Orchard Revival

“Colorado apples” isn’t a phrase you hear too often, at least not anymore. But in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the southwest Colorado landscape was much different, renowned for its vigorous and diverse orchards. Varieties from the state even won two gold medals in the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, according to Jude Schuenemeyer, owner of Let It Grow Nursery and Garden Market in Cortez, CO. Now, Schuenemeyer and his wife, Addie, are working to preserve and restore the region’s rich fruit-growing history.

“I could probably rattle on about this all day. I’ve been known to,” Schuenemeyer says of his Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project. The thing is, you sort of want him to, because it’s just so interesting. Read more in Growing Produce…

By Growing Produce Staff | November 15, 2011