NORTH RAYALTON, Ohio — Apple-picking season in Ohio is facing challenges this year due to an early warm spring and a summer drought, resulting in a reduced apple supply at local farms, such as Heavenly Hill Farm in North Royalton.
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The combination of early blossoming and a lack of rain during the summer months has resulted in smaller apples and a shorter picking season at the farm, CBS-affaliate at WOIO reported.
Despite these challenges, the farm has seen a surge in visitors.
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“It flowered early this year. All of the apple trees blossomed early because of the warm spring, and that caused all of the apples to stop growing. They all stayed small,” Natalie Starcovic said, a long-time employee at the farm.
The warm weather in the past weeks has contributed to a busy apple-picking season, with many apples being picked quickly.
“We’ve been actually really busy the last 3 weeks because the weather was so warm. So the apples that we did have on the trees --- they went really fast because of the nice weather,” Starcovic said.
Despite the limited supply, families continue to enjoy the experience of picking apples.
Tiffany Turner from Strongsville expressed her surprise at the low apple supply but appreciated the opportunity to pick fresh apples with her family.
“When we went out there, they were low on apples, I was like, oh -- that’s crazy for this early on in the year. So I was just surprised about that. But I’m just thankful we were able to get some!” she said.
The farm remains a popular destination for families, offering not only apple picking but also pumpkins, hayrides, and other fall activities.
“Every year, families coming here since they were little; now they’re bringing their kids here,” Starcovic said.
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