MAZEPPA, Minn. — Rows and rows of apples run up and down a hill in rural Mazeppa. On a clear day, you can ride up the hill in a wagon, pick a few apples and maybe snake your way through a corn maze.
On the way back down, you can feed grass to a miniature goat or alpaca, then wander the market for caramel apples or jam. End your trip with some time with kittens.
That's what a visit to Apple Ridge Orchard & Vineyard is like. Vince and Ann Steffen, who __have been in charge of the orchard since 1977, strive to create an outdoors experience for visitors, particularly families.
"The original orchard was planted in 1942," Vince Steffen said. "When we came here, half the orchard was an estate, and somehow it got split. In 1977, we bought the first half, and the other in 1978, and the trees were very big and not well taken care of. Since then, we've taken all the old trees out and planted the newer varieties, going higher density and trying to get into a little of the agri-entertainment."
Apple Ridge gets a lot of visitors who might never __have the orchard experience otherwise. Visitors can pick apples and table grapes, as well as see growing pumpkins and squash. At the market, they can buy jam, mustard, salsa, maple syrup, cider, pie mix and, of course, apples.
Apple growing: A chance effort
Vince Steffen's apple expertise informs what varieties he has available for picking. Right now, the popular Honeycrisp is featured. At the end of the month, it will be the B-51, also known as SugarBee. Steffen is friends with Chuck Nystrom, who bred the B-51 out of Honeycrisp and another seed, the variety of which he isn't certain.
"It's kind of like winning the lottery," Steffen said. "A lot of people are trying to breed Honeycrisp with some different kinds."
The orchard gets the apple trees from a nursery and pays $2 rent on each tree per year.
Steffen enjoys Minnesota's apple innovation.
"Dave Bedford at the University of Minnesota taste tests more than 3,000 apples every year," he said. "Ninety-eight to 99 percent of them are not that good. But once in a while, you get something like Honeycrisp, which is probably the greatest apple across the U.S. and the world."
The university recently has come out with Minnesota 55, which will be available to growers next year. Researchers there also have developed SweeTango, which is crunchy and rather tart.
Minnesota's up-and-down weather patterns add to the challenge. The late frost this spring caused some apples to develop frost rings, which fortunately don't affect the taste. Plus, heavy winds knocked down some apples from the trees.
"There are orchards west of the Twin Cities that don't have any apples on them," Steffen said.
It takes a special kind of apple to grow in Minnesota. Steffen originally is from a farm in Iowa and attended Iowa State University, from which he earned a degree in horticulture. He's also on the board of directors and past president of the Minnesota Fruit Growers.
He cited the Chieftain apple as one that doesn't size as well when you grow it this far north, as well as Jonathans and Galas.
"That's where the university has come in and bred some good apples for us to grow," Steffen said. "Haralson, Prairie Spy, Keepsake, Frostbite."
Although there's constant innovation in apple breeding, the process to get them to customers takes time.
"Three years of growing; on the fourth year, you finally get some apples; and on the fifth or sixth year, they crop really nicely," Steffen said. "You hope you guessed right."
What keeps families coming back
The Steffens said it varies from season to season how many people come through the orchard. The couple raised their own four children there. Vince worked at the orchard while Ann stayed home with the children for a while, then taught school for 30 years in Pine Island. They brought in animals to share that farm life with others who wouldn't experience it otherwise.
"A lot of kids are from cities now and don't see animals very often up close," Vince Steffen said.
So, the Steffens work to make it more than just about apples.
"We offer the experience of being outdoors," Ann Steffen said. "It's pretty magical. That valued added is what they are looking for."
