93 www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM “In supermarkets, they’re picked before they are ripe so they don’t bruise,” Calhoun says. He prefers buy-ing apples from roadside stands. In the Wilmington region, vendors at both the Riverfront and Poplar Grove farmers’ markets sell apples. Frankie Pridgen started selling apples in August at the Riverfront market held in downtown Wilmington each Saturday. He expects to have an ever-changing selection available through the end of October. “We’re not dealing with any stored apples. No one variety lasts all season,” Pridgen says. “We’ll have one variety for two or three weeks and then another for two or three weeks.” The area around Hendersonville, with its ideal combination of warm days and cool nights, has long been the state’s premier apple-producing region, Ruff says. Although apples thrive in the state’s mountainous region, they can be found farther east as well. Mooney’s Millstone Creek Orchards in Ramseur is one closer option for those wishing to pluck their own apples right off the trees. The pick-your-own orchard is open seven days a week and is about 185 miles from Wrightsville Beach. “We have to work a little harder to grow apples because of where we’re located,” Mooney says. She fights a con-stant battle against a disease called fire blight that thrives in humidity and is therefore more trouble for Mooney than for her counterparts in the mountains. Among the varieties ready for harvest in October is the Arkansas Black, a tart, juicy apple that Mooney says appears almost black on the tree but will lend applesauce a pinkish hue. For apples straight from the farm, check out the listings for orchards and roadside markets at www.pickyourown.org and www.ncfarmfresh.com
October 2014
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