THE ORCHARD BROOM



The Orchard Broom



I'm always on the lookout for something that we might be able to use on the farm, a new gadget here, a new toy there.  There's always something unusual and helpful out there.  The Bulb Hound for example, that I blogged about HERE.

Well last night, while surfing the web about our recent fruit tree acquisitions, I stumbled across this cool tool.  It's called an Orchard Broom.  Or actually, "The Amazing Orchard Broom".  From what I can tell, it's the only thing like it to collect fruit and nuts in this manner. 

It can hold up to 20 apples at a time and best of all, you can gather them, collect them, and dump them in a bucket, all without bending over.  According to a few different reviews I read, it's very easy to use.  You just roll it along the ground and the wire 'gives' a bit, letting the fruits and nuts pop into the basket.  Then you just put it on top of a bucket, the cage separates and everything drops in.  It doesn't even damage the fruit skin.  For storage, the handle comes apart to make it more compact.

There is a smaller version for use with walnuts or other golf ball sized fruits.  Might even have to have two (so 2nd Man can help harvest of course)!

Obviously, we'll have a few seasons of letting the trees grow before we might have to worry about that, but it could be one of those things that we get sooner rather than later, in case they get hard to find.  Then we'll be "ready" when the time comes for fruit harvesting!

They can be found online HERE at Cottage Craftworks, an awesome website for unusual stuff.

Enjoy!