Tomorrow is National Eat an Apple Day.  We think it is such an important holiday that we are celebrating it all week and maybe for the next 6 weeks!  This is a day to encourage us to bite into a crunchy, flavorful apple.

Reminder, our hours this year are 9 am to 6 pm daily, including holidays, closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  You can reach us at (269) 244-5690.

Shop our “Hail of a Sale on Apples!   

Already Picked Apples
Due to the significant amount of hail damage to our apple crop this year we will have very few first quality apples.  Please note how we are selling them this year.  Keep in mind that future changes may occur based on yields of specific varieties.

  • First quality — quarter peck and half peck size bags only
  • Second quality or Processing apples — pecks and half bushel bags only, sold at reduced prices.
  • We will not be taking any orders for apples in advance.  If we have what you want on hand, we will hold them for you upon request.
  • It is taking us much longer to sort and bag the apples this year, so if you are driving from a distance, feel free to call ahead to make sure we have what you would like or can get it ready before you come.
  • Animal Apples — lesser quality apples available as animal feed throughout the season

Our Hail of a Sale
Thanks to all of you who have been accepting of and buying our Processing apples!  Sadly, most of our apple crop was damaged and we appreciate you buying them.  There are very few recipes that call for “perfect” apples.  We are glad to offer our apples (except for Honeycrisp) to you at a discount. $19 Bushel; $11 half bushel; $7 peck.

What is the Difference between First and Second Quality Apples? 
First quality apple bags will contain apples that are medium to large size, have few (1-2 minor hail marks or indents) or no blemishes, and may have full or partial color.  More apples than normal will lack full color this year because we picked them from the inside of the tree, where they were protected from the hail, but then were also shaded.  Those lacking color will still taste the same, they just look different.

Second quality or Processing apples will be medium to large size and have multiple hail marks.  The marks will not be deep and can be easily cut out or eaten around.  If you are making applesauce or pies, cooking, freezing, canning, or baking these apples are perfect for your use.  They have the same flavor and are discounted – a much more economical way to get useable apples.  This is the first time we have sold processing apples as in the past we used all of them for our cider.

If you are new to processing apples (or any produce), you may want to check out the resources on our Food Preservation page on our website.

We are also selling food mills on the market, everyone must have one of these!  They are best way to make applesauce ever, without peeling!

U-Pick Apples.  We are sorry but there will be no u-pick apples this year.
Due to the extent of hail damage, we feel we cannot provide the quality apple picking experience that you want and expect.  Despite not having u-pick apples, we still welcome you to the farm this fall for many other great farm experiences.  If you want to pick apples, there are many other orchards in Michigan that offer u-pick.  Check Michigan Farm Fun, an online directory of Michigan farm markets to find an orchard near you. This is going to be a great year for Michigan apples, there will be so many!!

Celebrate ‘Eat and Apple Day’ with Us!    

Here are some ways to celebrate Eat an Apple Day:

1.  Munch on an apple!  Grab an apple of your choice and get eating.  Try out new varieties (visit our apple sample baskets), or eat apples with assorted condiments — our Amish peanut butter, local honey, local maple syrup and maple sugar topping — for a different experience.  In this throwback picture, a granddaughter of Dayton and Allene Hubbard enjoys the crunch!

2.  Try out apple recipes.  This is the time of year to start cooking with apples.  We have some apple recipes on our website plus there are many more online.  It is also the time to make pie fillings, applesauce, baked apples, apple crisp, canning, and freezing apples with our processing apples.

3.  Share the habit and better your health.  Encourage people around you to eat apples too.  Share your apple knowledge, like apples are the world’s most consumed fruit and that they originated a long, long time ago in the Tien Shan mountain range of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.  And share your healthy apple-eating habit to inspire a healthy food kick in people you know.  Apples are good for you.  They have low-fat content, loads of fiber, and a host of other lovely health benefits.  There is a reason the ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’ quote is still so popular.

4.  Visit our apple store.  We also have a nice selection of apple themed artwork from our local artists decorating the market.  And new this year, an apple store filled with apple themed items from toys, books and such.

Grape Update  

We anticipate having a decent crop of our juice grapes, Niagara (white) and Concord (blue) this year.  Please be aware that they did receive some minor damage from the hailstorm in June and some splits from excessive rain in September.  The season last about 3 weeks, depending on the weather.

We plan to open the vineyards for U-oick on:

  • Niagara (white) – Saturday, September 17
  • Concord (blue) – Sunday, September 25

Pricing for 2022 is:

  • $7 per 5-gallon bucket for 5 buckets or more (100 pounds, 35 cents per pound)
  • $14 per 5-gallon bucket for 2 to 4 buckets (70 cents per pound)
  • $18 per 5-gallon bucket for 1 bucket (90 cents per pound).  This is also the minimum requirement for u-pick.
  • A 5-gallon bucket of grapes weighs approximately 20 pounds.

Reservations.  You will need to make a reservation to pick grapes.  You can make a reservation online and get more information on our grape u-pick before driving out.  This will be available starting Saturday on the Update area of our website.  Please call us if you need assistance with making a reservation.

If you are interested in already picked grapes, please call us at 269-244-5690 for pricing and information.

 

More on Apples  

When will Certain Apple Varieties be Ready?  
This apple chart estimates the approximate week we believe our various apple varieties will ripen.  It is only our best guess – the weather can ripen them earlier of cause delays.  We will update this chart throughout the season so keep checking the link or visit our website.

On the market now:

  • Cortland: A hint of tartness makes this a great baking variety, a descendent of the McIntosh.  This variety is a bit sweeter than its ancestor and juices really well.
  • EarliBlaze: A small to medium apple, tolerably crisp and juicy, slightly tart.  Great for eating, apple sauce or especially apple pie.
  • Gala: A great eating and cooking apple.  It has a crisp snappy bite over a mellow sweetness.  Very versatile, great for eating or cooking.
  • Honeycrisp: This seems to be many people’s favorite.  It is crisp with an excellent sweet flavor and a “bite” to it.  Great for eating fresh or using in salads.
  • JonaGold: Superbly crisp and juicy with shades of tart and sweet in each apple, very large and aromatic.  Cross between a Jonathan and Golden Delicious.
  • Jonamac:  Medium to large fruit with 90% red color over a greenish background. Firm, crisp flesh with flavor similar to a Macintosh.  Superior eating quality, also can be used for baking.
  • Macintosh:  A medium to large sized fruit with red color.  A sweet yet sharp flavor which makes it good for fresh eating, cooking, and drying.
  • Molly’s Delicious: A crisp, sweet, and juicy apple with white flesh, originated from Golden Delicious.  Great for fresh eating.
  • Nu-Red: A crisp, tart, hard, crunchy apple.  An improved version of a Red Rome.  Good for fresh eating, applesauce, pies, and baking. This year these are the best ever for flavor, come try one, it might be your new favorite apple.

Below are Cortland apples freshly picked from the orchard.

Fresh Cider

We hope to have our freshly squeezed apple cider on the market starting next weekend.  Unfortunately, we are delayed due to a repair in the cider mill.  After all, the press itself is close to 100 years old……

Tomatoes

We are currently picking our canning tomatoes and still have tomatoes already picked for sale by the quart on the market for those wishing to have BLT sandwiches.

We have attempted to contact everyone on our tomato pre-order list.  If you have not heard from us or if you were not on our list, but are interested in canning tomatoes, please call us at 269-244-5690.

Bartlett Pears 

The Bartletts are available on the market in various sizes from quart boxes to bushels.  We also have samples if you would like to try one.  They are very sweet once ripe.  The pears are picked green and ripen from the inside out in about 7 to 10 days.

Bell Peppers 

Our fields have decided to give us an abundance of Bell peppers late in the season!  We ran out of space with so much being harvested right now and had to put them on the antique bench!

These are perfect for freezing so that you can enjoy them all year round.  Or use some now in salsa with our tomatoes or stuffed for dinner!  Pricing: $25 bushel, $13 half bushel.  Please call ahead if you would like us to hold some for you.  269-244-5690

What is Available on the Market this Week    

Fresh Produce
From our fields

  • Bell Peppers
  • Cauliflower
  • Cabbage
  • Eggplant
  • Onions
  • Shallots
  • Squash – Butternut and fall varieties
  • Tomatoes

From our orchards

  • Apples
  • Bartlett Pears

From Bankson Lake Farms

  • Arugula
  • Garlic
  • Kale
  • Lettuce blends
  • Mushrooms
  • Potatoes
  • Spinach
  • Swiss Chard

Flowers and Herbs

Dried Floral Arrangements.  We will have dried floral arrangements available starting this weekend from Flowerfield Farmstead.  Faith in Flora no longer has fresh floral bouquets available since it is so late in the flower growing season.

U-Pick Flowers.  Make your own bouquet using flowers from our terrace garden by the parking lot.  Keep in mind that it is best to pick flowers when it is cool, like early in the morning if it is a hot day.  Please see clerk for scissors and cutting instructions.

U-Pick Herbs
All the herbs in our herb garden are ready to pick!  Price is $1.50 for a snack size bag.  Scissors and bags are on the market, see clerk for assistance.

Local Grocery Items
Fresh products from our local suppliers – honey, maple syrup products, jams and jellies, salsa, eggs, and Jake’s meats.

Alcohol Products 

Last weekend we introduced our new whiskey – Rufus Rye.  It is a small batch Michigan, straight rye whiskey.  It was distilled, aged for 2.5 years in American oak barrels with a medium char, and bottled here on the farm.  The drink is smooth and easy.  Pick one up today for yourself and another for a gift!

We have a nice selection of hard ciders, wine, and fruit brandy perfect for relaxing.

  • 8 total wines from red, white, dry to sweet
  • 8 total hard ciders from dry to sweet, made onsite
  • Various fruit brandies made onsite from various fruits

We sell hard cider in singles, 4-packs, and 6-packs.  You may mix and match to make your very own “party pack”.  We will not be having a tasting/sampling this weekend, but you are welcome to make up your own party pack and enjoy them in our onion barn.  Just be aware that we have freshly harvested red onions in there that will be joining you!

From the Bakery

Baked Goods.

  • Yeast donut rings
  • Muffins: Apple Spice and Pumpkin
  • Cookies: Monster, Caramel Apple, and other varieties
  • Homemade Cinnamon bread
  • Breads: Italian, hot dog and hamburger buns
  • Fruit pies: our signature “take and bake” fruit pies are a must have; find them in the freezer section
  • Homemade Apple Crisp

We are making homemade Apple Crisp from our apples.  They are baked, and ready to eat as is or warmed up.

Our wonderful hot donuts are available on Saturdays and Sundays.We are into our Fall flavors of Apple Cider, Pumpkin, and Buttermilk donuts!

Strombolis:  Take and bake from our freezer, plus find Marinara sauce in the grocery section.  We have the pizza type and a quiche type for breakfast eating.

  • Pizzamoli – pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese
  • Sausage Pizzamoli – pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and sausage
  • Pepperoni Pizzamoli – pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni
  • Moe’s Specialty – garlic Italian sausage, mozzarella cheese, hint of oregano
  • Breakfastmoli – eggs, cheddar cheese
  • Sausage Breakfastmoli – eggs, cheddar cheese, sausage
  • Ham Breakfastmoli – eggs, cheddar cheese, shaved ham
  • Veggie Breakfastmoli – eggs, cheddar cheese, and either kale or spinach added

Keep in mind that you can call ahead to order any of your favorites and we will have them ready for you to pick up.

Happenings on the Farm 

Another week of harvest, harvest, harvest.   from tomatoes to winter squash and of course apples.  The crew was even parking apples in grape rows today as they finished picking the Cortland.  The Cortland are beautiful this year, large and perfectly ripe right now with flavor.

We appreciate everyone’s support of our farm, especially during this difficult apple season.