Winter's Polar Vortex Chapped Apples of Your Cheeks, But Not Michigan's Apple Crop

Apple orchards around the state are expecting a bumper crop. Where’s your favorite place to pick apples? Tell us below in the comments. (Patch file photo)

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Michigan is expecting another bumper crop of crisp, juicy apples.

The Lansing-based Michigan Apple Committee expects the state’s growers to harvest 29 bushels of apples this season – just shy of the 30 million bushels picked last year, The Detroit News reports.

That should be enough for Michigan to keep its ranking as the second-largest apple producer in the country. There are 9.2 million apple trees in production in Michigan, where the apple industry has an estimated impact of $700 million to $900 million, based on an average harvest of 20 million acres.

Tell Us:

• Is apple picking a tradition in your family? Share a memory with your neighbors.

Last winter’s polar vortex may have actually helped the hardy apple trees, which can withstand temperatures down to 25 degrees below zero, said Diane Smith, executive director of Michigan Apple Committee said.

“It was great,” she said of the relentlessly cold winter. “It kept those trees sleeping and not blossoming early.”

In 2012, an early blossom followed by a spring freeze destroyed 80 percent of Michigan’s apple crop. Growers salvaged only 3 million bushels that yer.

This year’s growing conditions have been near perfect for apples, said Linda Erwin of Erwin Orchards, which has been operating in South Lyon since 1920. The pollination weather was just what bees love – sunny and warm – and cooler temperatures, especially at night, “puts color on the apples,” Erwin said.

Get Out There:

• Find a Michigan apple market near you.