Pick a Pink Lady

April 28th, 2016

Thousands will have the chance to pick and crunch into the best of Adelaide Hills apples at the Pick a Pink Lady Day in the premium Lenswood apple growing district this weekend.

Harrisville Orchards and Mahnew Orchard will open their gates to show off this year's harvest and give people an opportunity to taste apples straight off the tree.

Harrisville orchardist Craig Harris said some people have never seen an apple growing on a tree before.

“It's good to complete the picture for these people so they can go away and realise the effort that goes into growing fruit,” Craig said.

“Some people have no idea the fruit is grown outside in the elements. They think it's grown in a factory.”

For others this event is the first time they have picked and eaten an apple fresh.

“They can't believe the difference,” Craig said.

“Many can not get over how good an apple tastes when picked fresh from the tree.”

Pick a Pink Lady Day is designed so that people can ask questions directly with the growers.

“I commonly get asked how long an apple tree will produce for,” Craig said.

“The highlight of the day is seeing families and young children come out to Lenswood at this beautiful time of year to taste crisp apples.”

Susi Green from the Apple and Pear Growers Association SA said Pick a Pink Lady Day is the only apple picking event in the Adelaide Hills.

“It's a fairly unique opportunity,” Susi said.

“Our growers are well into harvesting now, it's been a long and highly successful season for everyone.”

While the Pink Lady variety is currently in it's prime, we still have Sundowners to look forward to in coming weeks and months.

Susi said the standard of apple produce across the Adelaide Hills this harvest has been consistently high.

At only a 40 minute drive from Adelaide, Lenswood is South Australia's premier apple growing region with 80 per cent of the state's apple orchards based here.

Susi said food providence is an important lesson not often taught to young people of today.

“When our parents were kids almost everyone had some sort of connection to the land whether it be through their parents, grandparents or an aunty,” Susi said.

“Nowadays people don't often get the same connection to the land.”

“Pick a Pink Lady Day gives children an understanding of where their food comes from, what goes into producing fruit, and what and when different varieties are available.”

“It's also a perfect time to soak up the beautiful Adelaide Hills which are stunning at this time of year.”

Craig and his family are gearing up for the busy weekend which is expected to see thousands of people visit the two orchards.

“We once had a young boy who was in awe of how many delicious red apples we had growing on our orchard,” Craig said.

“He couldn't decide which one to pick as he kept finding better ones and ended up taking an hour to choose one to eat.”

Visitors will have the opportunity to buy apple varieties directly from the growers as well as purchase some home-made produce and fruit juices. Tea and coffee will also be available.

The Pick a Pink Lady Day will run from Saturday, April 30-Sunday, May 1 from 10am-4pm. Entry is $5 for adults and free for children under 12 years old.

Harrisville Orchards is located at 72 Harris Road, Lenswood. Mahnew Orchard is located at 640 Swamp Road, Lenswood.

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