Wow! What a Day!

While walking through the orchard yesterday, I saw how many apples were still on the trees. The first hard freeze would come on November 1st. Any apples left would after the frost wouldn't be any good. There would be no way to pick the 4000 pounds of apples in time.

As I was thinking about how blessed we have been this season, an idea came to me. What if I invited people to come and pick for free? I sent an invitation via e-mail out to families who might not be able to afford to pick apples. Many families came and picked.

At the end of the day, the orchard was picked clean. Even the apples on the ground were picked up! This is one of the greatest things we have ever done at the farm. Apples were not wasted, and many people in need of them were able to benefit.. The orchard looks better than it ever has at this time of year.

Last Chance to pick apples

Here we are, at the end of apple picking season. We plan to pick apples today, tomorrow and Sunday. That is, October 28, 29, and 30, 2011.

A special price is being given; if 50 pounds or more of Melrose apples are picked, cost is 50 cents/lb. The orchard has a lot of apples; we plan to pick as much as we can before it freezes on Monday.

Varieties available are Melrose, Jonagold, Mutsu, Braeburn, Northern Spy, Cox's Orange Pippin, and IdaRed.

Fruit Salad---Make Your Own

Recently, I decided to make a fruit salad for myself and the other members of the Kirk Family. This is a favorite dish that we like to enjoy as a dessert at the end of a long, busy day on the farm.

I use one quart of pears, one quart of peaches, and a can of mandarin oranges. Pineapple or grapes are favored fruits to be added.

Since fruit salad (also known as fruit soup) is so versatile, I decided to try something new in it. Our home-canned pears traditionally have a slice of ginger root in each jar. As the pears age over the winter months, they become infused with a wonderful ginger flavor. This ginger flavor lends a very good taste to the fruit salad.

But, it didn't give this fruit salad enough of the flavor I was looking for! I thought for a minute, and remembered that my Grandma's fruit salad usually had apples in it. I decided to try it.

I wanted a kick to my fruit salad, so I chose one of the most unusual, dynamic and aromatic apples in the orchard: Cox's Orange. They have the taste of cinnamon, black pepper, sweet and tart flavor, with a hint of pear. If you haven't tried this apple, I would say that you definitely should! It is a flavor you won't soon forget!

So, I took two Cox's Orange, cored and diced them, added the apple chunks, gave it a stir, and tasted it. WOW! That was the best I'd had in a while! I'm sure I will try this again, maybe with a different apple variety so I can see what effect a different apple, with it's own unique flavor, might have on a fruit salad.

Braeburn Apples are ripe

Braeburn apples are ripe, along with Melrose, Jonagold, Mutsu, IdaRed, Cox's Orange, and Northern Spy. Looking forward to a great time of picking!

Northern Spy are Ripe!

Northern Spy are ripe now! They are an American heirloom variety that makes excellent pies. (And, if you like sour apples, they are good for eating.)

For more information on them, please follow this link. http://www.orangepippin.com/apples/northern-spy

Gravenstein Apples: SOLD OUT!

We are sold out of Gravenstein! Come back next year if you want that particular variety, but if you just want some good apples to cook with or for fresh eating, we still have other varieties available.

Available varieties: Akane, Idared, Jonagold, Cox's Orange, Melrose, and Northern Spy.

Gravenstein apples are still available.

Although it is late in the season, there are about 200 lbs on the trees. They are smaller than last week, but these are the sweetest Gravenstein apples I have ever eaten and will make some great applesauce.

End of season special-----50 cents/lb u-pick.

Apple News from the local paper

http://www.molallapioneer.com/news/2011/September/27/Free.Access/molalla.country.farm.loop.welcomes.fall.harvest/news.aspx

What's Ripe Now?

We are having a great apple season! The apples are bountiful and taste excellent. We have enjoyed getting to meet all the new customers that have come this year, and seeing our old friends from previous years.

It's not too late to pick Gravenstein or Akane. They are beautiful! Gravenstein is an old traditional variety, introduced in 1797. Akane is a newer variety, introduced in 1937. Akane are delicious for fresh eating. For more information, please see this website, which has an excellent description and short history of the Akane apple. http://www.orangepippin.com/apples/akane
The Ida Red, Jonagold, Cox's Orange, and Melrose are ripening.

We hope to see you soon!

Honeycrisp-UPDATE!

Thankyou for a great Honeycrisp season! As of today, we are SOLD OUT of Honeycrisp!

Apple Prices

We have kept the same price for u-pick as last year; 70 cents per lb. We pick is 90 cents per lb, unless you buy a box; then it is 85 cents per lb.
We are at the Silverton Farmer's Market every Saturday, selling Honeycrisp apples at $2/lb.
Akane and Gravenstein are sold at $1.49/lb.
This is our first year of Honeycrisp. They are a delightful apple.
The Gravenstein trees have a large crop and are a favorite for apple sauce, pie, and crisp. Akane continue to be a favorite fresh eating apple.

Gravenstein Apples are Ripe!

Although 3 weeks behind, the Gravenstein and Akane apples are ripe. We will be at the Silverton Farmer's Market tomorrow. I will be with our son Caleb, introducing him to the wonderful market folks. We anticipate a blessed day.

Apple Thinning

Apple thinning is completed and the fruit set is good. Honey Crisp will be available next year. We need to let them grow another year before they are allowed to have a heavy crop.
We are looking forward to picking Akane apples in the 3rd week of August.

Pies

We are going to the Oregon City Farmer's Market on Wednesdays. This week we will bring the following pies:

Whole Wheat and Butter Crust:

Apple Raspberry

Rhubarb Custard (very good!)

Lemon Meringue

Sugar Free Apple

Gluten Free, Egg Free, but not dairy free: (Made with butter)

Apple

Rhubarb

Last week I made a dairy free pie using Earth Balance shortening (margarine). It was an acceptable crust. (We like our butter.)

Thinning the apples

We had a great fruit set, eventhough the blossoms were very late this year. Looking forward to a great harvest. A great fruit set means lots of time out in the orchard thinning the apples, so they can get to an acceptable size. When a tree has 300 tiny apples on it and you have to take off all but 100 of them, it is a tedious job. The sunshine feels good, though. The reward is picking the wonderful fruit in....wow! As early as 8 weeks from now!