Leasing—rather than buying—is a popular option for shoppers of automobiles and other products. So why not apples?
At Hill Creek Farms in Mullica Hill, apple enthusiasts can purchase a $175 seasonal lease on three side-by-side apple trees, each a different variety. With apples ripe for picking from September through November, leasers can regularly take home apples from their own trees.
The program, now in its third season, puts “the public in the shoes of a farmer to see what goes into producing this stuff and see the benefits of picking your own fruit,” says farm manager Rusty Scardino. The farm has about 2,000 apple-tree groupings spread over twenty acres.
The first variety to ripen is the Jonagold, a large apple well suited to cooking and baking. Next is the Cameo, a medium-sized, dense, and sweet fruit. The most popular variety ripens last. As the season winds down, the juicy Autumn Rose Fuji apple can keep for months without refrigeration.
The three trees can yield upwards of 100 to 300 pounds of fruit annually, depending on weather conditions, Scardino says. Leasing the apple trees can provide cost savings for apple-loving families, he says, since the varieties often sell for more than $2 a pound in grocery stores. “It only runs for that short time,” Scardino says, “but it’s the volume of fruit you’re getting and the access you have to the property.”
To learn more about apple-tree leasing, visit hillcreekfarms.com.