credits and will gain knowledge in farming, business, and nonprofits. Information will soon be available on the website, or those interested can contact Wayne McAuliffe, CHP’s volunteer program manager, at volunteer@community-harvest.org.
Volunteers are currently pruning one morning a week at the orchard. Conant said the current group is a mix of Harvard residents and volunteers from the Grafton farm. The organization would like to have more volunteers from Harvard, Conant noted, especially team leaders for fall harvest.
More information about CHP is available at www.community-harvest.org.
