In the month of May, the apples blossom. In fall, the apples are ripe and ready to be picked. Apple growing has been a main industry for Frelighsburg since 1930, but apples have been grown in the area for a long time.
Frelighsburg is a good place to grow apples because of the gentile hills, the soils, and the pattern of the winds will blow in the area. Farmers began to change their farms to apple orchards.
Adelard Godbout, who was once the premier of Quebec, had an orchard in the Frelighsburg area.
The first crop, that was to be sold, was picked in 1939. Eight thousand bushels were sold. The year before the crop had been destroyed by a hurricane.
A Co-Operative of Apple Growers was formed in 1949 in this region and Rouville. In Farnham they built a packing and storage plant. It could hold 200 000 bushels. That’s a lot of apples!
The favourite apple for a long time was the McIntosh. That is my favourite kind of apple too. Apple growers try out many different kinds of apples. Some use insecticides and others are trying to be organic.
Apples can be used to eat as is, or to make apple sauce, apple juice, apple jelly, or apple cider. Apples are important to this area. Apples and Apple products are sold here, in Montreal, across Canada and the World!