Orchard Talk

This fall weather means its apple season! Today, I had my first apple of the season and it was everything I have been waiting for- juicy, crisp, and sweet! We are looking forward to a big Labor Day weekend! We are planning on having Sanza apples in the markets before the weekend and Ginger Golds by the weekend.

Keep in mind, we will still have peaches and nectarines in the markets all weekend. The Red Haven peaches are coming off the pit nicely and the nectarines are still as juicy and sweet as ever!

We still have a huge veggie selection in the markets including some great canning tomatoes! Be sure to make a stop at one of our markets so you and your Labor Day guests can enjoy some fresh Michigan produce over the weekend!

Betsy and I just completed a lap of the orchard and I felt I better report.  Red Havens are taking their time getting ripe. We will start on Monday or Tuesday.  We are hearing from a lot of people who want to u-pick this weekend and they can get some nice peaches but let me caution you. Red Havens are only freestone when they are ripe.  Stone fruit softens after it is picked but it does not add sugar. Every year we have customers who return peaches that “won’t come off the pit”. Every year is different and some years the peaches are clingy, but if we wait and let them ripen and sweeten they usually will come off the pit nicely.

The nectarines are not freestone and cling to the pit and we are starting them right now. I eat a lot of nectarines! Betsy wanted to pick them but I wanted to let them hang 2 more days to add sugar. Betsy pointed out that we have a hard time interesting a fruit stand customer with a dented nectarine. So I am advising blog readers that dented nectarines are just about the sweetest fruit we have and you will definitely want a napkin ready if you bite into one.

We have had a big apricot season.  There are still some for upick but it is rapidly winding down. Frank, Megan, and Jimmy took a load to the Benton Harbor market where the sales start at 5.45 am and are fast and furious for an hour or so.  Big Jim and Jack took a load to the Detroit Eastern Market too. That sale starts at Midnight and lasts until 6.00 am.

The early season raspberries are about done and the late season ones will be rolling in over the next several weeks. The late ones are larger and it is easy to fill the containers. We should have good picking this weekend unless there is a big run on the raspberries.

Stanley prune plums and Bartlett pears will be ready in September. We have a very nice apple crop and Ginger Golds are 1-2 weeks away.

Oops I almost forgot that our own sweet corn is in the market and I am pretty happy with it. Remember it was very dry during July but we have pretty good tip fill and great flavor.

That’s all for now

John

The fruit stands are running out of table space because of all the fresh produce we have in right now! The markets have been taken over with the smell of peaches. Right now, we have the Garnet Beauty and Early Glow peaches, which are semi-cling. We will have the Red Haven, free stone peaches in next week.

We just got in nectarines as well! You can find at least one employee snacking on a nectarine in the fruit stand at all times… they are wonderful- juicy, sweet deliciousness!

King Orchards’ sweet corn is also available in the market. Bay City canning tomatoes are just starting to roll in so those should be available for the next couple weeks at least. Lots more fresh veggies are also available including potatoes, onions, zucchini, summer squash, peppers, and green beans.





We are hoping to get in Ginger Gold apples for Labor Day weekend. We will be shipping these this year, so if you want to get a taste of Michigan apples early in the season contact us for more information!

Things have been very busy at the farm lately. We are moving into our peak week for apricots! The trees and our coolers are loaded. We have them available for U-pick and also in the market. The apricots are hanging low on the trees so picking is fun for the whole family.

Sunday (July 7th) will be our last day for U-pick tart cherries. They are beautiful and still abundant. We will have fresh pitted 10lb bags of tart cherries available through the weekend. This is the weekend to come for people who still need to fill their freezer for fresh cherry pies all winter!

The fresh summer veggie season is rolling in now. We have great Bay City corn in the market right now. We are hoping to have our own corn in Sunday. We have lots of fresh KO zucchini and summer squash, along with potatoes, onions, and peppers from Bay City. We also just got in Bay City Honey Rock melons that are wonderful!