Deep freeze has deep impacts on Haywood orchard

It isn’t necessarily the cold weather that’s the problem, however. March historically sees freezing temperatures in the mountains.

The problem is the abnormally early spring that arrived in February, followed by the wild and inconsistent fluctuations.

“What is so devastating about this year is that peaches are about three weeks early,” said Taylor. “It’s not the cold weather that hurts me, it’s them 73-degree days we had in February, that say, ‘it’s time for me to flourish.’”

The orchard, located in Canton, has over 70 different varieties of apples and 28 different varieties of peaches. Pear trees, blackberries, raspberries, and pumpkins are among the other fruits growing alongside the trees at the Taylors’ 15-acre farm.

Profits from the peach orchard help pay for fertilizer, lime, spray and labor. That won’t be the case this year, though, because a large portion of the orchard failed due to weather fluctuations, leaving the Taylors holding the bag.

“They are insured, but that’s only a couple thousand dollars and that won’t even pay for trimming,” said Taylor. “Weather patterns have definitely changed. I don’t know if it’s climate change or the natural cycle, but it’s different than it has been.”

Pollinators such as bees and butterflies have also been affected with the temperature fluctuations. If the pollinators come out too early, the cold can kill them, just as it does plants. The plants dying because of cold snaps can also harm the pollinators, said Taylor. That’s because they have less food and can “kill off entire hives.”

If the trees don’t grow fruit, that adds to the cost of labor for the farm and having to spend additional hours trimming branches and pruning, an important part of the cycle. Taylor added that labor is expensive and hard to come by these days.

“When you don’t have blooms, you’re going to grow wood,” said Taylor. “You always have to keep new wood to keep fruit.”

The apple trees in Taylor’s orchard seem to be faring well so far. The heartier fruit trees have acclimated to the weather of the Western North Carolina mountains with much more ease over time, making them more resilient to fluctuations in weather patterns. Some of the trees are beginning the budding process, making them susceptible to frost.

“I’ve checked on the apples and they seem to be doing fine,” said Taylor. “They are much more resilient than peaches, and they will hopefully hold up. That kind of depends on how the weather will be over the next few weeks though.”

The cold snaps are still a variable for the apple trees, said Taylor, explaining the importance of keeping up practices that help prevent frost bite.

“This cold weather we are having this weekend and now might shut Mother Nature down for a bit, but the apple blooms should pop in about two weeks and the orchard will become a sea of white, either way,” said Taylor.

The Taylors supply apples to the Haywood County school system, which prefers smaller apples — ones around five ounces or so — which cuts down on waste.

Doing less trimming and leaving more blossoms on the tree is a way to accomplish that.

The Taylors also employ different methods to protect the trees from the harsh effects weather fluctuations such as copper powder, painting the trees base to induce heat that acts as a moth deflector and sprays that help maintain quality.

All the methods the orchard uses are USDA certified and undergo regular and spontaneous testing from the USDA.