Washington State’s Famous Crop - The apple of our eye.
To those of us who live in Washington, fresh apples are a given. The produce section at our local grocery stores features a variety of fresh and local apples - Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith, Braeburn, Honeycrisp, Cripps Pink, and Cameo. By the way, each apple in the US is picked by hand.
The apple season in Washington begins around mid-August and ends in early November. During that time, approximately 100 million boxes of apples are harvested. The most popular is still the Red Delicious, and that variety comprises about 30% of the crop, and accounts for 48% of apples exported to other countries.
Washing
ton produces about 58% of the apples grown in the United States - that’s a lot of apples. In fact, we’ve got about 168,500 acres of apple-producing orchards in our state. Washington’s oldest fruit orchards date back to the mid 1870’s, when new arrivals came west to farm, rather than to seek gold or minerals.
Washington designated the apple as the official state fruit in 1989. The majority of apple production takes place east of the Cascade Mountains in the central area of our state. Central Washington’s fertile soil, dry and warm climate, irrigation, and plenty of sunshine make for optimal apple growing conditions.
Organic Apples, a growing industry in Washington
The same elements for premier apple-growing, make our state the finest place to produce organic apples too. All nine of Washington’s key apple varieties are also available as organically grown. More than 25 percent of the state’s apple packers hold Organic Handler Certificates.
The land where the orchards grow must have been farmed organically for three years, or fallowed for three years before certification is granted. Prior to that third year, the apples are considered transitional fruit and cannot be sold as certified organically grown. Be sure to look for a sticker to ensure an apple is certified USDA organic.
The health benefits of eating Washington state apples.
The proverb, 
“An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” refers to the health benefits of the fruit. Apples may reduce the risk of certain types of cancer, and the peels contain ursolic acid, which in studies, indicates that it increases skeletal muscle and brown fat, and decreases white fat, obesity and glucose intolerance.
Regardless, apples are a delicious, healthy and sweet treat. A typical apple contains about 126 calories, provides significant fiber, and has vitamin C. We’ve got a lot reasons to love our state, and one of those, Washington’s famous crop, remains “the apple of our eye.”
If you're looking for a Clark County, WA home with some apple trees in the backyard, call me today. I'd love to be your guide.
Comments(22)