Conservation, Sustainability, and Biodiversity

The Apple Works has always invested significant amount of time and money in conservation,
sustainability, and biodiversity. Our goal at The Apple Works is to promote health
for our customers by producing healthy food in clean and healthy soil. We support
apple biodiversity with over 55 varieties of apples that ripen from July through November.
We disappoint gleaner organizations because we do not have produce for them:
apples with visual defects are utilized in our baked goods or cider.
We frequently reevaluate our agricultural practices and utilize sustainable practices
that build the soil, conserve water, and keep the air and water clean. From the beginning
we have invested large amounts of money and time restoring once eroded fields to
permanently planted orchard interspaced with carefully maintained grass; we have utilized
a disperse, slow and detain approach to control water runoff and water quality
and installed over 8 acres of retention ponds with balanced fish populations.
The Apple Works shreds brush and branches from pruning in the rows to regenerate the soil.
We closely monitor tree health, using carefully selected applications while not injuring
non-target organism and beneficials. We provide tours to all to experience the care
of nature that we practice. Finally, we partner with other Indiana growers who also
practice conservation and sustainability, always striving to obtain that produce that
we do not grow as close to home as possible.