and started digging under
the apple trees. It’s this rich,
dense soil that goes down a
foot or more that’s just from
mulching with wood chips
every couple of years.”
Orchard management
is this constant dance of
observation, research, experi-
mentation, critiquing, tweaking,
tossing, failing, learning and always
moving forward. “It’s all part of the
balance of life and you have got
to be patient… to the point where
you’re starting to panic and then
amazingly nature takes care of
itself,” assures Wash. To the extent
they can, all the farm management
practices are holistic and organic.
“I’m out in the orchard all the time
and we’re always looking for the
best ways to care for the trees.”
The farm incorporates integrated
Wegmans Organic Farm
pest management practices and
lightly sprays as a last resort.
The care and love for the trees
is evident just by walking around.
Most young kids these days, Susan
laments, have never even seen and
apple tree or an orchard. “We’re
educating our visitors. We love to
have folks come here and enjoy all
the varieties of apples and cider
we have to offer. It’s a great place
to bring friends, get out onto the
land and enjoy our beautiful Agri-
cultural Reserve.”
“This past year we pressed
20600 Seneca Meadows Parkway
Germantown, MD 20876
240.499.0700
wegmans.com
20
plenty I autumn harvest 2019
3,000 gallons for hard cider.
Our blends, which change
often, are served on tap.
Purchasing a flight is a great
way to taste our different
ciders. We also manu-
ally bottle our Doc Waters
blend in carbonated or still,
available by the bottle or growler,”
says Joelle.
Early on in the cider business
Susan and Wash joined the Inter-
national Fruit Tree Association,
and got a great education. “It was
like getting a doctorate degree,”
laughs Wash. Their program took
them to cideries all over the globe
from Italy and New Zealand to Up-
state New York and freezing cold
Nova Scotia in February. Access
to expert researchers and grow-
ers made for an intensive learning
process. That experience, mixed
with their accumulated practi-
cal know-how and farm wisdom
passed down through their fami-
lies, makes it all work.
“This fall is shaping up nicely
at the Cidery,” assures Wash. “We
have a good crop of cider apples.
We’ll blend that with some of our
culinary and heritage apples and
ferment them for 10 months allow-
ing the ciders to become full bod-
ied and better tasting with age. It’s
a craft approach versus cranking
them out, which is more typical.”
Especially because of the length of
the fermentation time, Doc Waters
ciders are distinctive and typically
drier than other sweet ciders. “Ba-
sically we’re making a white wine
with apples,” laughs Wash.
Doc Waters Cidery is open Saturday
12-8pm and Sunday 12-6pm. Pick-
your-own apples from Labor Day to
November. www.watersorchard.com