An apple orchard revival is taking place in Southwest Colorado.
The Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project wants to return the region back to the glory days of the early 20th century when the apple and fruit-stand markets were a significant part of the local economy.
Back then, fair schedules showed 50 different varieties of apples, many unique to Colorado, said Jude Schuenemeyer, orchardist and restoration project founder, during a presentation earlier this month at the Cortez Cultural Center.
The hearty and versatile apple is especially ripe for a comeback, he said. And while it will take patience and hard work, progress is being made as longtime locals and newcomers restore orchards, cultivate forgotten popular varieties and start up apple cideries.
“The million-dollar question is why don’t we eat more Colorado apples?” said Schuenemeyer. “This state had the reputation of the most quality fruit on Earth, and we can still do that here.”
Sara’s Polka Dot, Cedar Hill Black, Thunderbolt, Colorado Orange apple, Northern Spy and Pewaukie are just some of the heritage varieties that flourished in the hundreds of local orchards in Southwest Colorado, from Mancos to McElmo and Dove Creek to Nucla.
Jude, his wife, Addie, and a couple of dozen dedicated apple revivalists are repaving the road built by pioneers such as Jasper Hall, the “fruit wizard of Montezuma County,” whose early orchards in McElmo, Lebanon and Lakeview survive 100 years after his death.
“Our production capacity is still there to put out large quantities of fruit,” Schuenemeyer said. “For too long, fruit in our county hits the ground doing nothing, and we want to get that economic value back.”
By the 1920s, Americans forgot that variety is the spice of life and demanded only shiny red apple strains like Red Delicious and Macintosh. Local agriculture extension offices persuaded orchard growers to “top work” their apple trees and graft on the more popular varieties. Look carefully at old apple trees and you can still see a distinct graft line from this era.
Then, the local fruit market fell in favor of cattle and hay production and has never fully recovered. Bringing back the fruit economy is seen as way to supplement the ups and downs of the predominant livestock and alfalfa markets, Schuenemeyer said.
It benefits tourism as well. During the harvest, maps at the Cortez Welcome Center could direct travelers to where local fruit stands are in the county.
The Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project is busy hunting down those original apple varieties and has brought many of them back to life through careful grafting and time-consuming propagation techniques.
Identifying apple strains is notoriously difficult. The restoration project is waiting for the DNA results of 200 apple samples sent to a lab in Fort Collins.
Besides managing orchards, the project is developing a database of local fruit varieties, hosting grafting workshops and creating a heritage orchard owners’ handbook.
“Our big goal is to bring back this genetic diversity to keep heritage apples from going extinct,” Schuenemeyer said. “Trees that worked here for over 100 years are really well-adapted to this place.”
A recent victory for the restoration project was the rediscovery of the rare Colorado Orange apple in a Cañon City orchard in 2012. For the last several years, local orchardists have been grafting and cultivating this rare apple known for its fine flavor, hardiness, storage qualities and cider-making potential.
To bring back strains, the project is surveying orchards and old fruit trees. About 3,000 pre-1940s trees have been mapped of about an estimated 9,000 in the county.
“There is enormous opportunity to find old varieties,” Schuenemeyer said, “including apples with vanilla and butterscotch flavors, and good tart cooking apples.”
Time is of the essence.
“Many of the old trees are in danger of dying in the next five to 10 years,” said board president Sarah Syverson. “If that happens without them being recorded and grafted into new trees, unique apple varieties could be gone forever.”
The group plans to graft and propagate 3,000 trees and has grafted 1,600 trees this year. Many of these rediscovered apple varieties are being planted on local farms and at the Gold Medal Orchard in McElmo Canyon. After the trees mature, the goal is to make them available to the public through the grafting process.
Throughout the county, orchards are trending up, as new ones are planted and historic orchards are recognized and restored. Two apple cideries have recently started operations in the county.
“Where our market is emerging is with cideries and crushing for juice,” Schuenemeyer said. “There is a tremendous demand on the Front Range for high-quality Colorado fruit. They forgot we existed, and we want to remind them of us. We can bring our orchard economy back.”
On the net
www.montezumaorchard.org
