WELCOME to DOLL’S ORCHARDS, LLC
Adam Weber and his wife, Anna, established the first apple orchard on the property when they purchased the land on February 28, 1924. He and his wife later sold the property to the Sisters of St. Francis on September 19, 1930. The Sisters continued the orchard and used the fruits for their Motherhouse Convent located in Oldenburg. At that time, mostly apples were grown in the orchard. It was the mission of the Sisters to be self-sustaining and Anthony C. Doll, (George’s father) was hired as caretaker of the orchard. He also cared for the vegetable gardens and raised chickens for the Sisters of St. Francis. Anthony’s father, J. George Doll, had an apple orchard in nearby Batesville, Indiana so Anthony brought knowledgeable experience to his new position working for the Sisters.
In 1970, the Sisters of St. Francis sold the land, including the orchard, to the Doll family and a family partnership was established. At that time, the orchard was showing signs of decline. Trees were replanted and improvements made for retail sales. Several years after the death of Anthony C. Doll, the partnership was dissolved and the orchard was divested to the partnership’s members. George and Patty Doll took title to the orchard laying East along Tony Road and they turned their interests to a wholesale operation.
So, George and Patty Doll, Doll’s Orchards, LLC, have replanted their section of the orchard with popular varieties such as Gingergold, Gala, Jonagold, Jonathon, Empire, Red Delicious, Yellow Delicious, Honeycrisp, Mutsu, Valstar, Cortland, McIntosh, Winesap (two varieties), Yellow Supreme, Chesapeake, Northern Spy, Anoka, Valstar and Braeburn. Peach trees were also planted and both yellow and white peaches are available. Thornless blackberries have been added to the production. Wholesale sales are an integral part of the operation. Farmers’ Markets are also important to the overall sales plan.
Doll’s Orchards, LLC produce fruit by conventional growing methods. As caretakers of the soil, good land management practices are of the utmost importance. Proper fertilization, tree pruning, minimal use of chemicals and staying abreast of agricultural advances are viewed as their responsibilities as caretakers of the orchard. Most of the labor is done by family members but during the busy harvest, several local individuals help in the labor intensive job of picking the fruit. All fruit is hand picked and washed before going to market.
You may say, George has been in the orchard business for his entire life. He and his sons follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and father and continue the “Doll Family Tradition.” Patty, however, became involved in apple production when she and George were married over forty years ago. No one ever said, “Love, Honor, and Grow Apples,” but indeed that is what it has become.
As owners of Doll’s Orchards, LLC, George and Patty see their role as delivering quality produce, in a timely manner, at competitive prices, to their customers. This policy allows their customers to meet individual market demands, resulting in added profit margins. They invite you to view their produce at local Farmers’ Markets, some area festivals and their Tony Road sales location just outside of Oldenburg, Indiana. The Doll family business continues to “grow” for you!
i bought some mitsu apples at the farmers market in north vernon they are the finest apples i ever bought i will get more when you are in north vernon again i probally couldn”nt find your orchard as i am not real sure where oldenburg is thanks
Thanks Joann! I am glad that you enjoyed the Mutsu. They are a very popular apple. We will be back in North Vernon on October 19th for our last day at this market for the season. Hope to see you there!
Apple varieties are always changing, but I do feel comfortable in saying that we will have Black Twig Winesap, a nice heirloom eating and cooking apple.
Best of wishes and see you again soon!
David
GREAT APPLE’S, GREAT PEOPLE, GEORGE & PATTY. BEEN COMING FROM CINCINNATI FOR YEARS… GREAT GREAT. BEAUTIFUL ORCHARD.
Where ARE you? I don’t see a geographical address. I am in Wisconsin, and would dearly love to get a hold of Anoka apples. “If it isn’t Anoka, it isn’t apple pie.”
Thank you.
We are located in Oldenburg, Indiana – in the southeastern part of the state. We service markets within a 50-60 mile radius of our orchard – which is located one mile east of Oldenburg on highway 229.
Hello!
I am a Girl Scout leader for a troop in Brookville. I am looking for a close by orchard that would let us come out when you are making cider and also learn about the orchard.
The girls are in 4th and 5th grade.
Thank you,
Kathy Roth
Morning Kathy,
Thanks for the inquiry. At this time we do not perform tours. You might want to try ringing the Villa Orchard – which is located just down the road. They have a cider operation and may be able to do it.
David
We Love Doll’s Orchard!!!! We have an annual apple-butter making party in the fall and as soon as we learned about Doll’s Orchards this is where we come for our apple butter apples. George and Patty are so hospitable!!! This year our party is September 19th, 2015 so it is earlier than before. Hope we can get some great varieties! Thanks again Doll’s…you truly are the best orchard we have every found. We’ll be there soon.
Dear John and Ember,
I am so glad that you enjoyed the apples! We work hard to grow a quality product and I am glad you noticed. Please stop by at one of the market locations or by the house so we can meet your needs for this year.
David
Hello there,
I just received some of your Gala apples from Green Bean Delivery. They are beautiful.
I usually buy only organic fruit and vegetables especially as commercially grown apples are often highly treated with chemicals. Should I be concerned about your apples? If I must peel them I will but I don’t like to. Let me know.
Thanks,
Sheila Redman
Sheila,
Sorry for the delay in responding. Certainly, yes we think it is safe to eat the fruit without peeling. We do all the time (and our grandchildren)! We do grow our apples conventionally – which means that we use pesticides just like organic producers. We dont, however, spray our apples within 4-5 weeks of harvest. Although not required by law, this is our choice to make sure that the apple delivered is as safe as possible. We feel pretty comfortable with that window of time as most pesticides degrade with the sun or wash off with the rains. We do not apply any fungicides during the postharvest process.
David
Just like organic producers? What is that supposed to mean? That is very misleading. Organic producers do not use the same dangerous chemical insecticides as conventional producers. Please fully disclose the products that you use. From web research: “Conventional pesticides are toxic and don’t just go away leaving no trace in the apple. Pesticides adhere to the skin and even seep into the core because the concave shape near the stem of an apple creates a perfect bowl-shaped vessel.” I wish your family would learn the dangers and switch to organic. 🙁
Erin,
Organic producers spray chemicals too. In fact, they tend to spray 2-3 times more than conventional farmers. This isn’t misleading, this is the truth (https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~lhom/organictext.html) We also know of several organic farmers who would support this. This increase in spraying is due to the unstable nature of organic pesticides and the shorter residual effect. Consider the impact on the environment of the extra spray passes powered by a diesel field tractor. Keep in mind that many organic products aren’t fully registered for use, which means they aren’t even completely tested for effects on humans and other non-target organisms: https://fruitgrowersnews.com/article/epa-rule-making-stirs-up-biostimulants-industry/
Conventional pesticides (just like organic pesticides) break down due to phyto-degradation and hydrolysis. The rate of breakdown is determined and reviewed by the EPA when the pesticide is registered. Pre-harvest intervals are set for each pesticide, organic or conventional, which takes into account this rate of breakdown. We use pesticides that have an average of a 5 day pre-harvest interval AND we do not spray these for 4-5 weeks before harvest.
RE: Organics are safer than conventional? Yes, some organic pesticides are safer than conventional pesticides (biological v/s chemical based), some have no difference in toxicity to humans (Entrust v/s Delegate), and some organic chemicals are more dangerous than conventional (copper sulfate v/s DMI fungicide). The fact that the organic industry doesn’t mentions this is misleading.
We understand the risks of using the pesticides we use. Our job is to provide a safe product that exceeds the standards set forth by local, state and federal regulations. We attend annual training to learn ow to properly handle, apply pesticides – as well as new technologies to help reduce pesticide use! Our records are in the pesticide use reports, which are public record. If you want to know more, please come meet us at a market or our location. We would love to show you our product.
Thanks for your interest,
David
When will your Braeburn apples be available?
Kathy,
The Braeburn apples will be available in about 10 days. The dry and hot weather has delayed the harvest of several varieties this year.
Hope to see you at the Orchard soon.
When will the Hondy crisp apples be ready
All the Honey Crisp apples were lost in the freeze on Mothers’ Days weekend. Thanks for your inquiry.
Patty Doll