Some people turn to the ocean for philosophical reflection. The vastness, the rhythm of crashing waves — it gets the mind pondering. But for me, farms teach the same lesson on a more human scale. On a farm, a particular crop may only be around for a few weeks or months. You have a limited window to enjoy what the world offers. Gather ye blueberries while ye may.
That’s why, when I ran into Joshua Smith of Frecon Farms at the opening of the new Kimberton Whole Foods in Exton on April 24, I was stunned, and then heartbroken, to hear that Frecon’s apple trees were unlikely to produce fruit this year. A stretch of warm weather followed by a hard freeze had doomed the crop.
And it wasn’t just Frecon. A week later, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that apples and peaches at Linvilla Orchards were either lost or in jeopardy. Soon after, New Jersey officials estimated that the state had suffered roughly $300 million in crop losses.
In a press release, representatives from Linvilla said, “For a farm deeply rooted in pick-your-own traditions and seasonal harvests, the impact is both emotional and economic.”
I feel that.
Visiting Frecon Farms has become one of our family traditions. Beyond the apple picking (love those Jonagolds!), there are donuts, cider and a fantastic play area. Hay bales are stacked high enough to challenge kids, but not so high that parents panic. With all the little passageways cut through them, it’s the perfect setup for a game of tag.
When my children were little, I worried that some monstrously large seventh grader would topple my toddlers. Now my hope is that my monstrously large seventh grader doesn’t plow into somebody else’s little kid. The seasons keep changing.
Apple picking is woven into the rhythm of our year. Summer weekends disappear quickly, so we often end up visiting near the tail end of the season. Still, the year somehow feels incomplete without those apples.
At Grid, we try to strike a balance between clear-eyed reporting on climate change and stories that uplift and inspire. Months ago, we thought it would be refreshing to publish something lighthearted this summer — a simple guide to pick-your-own fruit farms. (Though, admittedly, Bernard Brown also wrote a troubling story in this issue about biosolids and PFAS contamination in the food supply.)
What we didn’t know then was that a devastating crop failure was already on its way.
This isn’t the first time fruit growers in the Philadelphia region have suffered catastrophic losses, but experts say this year may be among the worst in decades. And, of course, it’s connected to climate change — the great disruptor of the rhythms we once took for granted.
So go pick berries if you can. Or flowers. Or pumpkins later in the season. Do it not only because farmers need the support — though they certainly do — but because synchronizing ourselves with the seasons nourishes something essential in us. It reminds us what we’re fighting for.
