�At one point, due to the Easter freeze, everyone was told we�d have no apples in Henderson County,� says Millie Lyda, the farm�s CEO and operator with husband Rome since 1948. �They couldn�t have been more wrong.�

As it turns out, Henderson County growers learned that some apple varieties have a great capacity to bloom after heavy freeze damage, set fruit, and hold the fruit through the unusual heat and drought this year. Lyda Farms has Gala, Fuji, Golden Delicious, Rome Beauty, and Granny Smith apples available fresh from their farm in Henderson County.

Taking the drive from Hendersonville to Bat Cave on highway 64E reveals that Henderson County is the heart of North Carolina�s apple industry. In season, this route offers countless opportunities to visit orchards and purchase farm-fresh goods, and in many spots you are welcome to pick your own apples right from the tree.

County Extension agent Marvin Owings estimates that 70%-80% of this year�s regional apple crop was devastated this past April during a series of four consecutive nights of bitterly cold temperatures. But as the 7th-largest apple producer in the United States, 30% of the Henderson County crop is still a whole lot of apples � enough to provide fruit to pick or just take home for all the travelers, schoolkids, local families, sauce- and pie-makers who may come.

Chip Webster co-owns Freeman Orchards. He says that so far, apple-shopping traffic has been a little lighter than usual. Chip observes that people are hunting for specific varities that are their personal favorites, and may move on when they find they were lost in the freeze. However, all the varieties are delicious this year � his Galas and Golden Delicious are sweeter and more flavorful than usual, probably because of the dry weather.

�Everybody�s got some apples. We may not have the kind you want, but come try another kind,� says Wayne Barnwell of Odell Barnwell & Sons, another orchard with a longtime produce stand on Highway 64. Wayne has been growing apples all his life on the farm started by his father, �from nothing.� �We�ve got knives on the porch and we�ll cut them open for you and you can try them,� he says.

Bagged local apples and cider are even available at some grocery stores � look for a local address on the packaging, or look for the �Appalachian Grown� logo in store advertising.

Mike Stepp of Stepp�s Hillcrest Orchard has only one answer for people who are calling to ask if there are going to be any apples this season. It is a resounding �YES!� School groups will also account for a strong percentage of the Stepp�s visitors this fall. They have been hosting school tours for the last four years, and are excited to share an educational presentation with the kids. They are also treated to a hayride and a visit to the pumpkin patch, where they are welcome to pick a pumpkin to take home.

All the farms, like usual, are all offering additional products at their farm stands this season. Creasman Farms provides baked goods for customers, Odell Barnwell & Sons press their own cider, and all the growers will have a variety of vegetables � Lyda Farms specializes in heirloom varieties of winter squash, indian corn, cabbage, and jack-o-lantern pumpkins.

While all the growers are having a tough season, there is no air of defeat in their attitude; just a weary understanding that this is an ever-present risk when working with Mother Nature. They are thankful that they do have great apples to sell, and for the public that is coming out to support the farms and enjoy the fruits of their harvest.

For more information about visiting apple orchards in our area, visit the Blue Ridge Farm Direct Market Association�s website at ncapples.com, or call 828-697-2775 ext. 8. Also, visit the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project online Local Food Guide at www.AppalachianGrown.org, or pick up their 80-page printed guide to where to find the freshest local food in the mountains. All thirty farms in the Blue Ridge Farm Direct Marketing Association are open for business this season, and they invite you to come and pay them a visit.

(Image provided by Skytop Orchards.)

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