Orchard Talk » Courtney

Winter News

Courtney — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:19:03 +0000

Hello everyone!
Even though it is winter we are still here on the farm and working hard.
The winter is progressing and so is our new building. We are very excited to see the inside of the building coming together. This week we are hoping to get the paneling put up in the offices. We can not wait to move to the new building and have some room in the old one; however we realize that it will be a little while yet.

We also still have apples in the market, including the all popular Honeycrisp Apples. There are lots of 2nd apples and snow days are perfect for making apple sauce with the kids. We have frozen cherries in the market and they are available for shipping. Call us at 1-877-937-5464 to get daily updates on what we have in the market or to order your frozen cherries.
To learn more about shipping frozen cherries watch our frozen cherry video frozen cherry shipping

Alisha

AARP Recommends Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate!

Courtney — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 14:52:19 +0000

Check out the article AARP published about “10 Home Remedies That Work”. Tart cherry juice concentrate’s benefits are highlighted in #3!

Click to view the AARP Magazine article

Fall Update!

Courtney — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:15:36 +0000

It has been a busy fall at Kings! We made it through another Applefest in Charlevoix, despite the wind and rain. All of the apples are now officially off the trees which means the fruitstands and coolers are packed full of apples! We have 10 different varieties right now: Cortland, Jonagold, Golden Delicious, Gala, Mutsu, Northern Spy, Ida Red, McIntosh, Empire, and of course the famous Honeycrisp.

Along with apples, squash is coming in by the truckloads! We have Butternut, Buttercup, Acorn, Hubbard, and Carnival right now. They are available by the piece and 1/2 bushel. There are lots of ways to cook squash, so start experimenting and give us your input!

Halloween is coming up quickly, so be sure to get out to the orchard to pick out a pumpkin! We have pumpkins of all shapes and sizes outside the markets so there are lots of choices!

If you don’t feel like whipping up your own apple pie, grab a fresh baked pie at one of the markets. We also have hand dipped caramel apples to put you in the fall mood.

It is definitely starting to look and feel like fall around the markets so stop out and join in all the fall fun!

Honeycrisp Time!

Courtney — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:29:30 +0000

The time all apple lovers have been waiting for is here! Honeycrisp apples are ready and available in the fruitstands! We also have Gingergold, McIntosh, and Gala apples available. Cortlands will be arriving soon, along with Jonagolds. Come out to the orchard or order online to get a taste of Michigan apples at their best!

McIntosh are IN!

Courtney — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 22:45:25 +0000

The first of the McIntosh apples just started coming in today! We also still have Gingergolds available, however not for too much longer so get ‘em while they’re still around! We have been seeing the first of the Bartlett Pears coming in as well this week. They are perfect right now… we should have them in for about 10-14 days.

Peaches and nectarines are coming to an end very quickly. We are running a sale until they are gone so this is the time to get them! They should be done this weekend. We will have softs available throughout the week in the fruitstands for all of you last minute canners. Give us a call so we can save you some.

Pears!

Labor Day U-Pick

Courtney — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 20:00:12 +0000

We are looking forward to a busy weekend ahead. The main question we have been getting- “What will you have for u-pick?” Raspberry picking will be strong this weekend. There are still some peaches on the trees, but we cannot guarantee that they will go through the entire weekend. Call us ahead of time and we can give you the status of the peaches. Hope to see you at the orchard this weekend!

Raspberry u-pick

Daisy would love to see you this weekend

APPLES!

Courtney — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 20:39:05 +0000

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!

Sanza Apples!

First picking of the apples!

The King Orchards girls are jamming with homemade jams!

Fresh veggies!

Fresh peach pie!

August in the Market

Courtney — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:14:08 +0000

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.

Peaches!

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!

Peaches and nectarines available by the pound, 1/2 peck, peck, and half bushel

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.

KO Sweet Corn

Betsy's Bargain Sale going on NOW

Apple crates for sale- $5 or 3/$12

Full market!

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!

Apples soon!

‘Cot Week!

Courtney — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 16:34:52 +0000

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!

Apricot U-Picking!

Tart cherries going through the pitter

Apricots in the market

King Orchards birthday parties! Happy birthday Jenna!

Albatross armed Laura, making bottling fun

Tart Time!

Courtney — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 21:15:48 +0000

We are coming to the last few days of sweet cherry picking. Tomorrow is the last day for picking at the M 88 market. We have a later variety (the Hudsons) that will be able to be picked at our US 31 market through the weekend.

The tart cherries are looking great right now! We will be offering U-pick of Montmorency tart cherries through the weekend and into next week. Free pitting is provided for anyone who picks two buckets (about 28 lbs.) of tart cherries.

The Balaton tart cherry season is in full swing now as well. They are a great variety of tart cherries that are darker, a little sweeter, and more firm than the typical Montmorency tart cherry. We offer these in our market by the quart and lug (20 lbs.). We are also offering these to those customers who do not live in the area for shipping (call us for prices and shipping quotes). Shipping will be available until Tuesday of next week.

We will be beginning apricot season within the next 4 days or so. Those will be available for U-pick and in our market. There are tons on the trees so make sure you take a trip to the orchard to help us get them all off the trees!

Everyone has fun picking (and eating) the cherries in the orchard!

Buckets and buckets of cherries!

First day of Balaton shipping!