How To Be a Fruit Tramp
(Page 3 of 3)
Also, until you catch on to the gentle - but quick - touch,
or if you get bad picking (big trees, small apples), it can
be pretty discouraging when you get only two bins a day. Or
less.
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Most bins used now hold 25 bags. Bins pay from $5 to $6 on
the average, depending on the type of apple. If you've got
good picking (small trees, big apples), you can average 6
bins a day. Some oldtimers get 10 or 12 (don't let the old
guys bum you - they'll just drink it up).
The best way to find apple-picking jobs is to come over
just before the season and ask around. The Farm Labor
people have orange information trailers parked in nearly
every town. They also have labor camps in many places where
you can eat and sleep for a minimal fee.
Most orchardists provide housing, though, especially if you
get there early in the harvest. Even if you don't, the
turn-over is fantastic (because the winos go on benders and
split), so there's almost never a lack of jobs. Start
looking anywhere in the Columbia Basin or the Okanagan
Valley, from Yakima to Wenatchee up to Canada.
And if you really like apple picking, or you find you have
a talent for it, you might like to explore the possibility
of other fruit-picking jobs. Arizona and California have
lemons, oranges grow in California and Florida (these are
wintertime best bets), and all sorts of other fruits and
vegetables are begging to be harvested, too.
It's hard work but the people you'll meet are fascinating,
the whole area is fantastically beautiful, you'll be
working outdoors among orchards of peaceful, happy trees .
. . and the money you earn could keep you warm through a
long, cold winter.
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