Working up a sweat - Apple Thinning

We left early in the morning to make sure we were at our first day of work on time. We weren't sure who we were meeting, so we asked inside the office. A lady asked us to follow her and park in the orchard. She got straight to the point, showing us how the ladders worked to get to the tops of the apple trees.

Not even five minutes later, she received a call, asking where we were. Apparently we were on the wrong crew. So another guy picked us up and told us to follow him to a different orchard. Oh well, some miscommunication can happen. And it sounded like we'd have an easier job to start with anyway. Great!

Our first job required us to thin young apple trees. For this job, we didn't need the big ladders needed at the first orchard. We just had a 3-step stool to reach the top of the small trees. The purpose of thinning is to promote growth. At the top, we had to choose the tallest and strongest branch. The rest we broke off. We also took off any apples that were already growing up there. The tree should put all its energy into that top branch.

After a few days, to take a break from thinning, we did some lopping. Any branches that were hanging on the ground, we cut 0.5m above the ground. That way the lawn mower would be able to get underneath the trees. We alternated tasks to keep it fun.

Soon, we moved up to the bigger trees. On these, we had to thin about half the apples, so that the remaining apples would get more room and energy to grow. These varieties of apple trees are selected to grow fast and bear the best fruit, but not for strength. If all the fruit were to stay on, or if the trees weren't tied to posts, the trees would snap from its own weight and from the wind.

We also tied the tree tops to the supporting fence. The fence consists of large posts, with metal wire strung between them at different heights. We tied the tree tops that were tall and strong enough to the wire using small, flexible rubber strings. And as a break, we could cut these strings from large rolls.

The first few days required quite a bit of focus. But after a bit of practice and muscle memory, we started to listen to audiobooks and podcasts. It's a great combo to do physical work while learning at the same time. And Mike, our supervisor, continuously told us the purpose of each task, either gave constructive feedback or encouragement and kept the work fun.

We started early (6:00) each day to fit in nine hours of work and to beat the heat of the day. Usually the grass was still wet from the irrigation. So it was a bit of an art to stay warm and keep our feet dry. But as soon as the sun came up over the trees, a hat and t-shirt in our necks was essential to not get burned. In the afternoon it would get very hot, so between breaks we'd each finish a bottle of water. And a stop at the salt pools each day after work was fantastic!Read more