Weird Weather Wipes Out Local Orchard
By: Alexandra Sutter WMBD/WYZZ
Updated: October 8, 2012
METAMORA -- Area apple orchards are falling short this season, and one didn't even open at all.
A Metamora orchard is usually busy with more than 4,000 central Illinois families, but this season, it's been very quiet.
This fall marks 35 years of business for the Partridge Point Orchard, but it's not a year for celebrating.
Owner Shirley Blackburn said, "Out of the 35 years we've been open, this is only the second year we have not had a crop."
She blames a wild year of weather. A warm winter, followed by a surprising frost in the spring killed off most of the orchard.
You may see some apples on the trees, but many have frost ring from the early freeze and some just didn't develop at all.
Blackburn said, "People say where in the "hmm" are we gonna get apples now? Where can we bring the grandkids for You-Pick? Because it is a tradition, it really is."
And that's the part she misses the most. "We enjoy seeing our customers and visiting with them and the happy smiles when they pick those real nice apples and taste them you know."
But if you're a fan of the Partridge Point Orchard, don't worry. Blackburn assures us she'll have apples again. "We're like the Cubs. Perennials. See us next year!"
The orchard has more than 800 apple trees. Blackburn said she came away with only three bushels of good apples this year.
