“Even now, you still need a good plum for a plum cake,” Herbert Erlwein says with a smile as his gaze wanders over the long rows of fruit trees. His farm is in Ermreus, a small village off the main roads that belongs to the municipality of Kunreuth. To get to his orchard, Herbert Erlwein only has to step outside.

Peaches and grapes also thrive in the Ermreus orchards

Around his farm, spicy Santana apples, aromatic peaches, cherries, grapes and apricots grow in gently curving rows. Many old varieties are among them, such as the “Butterbirne” or the “Köstliche von Charneux,” because they are more aromatic and less susceptible to pests. Between his trees, Herbert Erlwein has created numerous nesting places for tits, bees and bumblebees. At the edges stand hedges of blackthorn, rose hips and hawthorn. At the beginning of each row of trees, Herbert Erlwein has planted a rose bush. “I just like roses,” he laughs. Always in view: the Hetzles Mountain.

Herbert Erlwein planted thousands of fruit trees

“I’ve been fascinated by fruit trees since I was a child,” Herbert Erlwein says. Agriculture always played an important role in his family. The history of the old farmstead can be traced back to the 17th century. Herbert Erlwein became a master gardener and specialized in fruit growing. When he took over the farm from his father, he first thoroughly reorganized it: he sold the old farmstead, gave up pigs, cattle and chickens, and built a new farm on the edge of the village with plenty of space for fruit trees. He planted thousands of trees; after four years came the first yield, and after ten years he was able to make a living from it. Today he farms 11 hectares full-time.

13 different crops grow in the orchards

Traditional orchard meadows are part of it too. “A loose stand of trees like that is simply beautiful to look at,” enthuses the friendly master gardener. Twice a year he mows the meadows under the trees; otherwise he leaves them in peace. His main source of income is the fruit from his orchards. The trees there are on average 25 years old. There is plenty to do here all year round. Pruning begins in February and March. Expertise is needed here so that the 13 different crops each receive their individual pruning. In April and May, when the trees are in full bloom, Herbert Erlwein is in his orchards every day. Then intuition and experience are important: he has to assess, observe and make decisions. For example, about the use of fungicides. If warm, humid weather persists for a longer period, there is a risk of scab infection. Then Herbert Erlwein has to intervene, even though he would prefer to avoid spraying. “Otherwise I can throw away my harvest. Even organic farming doesn’t work without plant protection.”

What a variety of fruit!

In June, when the first apples ripen, it is time for Herbert Erlwein to thin the crop. To ensure that the apples grow as large as possible, small and scabbed apples are sorted out. At the beginning of June, the harvest season starts with the first cherries. In July come the first peaches and apricots, in August the apples and plums. The fruit is carefully “pulled” from the tree so that it does not get bruised. Herbert Erlwein is supported by a small team of harvest helpers. Herbert Erlwein picks a tree up to three times, because the fruit ripens at different rates. Herbert Erlwein wants to offer his customers fully ripened fruit so that they can taste the subtle differences between the varieties.

The farm shop is open on Fridays and Saturdays

From the very beginning, Herbert Erlwein relied on direct marketing. Over the years, he built up a considerable customer base. Ermreus’s secluded location is deceptive: on Fridays and Saturdays there is a steady stream of visitors coming and going at the farm. It has long since become known that you can buy an impressive variety of fresh fruit here. Depending on the season, there are strawberries, peaches, plums, apricots, blueberries, currants, apples, pears, grapes, quinces and walnuts.

Fruit growers with heart and soul

The Erlweins are fruit growers through and through. Herbert Erlwein also uses his direct line to customers to inform them about fruit growing. He emphasizes: “Our nature and landscape are dear to us all, worth living in and therefore worth preserving. They are shaped by human hands. Yet nature is not static; it cannot be forced into a corset of laws and regulations. We live and work with nature; the fruits of our trees are our daily bread.”

Wife Hilde Wöhrmann is responsible for the variety of products in the farm shop

The good soul of the farm shop is his wife, Hilde Wöhrmann. The fruit that Herbert Erlwein harvests is transformed by Hilde, with great imagination, into vinegars, syrups and fruit spreads. This produces, for example, a red apple jelly. “There isn’t a gram of coloring in it,” Hilde Wöhrmann laughs. It is the red flesh of the Baya Marisa variety alone that gives the apple jelly its red color. Particularly popular are Hilde’s quince and apple vinegars. “Our apple vinegar is now 12 years old; nothing has been added to it,” says the warm-hearted host. She even turns medlars, rose hips and quinces into fruit spreads, even though, as she says, these fruits are already “extreme” in terms of preparation.

Fruit spreads are made by hand

Cooking is still true handcraft for Hilde Wöhrmann. “I stir it myself because I need to feel the fruit. Sometimes a fruit is a little sweeter, then I don’t need to add as much sugar. But you only notice that when stirring by hand,” she explains. The marinated cheese is made the same way: “That keeps me busy for at least three hours,” she laughs. “When my customers then say, ‘That tasted great again, do you have any more of it?’, that makes me happy.”

There are also insect drinkers, cloth bags and woven shopping baskets in the farm shop

To surprise her customers, Hilde Wöhrmann is constantly looking for new ideas. She has expanded the range in her shop not only to include marinated cheese. Since August, there have also been products made from Franconian carp from a nearby family smokehouse. And anyone still looking for a suitable gift will find stylish insect drinkers, colorful cloth bags and woven shopping baskets.

Special features:

- The Erlweins’ farm also includes an apple festival, which takes place once a year on the farm.

- Hilde Wöhrmann also plays a leading role in the Ermaser Madla association, which shapes the cultural life of the small community. [Here’s the article!](https://www.infranken.de/lk/gem/ermreus-und-seine-madla-art-5078235)

Products:

- Fresh fruit depending on the season: strawberries, peaches, plums, apricots, blueberries, currants, apples, pears, grapes, quinces and walnuts

- Fruit vinegars, fruit spreads, syrups also made from rose hips, medlars and quinces

- smoked carp mousse and smoked carp from a friend’s carp farm

- marinated cheese

- handicrafts from small businesses in the area

*Author: Corinna Brauer*