As of this week, 9/22, we are about halfway into the apple season in Northern Illinois. I’ve had the opportunity to visit six orchards in the area this month and the crop looks good overall. Some orchards are running about a week ahead compared to last season.
The end of September will bring PRI varieties like ‘Crimson Crisp’ and ‘Pixie Crunch’ into the harvest window along with some staples of ‘Jonathan’, ‘Jonagold’, ‘Cortland’, ‘Empire’, ‘Gala’, and many, many more that have been harvested in September. ‘Honey Crisp’ started about mid-September and still remains a really strong seller for most orchards in our region. I had ‘SweetTango’ in mid-September which is a really great Minnesota cultivar that combines ‘Zestar’ and ‘Honeycrisp’. The october harvest will bring ‘Fuji’, ‘Winecrisp’, ‘Pink Lady’, and many others. October is also when some of those great MAIA apples will show up such as ‘Evercrisp’ and ‘Ludacrisp’. Near Halloween, ‘Granny Smith’ should be ready. As you can tell from this limited list of apple varieties, Northern Illinois growers have fantastic varieties throughout September and October.
In orchard visits, I’ve observed some bitter pit, sooty blotch, and fly speck on some varieties. There’s been potentially some rapid apple decline too on older trees. Many growers are sharing that even with multiple thinning rounds this summer that some varieties still have a large crop load. During this period, it’s important to assess the crop loads and reflect on some changes that might need to occur next year when it comes to thinning. Further, making notes of what varieties are selling well and how that may impact the trees you plan to pull out in Spring 2026. While I know many have ordered their trees for spring 2026, this is a good time to think about trees for 2028 based on fruit not selling in 2025. At GLEXPO last year, I visited a number of nurseries and MAIA with cultivars to taste and trees to order. You might consider attending this event in December in order to get a head start.
Pumpkins have been uneven. Some growers reported poor pollination set in June and July, combined with dry conditions, which has translated to low yields in fields this fall. I visited two pumpkin fields in two different counties last week that echoed this with one field full of pumpkins and another without any. Weed management has also gotten away from some pumpkin fields and this needs to be a priority for next season. Especially as it has impacted yields in some fields. In field visits, I’ve observed powdery mildew and bacterial spot. U pick pumpkin fields should be open now and wrap up around Halloween.
Freeport High School Research
Harvest still continues in October as students are back to school. We’re pushing the crop and hoping yields are where they need to be to justify weekly harvests. One of the challenges is that the markets will begin wrapping up this month and there can be limited outlets for these crops. Tomatoes have been slow to ripen in September and we’ve had greater challenges in trellising them due to the weight of both the plants and the fruit.
Upcoming Programs
I’m pleased to share that I’ll be holding Fruit Tree Pruning Fundamentals on Saturdays from 10-12PM in the following counties:
November 15: Elizabeth (Jo Daviess County)
November 22: Freeport (Stephenson County)
December 6: Rockford (Winnebago County)
While trees haven’t entered dormancy, I’m offering this course during this period as preparation for pruning this winter. The course does lean towards small, beginning growers at a commercial and noncommercial scale though a good refresher and valuable if you have any workers that will be working with you this upcoming season.
The online version is on Wednesday, December 17 at 7PM. Registration can be found Registration can be found here.
Coming soon…2026 Illinois Beginning Orchard Academy. A six week webinar series in February and March. More details next month.