Leslie Huffman-Balsillie runs the Fruit Wagon apple farm in Harrow, Ontario with her husband Doug. Their farm is one of 12 in Ontario that grow test apples as part of a Canada-wide experimental program to find apples that are a hit with consumers and are suited to grow there.
"There are more than 8,000 different varieties of apple around the world. We grow about 15 varieties on a commercial basis in Ontario," Huffman-Balsillie explained.
"There's a wide range of things we're looking for," she said. "Growers want high-quality fruit, good size, good flavour, firmness, everyone likes crispy and juicy apples, some want them sweet, some want them a bit on the tart side."
Commercial apples are harvested in late-July and into November in Ontario. Part of the trick to finding new apples is finding an apple that tastes good off the tree, Huffman-Balsillie said.
"If you're an apple-grower, your biggest markets are good, eating apples," she said.
Ontario spreads its apple-growing test sites throughout the province. Test orchards are located in Georgian Bay, near Lake Ontario, in Niagara, Norfolk County and in the Southwest. They will harvest apples from varieties developed in B.C.
One of the newest doesn't even have a common name, it's still known only by the code SPA 7-66. Balsillie planted that variety in 2012 and is seeing that harvest this year.
