Bloomington Community Orchard

I couldn't resist eating an apple
in front of an apple tree

This past Saturday rolled around with relatively very few to-do things on my list, and the day was simply too gorgeous to be stuck inside catching up on my sleep or doing my textbook reading. So I headed over to the Community Orchard for their Saturday workday from 1-5. I was at the orchard last year during their Cider Festival and it was a perfect fall day to be out drinking hot cider, get my face painted, and watch young kids find ways to “beat the system” when bobbing for apples. Saturday was one again those beautiful fall days that you just had to be out and  about, and I chose the orchard to bask in the weather.  

I ran into one of the old IUOS interns, Amy, and she happily gave me the task of mulching patches of soil that had exposed cardboard. Exposed cardboard pulls out water from the soil, and by placing mulch over these areas, the soil can retain more water (especially necessary since the state has been getting so little water). So there I was pulling/ pushing a wheelbarrow of mulch around the circle of the orchard and meticulously looking for any signs of cardboard showing. It doesn’t sound very intriguing, but just being able to do such a simple task that can help the plants grow, felt great.   There’s something about getting away from campus, and being in a small nature environment that just calms the soul.

Side Note:

For those who had been following my personal project on biking around Bloomington with the help of the Blooming Community Bike Project, you would have found out that I’m getting better at riding to SPEA and back a few times a week. I went from learning to drive about 5 years ago, to re-learning how to ride a bike a month ago, to learning how to roll a wheelbarrow without tipping all the mulch to one side (which I will admit happened once out of 3 times). Fun times. 4 wheels to 2 wheels to 1 wheel. At least this time I wasn't actually riding a unicycle.

Future Pear Sanctuary

The orchard is just about 3 years old, and their apple trees are starting to shape up. I also learned that the center of the orchard is a circle of pear trees that is currently enclosed with a fence built by a local blacksmith. When the pear trees bloom, they will completely grow into the fence and create what I would image a pear sanctuary in the middle of the orchard- creative design indeed. So contrary to what I had previously thought, the orchard doesn’t grow just apples- it has pears, a fig bush nook, persimmon trees and choke bushes (choke berries are edible superfoods, despite their name, although you could have fooled me).

An Insect Survey-
Not a giant apple on a 2-yr  old tree

I also noticed a relatively large globe hanging from almost all the young trees. At first glace, I thought 'that can't already be fruit', but under further investigation, I realized that it was a sticky round ball, used to identify insects around the tree. The volunteers use this essentially as an insect survey- creative, isn't it?

I stayed at the orchard until it was time to pack up and leave, but I am positive I will be back. The people at the orchard are extremely friendly – someone even brought homemade sourdough bread and she made an open face treat with almond butter, sliced apples, and ginger spread- and yes it was delicious. Additionally, in between wheelbarrow rollings, I watched another volunteer’s dog sniff around looking for moles and digging up the mulch, determined the catch the critters. I would call that a well spent Saturday.

Finally, a quick heads up: the cider fest is occurring again this year at the end of October so keep your eyes and ears peeled for that!