The apples that survived the Mothers’ Day weekend freeze are beginning to ripen and will be harvested in the next several weeks. There are not many apples and picking will be a challenge but we hope to offer what produce we have to our customers beginning Labor Day weekend. Due to circumstances beyond our control, namely a smaller harvest, we will be unable to maintain our usual business hours. We needed to make a change in the hours, namely we will open only Friday, Saturday and Sunday beginning on September 4th each day from 10:00 am until 6:00 pm. All apples will be sold at the u-pik location. The u-pik will be open for those who want to walk through the orchard but there will also be apples which we picked, washed and bagged, available for sale as well, in the sales building. We will continue to open every weekend thereafter as long as we have produce available. It’s a different year for us in terms of harvest and sales but we will endeavor to do the best we possibly can for our customers.
Cooler temperatures are needed to add the finishing touches to the Gala. Cooler temperatures “color” the apples to their enhancing hues of deep pink and red. Nothing tastes like a Gala and luckily we will have some of this variety available for sale. This variety will probably be the first apples we pick this season. The earlier apple varieties, Gingergold, Sansa and Zestar, fell victims to the freeze. Apples, in general, are later in development as most of the first bloom apples froze and the fruit on the trees are second bloom fruit which are about 10 days later, thus, our later date for opening.
Farmers’ Markets are active and the vendors have beautiful vegetables to offer to consumers. Our area market is robust with sweet corn, tomatoes, zuchini, squash and melons. Visit your local market and support local growers. It’s a win, win for everyone. Remember, “we’re in this together.”