![]() ![]() This year is the complete opposite - branches are breaking from the weight of the apples. Last year was telling: Not one apple survived on 3,000 apple trees spanning 13 acres of the Ferrara farm. Learned, even in the worst of times, is that we can survive (if one crop isĭestroyed by late frost)," Tony Ferrara said. "Thank God we diversified and added berries and pumpkins because what I've Tom Ferrara, a retired Air Force colonel and Vietnam fighter pilot, envisioned a farm with more than just apples. Modern-day apple growers, or the handful who are left, plant semi-dwarf apple trees, which grow low to the ground, require a third of the growing space and are easier to reach for pruning and picking, Ferrara said.įerrara's father, Tom, 80, and late mother, Helen, purchased Happy Apple Farm off K Street in 1984. Throughout the years, apple growers have come and gone, but many had the starch knocked out of them by the 2002 drought and Colorado's fickle weather. There are probably still some 100-year-old trees - known as standards - on some of the orchards still left," Ferrara said, pointing to the one heritage tree he has left. "Spencer wanted Penrose to be the apple capital of the nation, but it did not take off like he wanted. In 1909, the citizens petitioned the federal government for a post office and asked that it be named Penrose. His vision was to sell city lots and acreages that would come with both water and orchards. Penrose was born 100 years ago when Spencer Penrose, a wealthy businessman from Colorado Springs, began buying water rights on Beaver Creek and later established the Beaver Land and Irrigation Co. Once dubbed "Apple Valley," Penrose was deemed an ideal place to grow apples because of its long growing season, excellent soil and elevation, said Tony Ferrara, who has been growing apples for a quarter century. PENROSE - A huge, healthy apple crop will help this tiny town celebrate its 100th birthday in a fruitful way this fall. ![]()
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