Apple growing, it turns out, is a lot more complex than expected, and the Cornell Orchards is the perfect place to learn all about it. I did not know, for instance, that every type of apple is a graft of two different apples, and that naturally planted seeds will produce a random, unpredictable hybrid apple. I also didn’t know that apple trees are specifically bred to be small, and that the only big ones are really old. After a brief lesson on the breeding of apples and the grafting process we went on a tour of the orchards, sampled some “new” varieties of apple (the snapdragons are delicious), stopped by the organic section, and then went inside to learn about the cider press. Cider, unfortunately, isn’t available for about another week and a half. After that we did a little browsing in the store and headed back to campus.