About Us
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Hal and Nora Law had long and successful careers before purchasing an abandoned and very run down farm. After thousands of hours of labor and many thousands of dollars, Bushy Hill Orchard is now a dream come true. It is one of the most technologically advanced orchards in the Northeast U.S.
The orchard is located on 75 acres of now restored Connecticut farm land. The first trees were planted in 1976 and opened to the public for U-Pick in 1980.
Bushy Hill Orchard contains approximately 15,000 apple trees grafted onto the English Malling IX rootstock. There are additionally some areas planted to Polish P22 and Russian Budagorfski 9 rootstocks. The result is that no apple tree at Bushy Hill Orchard is more than six feet tall. There are 750 trees per acre grown on the Pennsyvania Low Hedgerow four-wire trellis. In contrast, the old-fashioned spacing was about 40 trees per acre!! Recent scientific tests have shown that because the apples on dwarf trees receive much more sunlight, they both taste better and contain significantly more flavinoids, sugars and other nutritionally desirable elements.
The Orchard's peaches are grown on a 3-wire trellis, to a height of eight feet. These 3-wire trellises are in their 3rd iteration and were developed entirely at Bushy Hill Orchard. The yield is very high and no ladders are required for harvest.
An acre of blueberries is harvested annually and sold fresh or frozen for the Bakery. Two acres of fall harvest raspberries are grown for both pick-your-own and store use. The orchard also has some beehives and rents an additional twenty. The goal is to have a million bees pollinating the apple blooms, since it takes about nine bee visits per blossom to pollinate one apple! Unfortunately, over the years the beehives have continually suffered damage from bears!
Great care has been taken in the development of Bushy Hill Orchard and the protection of the environment. Seven ponds were established to reduce previous erosion and to provide water for irrigation and local wildlife. Every tree in the orchard has its own "drinking fountain"!
Care is also taken to make sure that Bushy Hill Orchard's guests have a wonderful time. The entire Bushy Hill Orchard staff welcomes you and wants to make your visit memorable. Drop by for a visit.
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