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Bruce Currie Orchard Profile: Bruce Currie's 30 acre apple orchard lies on a high bluff overlooking the southern arm of Lake Okanagan in British Columbia, Canada. Currie, along with his father-in-law, produce Gala, Spartan, Honeycrisp, Fuji, Braeburn, Ambrosia, McIntosh, Granny Smith, Silken, and Mutsu, all of which are marketed at a single, grower-owned 'British Columbia Fruit' co-op in the Okanagan Valley. Here are some other facts that complete the profile of Currie's 'BC-303' orchard:
- Training systems: trellis, slender spindle, and super-spindle.
- Spacings: 6 ft x 14 ft to 1 ft x 11 ft, the majority at 1.5 ft to 9 ft.
- Density: 515 trees/acre to 4,000 trees/acre, the majority at 3,226 trees/acre.
- Soil type: Mostly sandy-loam to gravel (i.e., fairly weak, Currie likes to use a compost made from sewage sludge and wood chips to boost growth).
- Irrigation: Trickle throughout, electronically controlled complete with Atmometer (measures evapotranspiration) and data-logger. 50 ppm nitrogen supplied daily May through June.
- Grades: Gala, Spartan, and Fuji, 80-90% fancy & better; Braeburn, 75-85% extra-fancy; Ambrosia, 90% extrafancy; Honeycrisp, 80-80% fancy and better; McIntosh, 70-80% fancy and better.
- Yields: Production ranges from 40 to 50 bins (25 bushels each) annually (i.e., 1,000 plus bushels/acre).
- Planting subsidy: BC provincial government provides replant payment incentive to growers to switch from lowdensity plantings to high-density, which covers a significant part of the tree costs. Also maintains land in orchard production.