By Carolyn Twesten, Weaver Street Market Produce Merchandiser
There’s a new apple grower in town! Well, new to us—Lindsay Deal of Deal Orchards is a third generation orchardman in Alexander County, NC. He and his family raise peaches, nectarines, apples, and pears on 100 acres in the Brushy Mountains.
We were thrilled to find a local family farm to provide us with peaches this year, especially as so many growers in the southeastern United States lost their crops to late freezes this spring. It turns out that growing on the steep slopes of the Brushy Mountains—only 2 ½ hours away from the Triangle—has its advantages. As cold air tends to pool in low-lying areas, the trees on the higher slopes are protected from frosts by being at a higher elevation where the air is warmer. In early spring, a difference of a degree or two can mean a good crop, or no crop at all. The orchards are also especially scenic, lining the ridges of the mountains.
The Deal family also raises a dozen or more varieties of apple that we will carry this fall: from the everyday Gala and Granny Smith to the heirloom varieties Limbertwig and Arkansas Black. The apples were heavy on the trees when I visited in July, the canopy closing in above aisles just large enough for a tractor to drive through to collect the harvest. I also saw the apple grading apparatus that dates back to the 1950s. Apples are dumped from harvest bins into a large water tank, where they float up and onto a conveyor belt. Depending on the size and weight of each fruit, the apples fall into one of many shoots to be packed by consistent size grade. The Deals told me that a new state-of-the-art packing line would cost over a million dollars, but their old machine works just fine.
All three of Lindsay’s children work in the business and plan to continue his legacy. Lindsay’s son Alan is modernizing by improving on the orchard’s pest control methods: using Integrative Pest Management and eliminating organophosphates has reduced their need for chemical sprays. Integrative Pest Management is a practice used by conventional and organic farmers to reduce the need for chemical or organic sprays. This includes scouting for pests and using sticky cards to monitor pest populations, as well as using mating-disruptive pheromones.
Commercial orchards are becoming harder to find in North Carolina, as land in western NC is sold for vacation homes and as farmers retire without succession plans. Alexander County once had around 200 apple growers, a number that has dwindled to about a dozen. Lindsay showed me apple packing crates with several names stamped on them from orchards that went out of business over the years. We are thankful that Deal Orchards will continue with Lindsay’s children so we can enjoy their fruit for years to come.
Stop by Deal Orchards’s farm market for a visit the next time you’re out in Taylorsville. Make sure to try the apple cider slushie!