JULIAN, Calif. (KGTV) – It’s the thick of apple season in Julian.
“Apple season in Julian or just the autumn season in Julian is a beautiful time of year,” Stacy Peyakov of the Ranchito Del Reo Apple said. “So, if you kind of watch when you start thinking about apple picking, apple pie, cider, think Labor Day to Veterans Day, and somewhere in there, you're going to get some type of apple.”
Peyakov and her family own and operate the Ranchito Del Reo orchard in Julian.
“So we're on the medium side this year, but a lot of our other neighbors and friends, they were on the heavier side, so it all balances out,” Peyakov said.
That balance is coming from a tough last year for Julian’s apple crop.
As we reported, the crop was not as big as in years past in 2024, with one orchard telling us it was the worst year anybody could remember.
So, this year hopes and looks to be a rebound year.
“I do. I believe that's a very accurate statement,” Peyakov said.
Peyakov told ABC 10News they’re much more optimistic about this year’s harvest because there aren’t things like late frost and storms impacting their orchards. She told ABC 10News that can lead to more people picking apples this season.
“This year, we didn't have any late frost. It was a mellow summer, so the apples didn't grow real big,” Peyakov said. “But they're juicy, they stayed on the tree. We didn't have any summer heavy storms, so it was a much better overall growing season.”
Peyakov said it’s hard to predict a growing season because the area is so unique.
“It could snow and blow things out again next year,” Peyakov said.
But there’s hope future apple growing seasons don’t fall too far from the tree of this one.
"We hope it will continue in a good way. We almost always have some type of apples here. The last couple of years we got hit hard, so I do hope that for our neighbors and ourselves, it's going to be a fantastic next few years and keep growing,” Peyakov said.
