The hail storm and wind storm of August 21 was very difficult for us for several reasons. It was the third hailstorm of our season and it also had 50 to 60 mph winds along with one inch of hail. It’s certainly caused the…
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Archive | Farming Practices/Organics
Our Winter and Early Spring Farm Work
This winter and spring, we’ve been busy getting ready for the pick-your-own season, which will start with strawberries at the end of May or beginning of June, depending on weather and ripening. Here’s a brief overview of what we’ve been doing this winter and…
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How We Thin Fruit Trees for Optimum Tree Health
This summer is rolling right along, and here at the orchard there is a constant flurry of activity. This week one of the tasks for our workers has been to thin our peaches and apples. Thinning involves removing excess fruit to give the tree…
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Mint Tea to Sample at Taste of Weaver’s This Weekend
A new and sip-worthy vendor at Taste of Weaver’s this year on Saturday, June 3 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. is Pure Wild Tea based outside of Bernville at the northernwestern edge of Berks County. They will be providing free samples of their…
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Beneficial Insects and Other Alternative Approaches to Pest Control
Warmer days have finally joined us again, bringing reminders of the fruits we’ll be snacking on by summer and autumn. And one aspect of fruit production that’s easy to take for granted is how farm workers keep busy researching and using the most strategic methods…
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March 4th Freeze: An Update on Our Crops
March 4th Freeze: An Update on Our Crops Many customers have expressed concern about the cold temperatures on the night of March 4th into the morning of the 5th, and are asking about the impact on the fruit buds. We appreciate all who have…
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Spotlight on Cameo Apples
Let’s say you just finished eating an apple. You loved it. You start imagining more apples. Maybe even growing some in your backyard. So you look at gnawed apple in your hand. What happens if you plant the apple seeds nestled inside the core? With…
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Finding a Balance: Controlling Pest Populations Through Pheromones
As many of our customers know, we practice an Integrated Pest Management System (IPM) here at Weaver’s Orchard. Sounds impressive, but what does it really mean? It means a lot of things, but at the core of this philosophy is a beautiful balance of…
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We’re Grafting in New Apple and Pear Varieties
On Wednesday, April 20, Weaver’s Orchard made a big change. In the course of about four hours, a team of nine people from Countryside Farm and Nursery in Virginia helped us switch 1,000 apple and pear trees from one variety to another. It’s the…
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It’s Fruit Tree Planting Time
It is fruit tree planting time at the orchard right now. Each spring, we plant 2,000- 4,000 fruit trees, replacing three to four acres of 18-20 year-old trees that are no longer producing as fruitfully. We have eighty acres of fruit trees, so…
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