Mountain Orchards near Kemptville, Ont. having difficult start to apple-picking season
It's been a difficult start to the apple-picking season for Mountain Orchards, near Kemptville, Ont.
According to co-owner Shelley Lyall, the orchard struggled preparing for this, their 50th season, compared to years past.
"It's probably one of our most challenging years," she told CTV Ottawa on Monday. "It's been frustrating, to say the least."
Lyall blames mild temperatures in the winter and spring for the struggles, as some of their trees started blooming too early.
Then this summer, heavy rainfall and humid weather provided a poor environment for their apples to thrive as they grew.
The orchard has 12 different types of apple, and they each need to be cared for differently. Their McIntosh apples are the best seller, and Lyall says those were the most affected by the unfavourable conditions.
"They seem to have suffered worse than all the other varieties," she explained. "We still have some, but the numbers are down."
The orchard has now been open for three weeks, and the hits keep coming.
"We've been open three weekends, it's rained every weekend," Lyall continued. "I mean, we live and die by those weekends."
Now that their Honeycrisp apples, another popular choice, are ready to be picked this weekend, the orchard is hoping for sunny skies.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Polls close for closely watched byelections in Montreal and Winnipeg
The NDP has a slight early lead in Winnipeg while remaining in a three-way race with the Liberals and the Bloc Québécois in Montreal as ballots continue to be counted in two crucial federal byelections.
GoFundMe cancels fundraiser for Ontario woman charged with spraying neighbour with a water gun
A Simcoe, Ont., woman charged with assault with a weapon after accidentally spraying her neighbour with a water gun says GoFundMe has now pulled the plug on her online fundraiser.
Freeland says she is 'not going anywhere' after Conservatives call her 'phantom finance minister'
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland declared she is 'not going anywhere' when pushed by the Conservatives on Monday about her future as finance minister.
Suspect in apparent assassination attempt on Trump was near golf course for 12 hours
The man suspected in an apparent assassination attempt targeting Donald Trump camped outside a golf course with food and a rifle for nearly 12 hours.
Body recovered from B.C. lake after unclothed man leads investigators to crash site
Mounties are investigating a fatal crash north of Whistler, B.C., after an unclothed man who was found along the side of the road led police to a pickup truck submerged in a lake with one occupant still inside.
'Never seen anything like this': Humpback whale catches unsuspecting seal off Vancouver Island
A Vancouver Island nature photographer says he has never seen anything like what his camera captured on a recent whale-watching excursion off Victoria.
'Not that simple': Trump drags Canadian river into California's water problems
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump promised "more water than you ever saw" to Californians, partly by tapping resources from a Canadian river.
Mortgage loan rules are changing in Canada
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has announced changes to mortgage rules she says are aimed at helping more Canadians to purchase their first home.
First teen sentenced in Kenneth Lee case gets 15 months probation
The first teenager to be sentenced in the death of a Toronto homeless man will not face further time in custody, and instead participate in a community-based program.