Today we’d like to introduce you to Judy And Gary Johnson
Hi Judy and Gary, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Gary was in his Uncle’s pasture when he saw a lone apple tree and that gave him an idea. There
were no apple orchards in this area in Southern Minnesota. That lone apple tree was a variety
that we did not know what it was. We checked with the U of MN and they didn’t know what it
was. We decided it was one of the early settler varieties. We wanted to preserve the tree so we
ordered root stock and grafted from the big tree to keep it going.
After my Uncle Julian passed away I was able to acquire his land. The challenge was on.
Taking on my brother Ron and his wife, Nancy, Judy & I were in a partnership to start an
orchard. We were “green as grass.” We didn’t want to go into debt so we started with just a
couple hundred trees – 10 of this kind, 20 of that kind, etc. Each year we planted more trees
until we finally got up to 800 or 900 trees. To learn all about growing apple trees we went to
seminars, U of MN classes, Summer Apple Tours with speakers, lots of information from MN
Arboretum, also a lot of help from chemical companies. The Minnesota Apple Growers Association
was also a big help to us in learning everything we needed to know to run an orchard.
Gary started the orchard as a hobby for when he retired from barbering. But hobby was the
wrong word – it’s work, but it is fun work – pruning, spraying, mowing – I like to keep the
orchard & the trails looking really good! We enjoy all the people who have become good
customers and friends.
Later on the partnership dissolved. Judy & I with some help from our sons Terry & Tim were
able to keep the orchard going.
We were selling some apples to grocery stores, Judy was selling apples at the Farmer’s Market
on Saturdays, and we were selling some to school systems in our area. I was still working
fulltime as a barber in town. We later made the decision to only sell our apples on site at the
orchard.
Eventually, we sold our home in Owatonna and moved out to the orchard and built a new home in the woods.
We have a unique place in the country with apple trees, woods, & sloughs. We have lots of
woodchip trails that connect one part of the orchard to another. People of all ages like to come
to the orchard, buy some apples, eat some free popcorn or one of our special caramel apple
sundaes – they sit in booths or high tables or on a nice day they sit outside on picnic tables &
then lots of them go for a hike through the trails. Our young granddaughter, Kaylee, was a real
whiz with figures so all her young years she was the one that ran the cash register. She got a
thrill when some customers would give her tips – one of her biggest was a former Viking Player
who still comes quite often in the fall.
Judy would ask me where in the orchard I would be working. I would say – I will be out next
to the “Big Tree”. When we finally got enough apples from the Big Tree, we thought what are
we going to name the apple. My uncle’s name was Julian so how about the Jewel or the
Julianna or what? So when we wrote out the bags, what did we call it (the Big Tree). A lot of
people ask us – “what is the Big Tree?” We have never heard of it before. So we tell them the
whole sorry of how this all came about!
We think of our orchard as a “Ma and Pa” operation!
Over the years we have had a lot of different groups come to tour the orchard. We have had
buses of elementary school children. We would show them how things work in the orchard.
We would put a picking bag on them & fill the bag with apples, dumping them into the apple
crates, then to the washer, then thru the sizers and then they would be ready to go in the coolers.
We have also had 4-H Groups, Ladies Groups, and Seniors from Nursing Homes who like the
tours and demonstrations. Some photographers come to take portraits in the spring when all the
trees are blossoming – such as graduations, engagements, weddings, etc.
Judy and I have occasionally been invited to speak at different garden clubs, etc. to tell them
about orchard life.
We have a neighbor who has bees and he brings them over to the orchard and supplies us with
the bees we need for pollination. In turn we sell his honey products in the fall with our apples.
We keep the coolers on until we donate apples to the Children’s Christmas Program at our little
country church. We then shut down our large cooler and any apples we have left are all donated
to area food shelves. We then give our trees a little bedtime snack and then put them to bed. We
then are able to relax for the winter and before we know it it’s spring again and we start all
over!!
Both Judy & I are unfortunately getting older and it is becoming time to make a big decision.
Our sons are not interested in taking over the orchard. The orchard is getting old and we have
cut down some trees and have not been doing any replanting. The trees are planted on century
plus land that has been in the family since the 1800’s. So, we hate to sell the land – it is a real
dilemma!!Each year when we say this is the last year. Spring comes and we say, “Let’s do it
one more year!!!
We are only open on Sunday afternoons from 12:00 Noon to 5:00 p.m. from September to
November.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The first year we planted our apple trees we had a very hard winter and at least half of
our trees died. So, the next spring we had to do a lot of replanting to replace all the trees
we lost. Made us wonder if we should be trying to start this new venture but we were
determined and kept going.
One year when all the trees were blossoming we got hit by a late frost and a lot of the
blossoms died so that year we had a very limited number of apples to sell to our
customers.
Another year just as we were going to begin the fall picking, we got hit by hail and that
really set us back – for the first time I was not able to go to the Farmer’s Market.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Gary & I are Co-Owners/Business Partners. Naturally we specialize in apples and, of course, are especially known for the excellent quality of our apples. Being
a small size orchard we are able to leave the apples on the trees until they are totally ripe and nice and red.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Gary had a mentor – Bill Meyer who owned a large orchard in Wisconsin and had a side
business called “All About Apples.” He taught Gary a lot and would often come right
here to work with us in the orchard. Unfortunately Bill passed away a few years ago.
Pricing:
- That is hard to put down prices as some of them change every year and some stay about the same. We would guess that this fall’s crop will be higher priced than last year because any products we have to purchase – such as pesticides, plastic apple bags, gas for the mowers, etc. is going to cost us more this year.
Contact Info:
