We run the nursery as a sideline out of our home in the spring,
which is common for small apple nurseries (there's not much money in
apples; why couldn't I have chosen a more profitable hobby, like investment
banking?). Last spring we got so swamped with small orders that we
were losing money, falling behind, and came close to hanging the whole
thing up.
I had to make a hard decision; either we could do commercial
orders only (what about the lowly home orchardists, like me?), jack the
price up per tree (but I want people to plant more apple trees,
not less), limit the selection of varieties to 10 of the most
common (and let these wonderful varieties die out?), or we could make a 10-tree minimum order.
We decided to institute the 10-tree minimum and let folks vote with
their pocketbook (and yes, you can mix the varieties). If they decided that they still want heirloom or
specialty varieties like we offer, they will be willing to split their
orders with neighbors or find a good home for the extra trees they may
have to order to meet the minimum. If not, then we won't have to
hassle with sorting through the pile of scionwood you see on the counter
above to make small orders that don't pay for the time we spend boxing,
calling for the County Inspector, and shipping.
We're not trying to be greedy or get rich, just trying to justify the
huge amount of time we devote on making these varieties available to the home gardener.
I really want to keep it going.
March
3, 2009 WE ARE ALMOST SOLD OUT FOR THE YEAR! I'm happy to
say people responded with a resounding "Yes, we want
apples"! and our operation was much more efficient this
year. We look forward to serving you for many years into the
future; thanks for your vote (i.e. orders) of support.
