Apple Picking
Movement is an important part of staying healthy and making sure every part of your body continues to perform at optimal levels. It puts our life in motion. Movement helps relieve stress, clear your mind and … burn those calories.
Picking apples is an American tradition … OK, maybe it’s not apple pie, but it’s still a great activity that leads to more movement and burned calories.
Human movement is a fundamental part of life. Movement keeps us healthy, in addition to improving circulation and boosting our metabolism. It is critical to living a longer life and maintaining — or losing — weight. The less we move, the less productive we are. The more active we are the more productive we are. So why not find more ways to move and do it more often?
Apple picking is one of the most popular fruit-picking activities you’ll find. So grab your bags or baskets and let’s head to the orchard.
There are many different varieties of apples but the most common are Gala, Red Delicious Fuji, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp (the best), Golden Delicious, McIntosh, Pink Lady (close second), Braeburn and Ambrosia. There is no secret to picking these jewels except how many can you physically carry to your car … workout anyone?
Apples are truly a labor of love. They don’t bear fruit until about 8-10 years after the tree has been planted, but they will continue to produce for over 50 years. That’s right, a single apple tree can continue to fill your pies and jelly jars for most of your life.
When heading out to pick apples, bring your own basket or bag. You probably aren’t making a trip to the orchard for six apples so bring an appropriate carrying apparatus to lug them around. When you are out in the orchards you’re likely not going to have just one type of apple to pick. One of the best things about apple picking is the exposure to so many varieties in the surrounding orchards. Enjoy checking out and tasting different varieties to find out which apples you like best. We have planted our flag into Honeycrisp and Pink Lady’s.
Apple season is between late July to mid October.
Cost of Activity
- $1.99 a pound (prices vary)
- 75-150+ calories burned
- Mental break from routine
- Improves muscle endurance
- Increases energy
- Added baking ingredients
Challenge Yourself
There are millions of apples picked each year. Hungry apple pickers invaded their local farms and load up on these gems from late summer to mid fall. The largest apple ever picked was 3.2 pounds.
Your challenge on your trip to the orchard is to find the biggest apple that you can. If it weighs in at 3.3 pounds then you have found the biggest apple in American.
Apple Facts
Apples contain the following vitamins and minerals:
- Vitmanin C
- Potassium
- Fiber
- 95 calories
Find Great Photo Ops
Because Apple pickings is such timeless activity, you should not have any problem coming up with some fun or tasty photos. This is a classic case of the farm-to-table pic. “How it started” with the apple being picked and “how it’s going” with a delicious apple pie on the table.
