Harvest hues: The impact of weather on your 2026 apple-picking adventure
From Ontario to British Columbia, Canadian families head to the orchards for a cherished fall tradition. Here's what to expect for Canada's 2026 apple-picking season.
Canadian families are heading to the apple farm. But before you make some core memories, here’s how the weather impacted the 2026 crop .
"You’ll find this year, because of all the rain, there might not be as many apples on the tree, but they are larger. So they are a bigger apple this year, typically because of the rainfall," said John Hughes, farmer and co-founder of Springridge Farm.
September is the month for the best picking! British Columbia, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are also in full force, sharing their crop with the rest of the country.
(Tom Swinnen/Pexels)
"The challenge we had with the apples this year was in the spring. We had a lot of frost damage with the flowers and buds. The crop this year is maybe 30 per cent less than last year. But the last two years have been very heavy, in Ontario anyways. I think it will be more of a normal year this year," said Hughes.
Nearly all Canadian apple farms are family-owned (97 per cent). As you head out this season, know you are supporting generations' worth of family memories and farming.
"Try to go to a farm that has a variety of apples, so if one variety is picked out, you can find another one that is suitable. The nice thing is [that] plant breeders of apples in North America kept developing varieties of apples that suit our climate better, and our changing taste buds, too," said Hughes.
Thumbnail courtesy of Pixabay.