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Tru-Cape celebrates Jan van Riebeeck diary entry
On 17 April 1662, three hundred and fifty two years ago, Jan van Riebeeck picked the first apples at the Company Gardens in Cape Town.
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According to Tru-Cape's quality assurance manager, Henk Griessel, and co-author with Tru-Cape varietal expert, Buks Nel of Early Apples at The Cape, on this day Jan van Riebeeck made the following historic entry in his diary: "Heavy drizzle in the morning and a strong north-westerly wind blowing in from the sea. Today the first two ripe Dutch apples were picked in the Company's nursery garden." They came from a little tree no more than 1.5 meters. This type of apple is known as a Wijnappel.
Griessel says that the first apple weighed between 165g and 180g. "It was a historic day and date to be remembered by every South African apple grower. We hope that our replanting of some of the older varieties in the Tru-Cape Heritage Orchard at Oak Valley Estate in Grabouw will be seen to be as significant in years to come."
Tru-Cape markets 1,376,470,875 apples and pears each year, equivalent to 224 Jumbo Jets or 950 Blue Whales.
