Lavaliers Berry Patch southeast of Grand Rapids has changed dramatically since 2000 when Stuart Lavalier added 15 apple trees. It started when he asked the DNR for help protecting his delicious berries from the wide variety of Northwoods wild critters who love berries. They cooperated in putting up a fence and, as they left, the DNR staff person remarked “Now you can grow apples.” That piqued Stuart’s interest and he added 15 trees. Today there are 1,200! But it doesn’t look like the orchards of my childhood in the 1950’s at all. I remember large trees forming a huge canopy and tall ladders for picking. Lavalier employs the “slender spindle” system where dwarf trees grow on trellis systems. It’s a low-flying orchard with thick rows of trees and very wide grassy aisles between them.
At this orchard, they maintain trees three feet apart and take out 2-3 of the largest branches when they are young. Stuart grows apples because it’s FUN, he says. They are so challenging to grow, especially up here in northern Minnesota, and there are so many rootstocks and varieties to try. Stuart has a degree in Horticulture from the University of Minnesota, and he keeps in regular touch with their Horticultural Research Center and grows many of their apples. The public’s favorite right now seems to be Sweet Tango, a cross between the Zestar and Honeycrisp. But back to rootstocks, a concept I knew nothing about. I love how these farm visits are so educational for me—a big perk of writing this column!
According to the Minnesota Historical Society, early experts in the state warned against the use of dwarfing rootstocks. In 1928, Dr. William H. Alderman, professor at the U of M and the state’s most influential horticulturalist, warned against dwarf apples. But in the 1950’s a British expert, Gordon Yates, imported dwarfing rootstocks from England and Holland and started a flourishing orchard near LaCrescent, Minnesota. The idea spread quickly, and the U of M began testing various dwarf rootstocks. Now, they are the norm. Stuart grafts buds into rootstocks with names like M26 and Geneva41. Grafting involves inserting a bud in a slit on the tree and wrapping in plastic. He has a whole field of rootstock to work with.
A grower can’t propagate licensed apples without a contract with the University of Minnesota. So, Stuart pays a flat fee per tree each year for the privilege of growing varieties like Sweet Tango and First Kiss and Kindercrisp. He tries new varieties all the time from one of the four breeding programs in the nation. Every tree is an experiment. And he adds 50 trees each year. Because the trees are close together, attached to a trellis and only 11-12 feet tall with wide aisles between rows, harvesting is a different animal than it used to be. The trees are loaded with apples within easy reach. And the spacing of the rows means that each tree gets plenty of sun. The week I visit they are beautiful shades of orange turning to red. Soon he’ll be selling them at the Grand Rapids Farmers Market.
The apples are only one part of Lavaliers Berry Patch, though. Of this 20-acre farm, 12 acres are fenced and inside that fence are the apples, but also the strawberries, blueberries, honeyberries, bush cherries, squash, Brussels sprouts and pumpkins that defined this berry patch prior to 2000. It’s a u-pick or we-pick operation. It started with strawberries, and Stuart’s parents helped to plant and weed and pick in the early hears. The whole family has been involved in the farm over the years. They added blueberries, lingonberries and sour cherries as the years went along. Stuart was visiting a grower who had cherries and decided to try them. He explored varieties of cherries and contacted the University of Saskatchewan which had a hardy cherry rated for zone 2! He drove up to Canada, got a USDA permit to bring some back, and started growing the “Romance” series of bush cherries: Juliet, Romeo, Cupid, Crimson Passion and Carmine Jewel. Cherries have just ended the week I visit, with a sold-out season.
We walk the rows of crops so that I can see the layout. The berries are rotated every year and fallow patches are planted with cover crops like sorghum, black eyed peas, rye, vetch, oats, crimson clover, and facelia. Two years of picking then two years of cover crops. There’s not much tilling here—new berries are planted into the cover crop. This process of rotation and cover cropping feeds the soil and interrupts the disease cycle naturally. The farm uses organic practices such as integrated pest management, too. They trap insects in order to keep track of which ones are where and use exclusion netting to protect the plants. That means almost no spraying. Straw mulch helps preserve moisture from the “triple irrigation” system of drip tapes in the middle of each row. And the pigs down the road get all the windfalls and waste—a perfect recycling system.
All in all, it’s a very tidy-looking operation, complete with a shelter and picnic tables and a small shop for selling. You can find this gem of a place at 28056 County Road 91 Grand Rapids and online at https://www.lavaliersberrypatch.com/ where you can sign up for a newsletter telling you what is ripe when and the hours they’re open for picking. Customers are encouraged to call the berry hotline at 218-327-9199 to verify what’s ripe and the hours for picking. I’d suggest setting aside a couple of hours to walk the beautiful grounds, pick your own, and enjoy a snack in the picnic shelter. By the time this column runs, it will be close to pumpkin season—what fun to go and pick your own!
