Forbidden fruit ripening in Mat-Su

Sept. 13, 2005

JOEL DAVIDSON\Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - Four years ago, Kevin Irvin clear-cut a huge swath of his 5 acres in Wasilla. Tangled spruce, birch and cottonwood piles now decay at the far end of the property.

In place of the forest, Irvin planted a fledgling Eden with hundreds of fruit trees. Last week, he meandered through the transplants. Peach, plum, pear, cherry and apricot trees grew at every corner, in outdoor rows and greenhouse experiments.

The most dominant fruit trees, however, were the apples.

Long cold winters and lush green apple orchards might seem an unnatural union, but more Alaskans and Mat-Su residents are pushing the envelope each year.

Irvin, president of the Alaska Pioneer Fruit Growers Association, estimates that about 25 different apple tree varieties grow in his orchard. Others in the group have even more varieties and are constantly experimenting with new ones.

"This is a trial by error," he said Friday. "We report to one another."

Irvin's ultimate goal is to quit his warehouse job in Anchorage in a few years and tend his orchard full time. His young trees are still a couple of years from full production capacity, but Irvin said one particular variety of apple tree should produce enough fruit to sell to farmers markets and perhaps mainstream grocery stores as well.

"I won't get rich off it," he said, "but I think this is a viable thing, especially with this new variety."

Longtime Valley farmer Jay Dearborn said apple trees are cropping up all over the Valley. Jay's father, the late Dr. Kirtis H. Dearborn, was one of the first people to conduct experiments growing apples in Alaska. In the 1950s, he started planting trees to see which would thrive.

Many of those experimental trees still grow at the Dearborn Farm off Trunk Road.

"Fifteen years ago, there weren't too many apples around here," Dearborn explained last week. "There are thousands of apple trees in the Valley now - it's phenomenal."

Dearborn grows a variety of other vegetables and crops, but he also happens to be one of the only farmers who currently sells both apples and apple trees to the general public.

He doesn't sell at farmers markets, but depending on the interest, that may change.

While at least one Palmer grower produces enough apples to sell a few at the Anchorage Farmers Market, full-scale commercial orchards are still a few years off for the Mat-Su. For now, at least, most operations are for personal use.

Fairview Loop resident Dan Elliot is a perfect example of a hobby grower who sort of lost control.

Thirteen years ago, Elliot started with 20 trees in his back yard. He now has roughly a hundred trees with about as many varieties of apples.

"I haven't sold any yet, but I might have to eventually," he said. "I end up giving away a lot of cider. A bunch of friends come over and go away with half gallons of cider. We also make apple jelly, sauce and fruit leather."

With the recent warming trend in Alaska, Elliot said he's started experimenting with a variety of fall apples, traditionally the most tasty.

"In the past, we could only grow summer apples," he said. "Now, with lengthening seasons we can grow some of the fall apples."

As the fruit growers continue experimenting and sharing their results, Irvin said he hopes to break new ground in the Valley with the first full-time orchard sometime in the next two or three years.

"That's my goal, and I think it can be done," he said.

Contact Joel Davidson at 352-2266, or joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.