The Spring Gully heritage apple orchard on Bischoffs Rd, is nestled among grazing paddocks and framed by King Island’s iconic melaleuca trees.
The owners, Sonia and Shane Vokes, hosted the orchard’s first Sunday open day of the year last weekend. Rows of apple trees stretch across the 40-acre orchard, with additional apples, pears and walnuts growing near the distant stone house.
The previous owners, the Hoffmans, supplied fresh herbs and fruit to Foodworks for many years before the Vokes purchased the orchard a few years ago. Despite recent harvesting, the branches are still laden with fruit, emitting exotic aromas that drift on the breeze.
“When we bought the orchard, it had 1200 apple trees and 42 heritage apple varieties,” Sonia said.
“There are so many types that I’ve never heard of before, as they are old apples. It’s fascinating to learn about them and I wonder if they are grown anywhere else. We began renovating the orchard a couple of years ago, and now we have 420 healthy, fruit-laden trees.”
Shane, a native King Islander, and Sonia, with a long family history on Flinders Island and vineyard experience, are planning to further develop the orchard and small farm agribusiness.
Annie Elizabeth, Golden Noble and Golden Delicious are among the most popular varieties. Sonia particularly likes russets for their brown skin, which is different from what people are accustomed to seeing. She also finds the Huonville Crab apple interesting, as it is the only apple with pink flesh. Even the sap is red, making it suitable for jelly and providing a nice colour for juices.
“One of the biggest challenges, besides time, is dealing with the crows (Forest Ravens). They swoop in, in their hundreds,” Sonia said.
The orchard supplies apples to the Brewhouse for cider making. “As Corey and Sarah develop their cider brewing, we can provide different early, mid, and late-picking heritage apple types,” Sonia said.
Spring Gully Orchard is at 90 Bischoffs Rd, Pegarah and will be open again to ‘pick your own apples’ on Saturday, March 30 from 10am to 2pm.