Winter still a busy season at Zollinger’s farm
April 2nd, 2010 Posted in BusinessStory and photo by Tyson Thorpe
RIVER HEIGHTS–The 50 acres of Zollinger Fruit and Tree Farm are currently covered in snow, but that does not stop work on the farm.
Ron Zollinger, who owns and runs the farm, said there is only about one 
month where the work slows down. Even though snow covers the ground, work on the farm has been going on much of the winter. Zollinger said he and his employees have been working to repair equipment and prune trees since February. There has also been office work to do and supplies to order, he said.
“If I don’t start pruning in February, it’ll never get done,” Zollinger said. There are around 1,000 fruit trees on the farm.
Fertilizing begins in March, he said. Once the pruning is done, the orchard must also be cleaned.
Zollinger said the land for the farm was first purchased in 1904 by his grandfather. Originally the farm grew apples, cherries and some field crops, he said. Now it is mostly 13 varieties of apples and trees in the nursery.
After graduating from Utah State University with a degree in landscape architecture, Zollinger said he encouraged starting a nursery at the farm. He said his father had always had an interest in growing shade trees.
The farm was also awarded with centennial status by the state of Utah in 2004, Zollinger said.
NW
Tags: winter, Zollinger's Fruit Farm
Sorry, comments for this entry are closed at this time.