Bolton Orchard preserving their heritage, doing things the right way by Heather Panetta
Just a short drive out to“ Apple Country” in Worcester County, I stumbled upon a hidden gem of an orchard in Bolton, Massachusetts. Tucked back along a quiet country road, I discovered the 100 acre Nicewicz Family Farm. Rows of apple trees line one side of the road, and a charming farm stand was on the other. Many kinds of pumpkins, squashes, and gourds were piled outside the farm stand; inside were baskets of apples along with fresh corn and other homegrown vegetables. I was greeted by one of the owners, Ken Nicewicz( pronounced Nishway), who immediately struck up a conversation and talked to me as if we were old friends. After picking up some corn and green peppers, I asked if he had any heirloom apple varieties that I could pick in the orchard.“ Yes we do, and I’ ll even walk you over there and show you the trees myself!”
At the orchard, Ken showed me familiar heirloom apple trees such as McIntosh and Cortland, as well as two types I’ d never heard of. The first was called Westfield Seek-No-Further, which originated in Massachusetts in the late 1700’ s.“ This apple is definitely an eating apple, not a cooking apple”, he said. He went on to explain how some apples are better eaten fresh because they aren’ t firm enough to withstand the heat when cooked and can turn mushy. He picked one off the tree and handed it to me. I polished the apple with my shirt and took a bite; the crunch and taste were unlike anything I’ d ever tried before. It was indeed a great eating apple. He then showed me another heirloom apple tree called Wolf River, which is a variety from Wisconsin dating back to the 1870’ s. He picked an apple off the tree that was almost the size of a grapefruit.“ Oh that’ s a small one!” he said with a smile. He explained that this variety can get extremely large and is not recommended for eating fresh; it’ s an excellent cooking apple for pies and other baked goods( which I can attest to; it made a delicious apple crisp later).
Ken was happy to give me a little history about the family farm. His grandparents were Polish immigrants who bought it in1929. Today he, along with his siblings and mother, run the farm growing apples, peaches, pears, plums, nectarines, apricots, blueberries, pumpkins, squash, corn, and other vegetables. He told me that keeping their property protected and intact is very important; so the family enrolled in the Massachusetts Agricultural Preservation Restriction( APR) Program and sold the development rights to 70 acres of their farmland. As long as the family continues to actively farm those 70 acres, APR will preserve the land in its current state and it can never be used in the future for housing or other non-agricultural developments.
The farm uses Integrated Pest Management( or IPM), a sustainable approach which uses alternative solutions( such as ballshaped glue traps hanging in the fruit trees) to monitor and control the pest activity in the orchard. The farm is not certified organic, although most IPM treatments are derived from naturally occurring substances( and any synthetic agents that they use are safe and environmentally conscious). IPM is a more eco-friendly pest management system – not only for those who eat the farm’ s produce, but also for the wild animals, insects and birds who call the farm home.
The Nicewicz family has been generous in donating to charitable organizations over the years. They donate apples every Thanksgiving to nonprofit organizations like Food for Free and Boston Area Gleaners, who distribute the apples to local food pantries and homeless shelters like Pine Street Inn.
8 GROW! BOSTON