It looks like a great week-end to pick apples. Apples available to pick are McIntosh, Gala, Mutsu and Honeycrisp! It is fun and easy on on our close planted smaller trees. Stanley Prune plums are in and taste sweet and good. Squash and pumpkins and starting to pill up around the market. Football is in the air and caramel apples are the snack of the day. Happy Fall everyone! Betsy
Fruit-Filled Friday Orchard Tour at King Orchards
Today strawberries in the market and last day for asparagus. Lots of call about u-pick. We will keep people posted on the blog each day. Today it looks like we will start some u-pick sweets next week. Keep watching !
Help! We’re being overrun by cucumbers!!!
If we can’t get to the phones, it’s because we can’t make it through the mountains of pickling and slicing cukes we’ve harvested from our gardens. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to plant 5 acres 
Here’s what we’re offering this week:
Veggies: Now available at both markets: good quality slicing cukes (not too fat) and pickling cukes (sand-free). Our sweet corn is here: golden fresh and sweet. We also have lots of our own zucchini and summer squash in the market, plus amazing melons, juicy tomatoes and crisp, tasty peppers direct from Bay City.
Cherries: Last chance for delicious, fresh tart cherries. Get ‘em while you can, most likely through the middle of the week. If you absolutely can’t make it by then, you’re still in luck. We’re now offering frozen pitted tart cherries and sweet cherries as well. So many ways to enjoy this Northern Michigan favorite… What’s yours?
Peaches: Our Early Glo peaches are ready for picking. These are sweet and delicious; great for eating! Just a little while longer for the Red Haven canning peaches, which we’re expecting the last week of August.
Nectarines: They should be ready around the same time as the Red Havens. So far, it’s looking like the last week of August to enjoy these.
Apricots: The apricots are delicious and firm, still going strong. Come and U-Pick or find them ready to go at the market.
Blueberries: Direct from West Olive, we’re got luscious, plump blueberries-great for eating and making desserts.
Flowers: We have big, beautiful sunflowers available to U-Pick and in our market. We also have a plethora of statice: a bright, colorful way to brighten up your home or office.
0 comments Betsy | Crop Updates & Orchard Talk, In the Markets
There is one question everyone is asking. How long will we be able to pick sweet cherries? This year is so odd that I can’t say. My hope is that we will be able to pick through to next week end. There is a lot of fruit out there and if it stays dry the cracked cherries may dry up and the good cherries will be left for picking. Am I wishing for the impossible? If it continues to rain we will have to wait and see. Tart cherries will be into full swing come mid week. Raspberries continue to be great! All in all people are happy with there fruit and having fun. Betsy
We drove the golf cart in the Central Lake parade today! The market has been busy and the pies were piled high this morning. With no cherries ripe there has been more than one disappointed u-pickers. My standard answer is that we will pick some black sweets this week and try to get the u-pick started this week-end (7/10). We found 2 ripe raspberries so those are on the way. The blueberry man call and will be bringing a load up next Friday 7-10. The season is almost here!
0 comments Betsy | Crop Updates & Orchard Talk, In the Markets
In Traverse Magazine’s Food Loving Summer, an “it-list of the fresh and fleeting discoveries that make life up here so delicious,” Emily Betz Tyra said King Orchards peaches are so irresistible, they will “make you weak in the knees.” Thanks Emily! We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
But don’t take Emily’s or our word for it. Come out to the orchard right now for fresh-picked or pick your own peaches. We’re starting this week with Early-Glow and Garnet Beauty varieties, both tasty and juicy semi-freestone peaches. Red Haven peaches, everyone’s favorite freestone canning peaches, should be ready after the 17th, along with our almost-famous nectarines. We’re talking running down your arm juicy good peaches and nectarines.
And that’s not all! Apricots are still jammin’ and there are plump red raspberries to be picked (they’re ever-bearing and will be here til September). In the fruit-stands, we have yellow and red plums, blueberries, sweet corn, melons, the best red & white potatoes ever, peppers, onions, zucchini, cherry chocolate oatmeal cookies, cherry juice concentrate, killer Balaton cherry salsa, dried cherries and our new Nuts about Cherries trail mix… practically everything for a perfect summer picnic.
For dessert, Lexi and Rose have been baking up a bevy of fresh fruit pies. Try the lovely Lattice Topped Cherry, Crumb-Topped Cherry, amazing Apple, beautiful Blueberry, righteous Cherry-Raspberry or their newest creation, the Three Berry Pie, a triple threat featuring Blackberries, Raspberries and Blueberries.
0 comments admin | Crop Updates & Orchard Talk, In the Markets
The black sweet cherries have been slow to ripen but we are finally there! Sweet cherries are in the markets by the quart. U-pick will open on Wed 7/9 at the m-88 farm. The picking will be much easier towards the week-end. Price for u-pick is 2.00/lb up to 25 lbs and 1.75 over. Raspberries are ripe for u-pick. Come out and enjoy the farm. Cherries will be in for about 2 weeks. Tart cherries ripe about 7/16. Happy harvesting!