Ruby Jon apples and D'Anjou pears are ready!

Updated 9/19/14 Gala, Honeycrisp and Jonagold status below.

I have been waiting for this apple since last year when I discovered they make AMAZING applesauce!

They are part Jonathon so they are great for baking too.

They are a medium to small size mildly tart apple.

Come try then and see what you think!

D'Anjou pears have just been picked too!  Pre-picked only.

$6.00 for smaller bucket

$12 for large 5 gallon bucket

(Please Note:  The pears MUST be chilled in your fridge for 4-6 weeks in order for them to ripen.  If you leave them on your counter, they will eventually just rot without ripening.  The grocery stores have already done this step for you.  Don't want you to be disappointed!)

Other Apple Update: Updated 9/19/14

Jonagold:   All 9 rows are open for picking.

Golden Delicious:  LOTS of beautiful ones available.

Honeycrisp:  Not too much left.  If you hunt around, you will find some but plan on them being gone by Friday or Saturday.

Gala:  The main 2 rows of Gala have some apples left down at the farthest end but they are getting to be only applesauce quality.  They look beautiful but are getting soft when you bite into them.  Wonderful applesauce.  They are very sweet and wouldn't have to add a drop of sugar.

Melrose:  We have some ready to pick in the old part of the orchard. Please ask so we can show you!  The main row of Melrose are not sweet enough yet.  Need to wait a bit longer.

Just some fun pictures!

Quick Update on Ruby Mac and Golden Delicious

Since I just posted yesterday this will be a super quick update.

Please check yesterday's post for more detailed information about what other apples are ripe now!

Update:

Ruby Macs have all been picked.  Thanks for enjoying them all!

Golden Delicious (the regular season ones, not the Smoothies only) are now ready!

They are a mildly sweet apple with a thin skin.   Many people like them for pies and baking.  Also can be used for applesauce and of course great for eating.  These straight off the tree are so wonderfully crisp compared to the store.

Lots of Honeycrisp left still! Plus others.

The scoop on apples today:

Plenty of Honeycrisp left to pick, especially on the inside of the tree hiding in the leaves.

A decent amount of Gala left if you are willing to walk to the last 1/3 of the row.  I have a few Gala trees in the older part of the orchard behind the shop if you don't want to go so far also.

Ruby Mac and Smoothies are getting slim but you will find a about 10 loaded trees of each if you are willing to walk to the last 1/4 of the row.  Still very high quality apples.  Ask us for a Gator ride to take you down there if you want!

Been trying to wait to post until the Jonagold were ready but they are still just stalling a bit.  We have 9 rows of Jonagold.  I would say 1 of the rows is actually ready if you pick and choose the redder apples on the outside.  They still need to sweeten up a bit...the greener ones at least. That being said, if you plan to store these, then by all means come pick because they will last longer if picked a bit early and they will ripen in storage.  If you want Jonagold to eat or for pies, I would recommend waiting until you hear from me again on the blog.  I will let you know when we open up more rows.

In other news, it is still awhile off but I wanted to mention we are having our 2nd annual apple festival on Saturday, Oct 18 from 10-2 so you can mark your calendars!  We will have apple tasting of all the varieties, applesauce to try, crafts for the kids, apple tours for all ages and maybe a little more up our sleeve.   It is a low key day for some free family fun.

Farm Happenings:

We have all our crops harvested now except for corn and of course apples!  Such a relief to almost have the crazy summer season over.  I mean don't get me wrong, harvest is a great time that shows the "fruits" of your labor but it can be crazy!  It is such a relief to get all the crops in so there is no more question of possible weather/pest/disease damage, etc.   Just a large sigh happens around here.  Maybe that is why we are so cheerful during apple season! Ha!

Now we are starting to plan for next year already, like what crops to grow again and what to stop, how we will care for the crops differently next year, and we do a big final budget to see how each crop produced.  Very time consuming but gives us real information to help us make good financial decisions.

Fun stuff:

Some great people I got to meet so far this year!

Thanks for letting me take your picture!  Beware all of you, I will be asking :)