Current Days and Hours
Just check our website, FB, Google, or call us at (269) 244-5690 for days and hours as needed.

Closed      Monday
9 to 2       Tuesday
Closed      Wednesday
9 to 4       Thursday
9 to 6       Friday
9 to 4       Saturday
9 to 4       Sunday, extended hours for the holiday weekend

This long, Labor Day weekend is one of the best times to visit the farm.  We have three great reasons – sunflowers, u-pick apples, and apple cider donuts!  This is the perfect weekend to engage in fun activities, make memories, and capture the moments in photos.  And the weather should be perfect, a great time to be out and in the countryside.  We have a lot going on that you won’t want to miss as we say goodbye to summer and welcome the fall season!
Our 2025 Sunflower Experience is open during our business hours.  It will probably only last through the weekend, then the sunflowers will droop their heads and be done for the year.  See hours and pricing information below.  Thanks to all of you who stopped by this past weekend to enjoy the sunflower experience and for sharing your photos.
Our U-Pick Apples start this Friday with the first of our fall crop.  We are excited about the apple offerings we will have for you this weekend.  We’ve never had the weather and the weekend line up like this to have 9 great varieties for you to pick.  The trees are full of beautiful apples, and they are at their perfect flavor.

We are opening the orchard this Friday only for the holiday weekend.  Going forward it will only be open on Saturdays and Sundays when there are apples available to pick.  See below for pricing and more information.

Below, Beth checking the Mollie’s Delicious for ripeness and several of our u-pick trees.

The early fall ornamentals are starting to arrive!  We have gourds, stacking pumpkins, mini straw bales, – more ornamentals like mums arriving later.  Pick some out and start your fall décor!
Our donut selection is changing for the season.  This weekend, we are offering the taste of summer blueberry, the year-round buttermilk, and the taste of fall, everyone’s favorite apple cider!

And you can still enjoy the seasonal produce though summer produce like sweet corn, tomatoes, and peaches will be ending soon.

Stop by this weekend and enjoy all we have to offer this special time of year!

Looking Ahead

  • Concord and Niagara Grapes – probably starting mid- to late- September
  • Fall apples – early fall varieties starting Labor Day weekend
Sunflower Experience 2025

Visit the Sunflower Field!
Our sunflower field is open through this weekend only, unless the flowers hold on for one more week.  This is our largest field yet – 3.5 acres of stunning blooms!  Two different walking paths – short and long.

Please check our Sunflower Experience 2025 webpage for more information.

Sunflower Field Hours

  • The field opens at 9:30 am each day the market opens and closes 30 minutes before the market closes.
  • Closed Mondays and Wednesdays
  • If you are traveling far, please call ahead or check the website before you leave to make sure the field is open.  It could be closed if there is a storm or a lot of rain.

Admission Fees and Flower Pricing

  • $5 for ages 11 years and up
  • $3 for accompanied children through 10 years old
  • No charge for babies and toddlers
  • Additional blooms are $2 each or $1.50 each for 6 or more
  • Zinnias and other flowers are available from our Flower Bar and are 50 cents per stem.
  • Please check in at the market for directions to the field, pay the entrance fee, and get your ticket.

Professional photographers have access to the field during the “golden hour” and on days we are closed as well as during public hours.  Please contact Brenda@coreylakeorchards.com to schedule an appointment.  See the website for our photo policy and fees.  This may be the last week to get sunflower photos with families, high school seniors, engagements, and other occasions!

U-Pick Apples
We are excited to open the u-pick apple orchard this year on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday!  Normally, the orchard is only open on Saturdays and Sundays, but we are adding an additional day for the holiday weekend.

Varieties available for this weekend are: Ginger Gold, Paula Red, Sansa, Jonamac, Kindercrisp, Blondee, Mollie’s Delicious, and Spartan.  See descriptions of these varieties at the end of the newsletter.

  • Friday – Orchard opens at 9:30 am, must be finished by 5:30 pm
  • Saturday and Sunday – Orchard opens at 9:30 am, must be finished by 3:30 pm
  • Check in at the market to prepay, get directions, and get your picking bag(s).
  • Need to pick a minimum of one peck ($12 value)

See the u-pick apple webpage for more details.

On the Market
Here’s what we will have:

  • Peaches – Freestone peaches by the bushel and smaller quantities
  • Bartlett Pears – small quantities through bushels
  • Fall Apples – Ginger Gold, Paula Red, Mollie’s Delicious, Gala, and Zestar starting this weekend
  • Summer vegetables – carrots, eggplant, garlic, onions, peppers, red potatoes, spaghetti squash, zucchini
  • Tomatoes – individual quarts, 5 pound bags, and bulk
  • Sweet Corn – individual ears, dozens, half dozens, and bulk
  • Fall squash – acorn and other varieties
  • Lettuces and produce from Bankson Lake Farms (produce arrives on Friday mornings and typically lasts through the weekend)
  • Assorted fresh baked goods including ‘take and bake’ fruit pies and strombolis
  • Local products – maple products, honey, jams, jellies, and salsas, Jake’s meats, milk, eggs, cheeses, yogurt, and ice cream
  • Alcohol products – hard ciders, wines, spirits
  • Nice selection of gifts made by our local artisans, perfect for birthdays, hostess, pet/house sitters, or yourself!
  • Ice-cold slushies – small and large, in three flavors including new peach slushies.
  • Fresh flowers from our Flower Bar, Thursday through Sunday.  Make your own bouquets with flowers harvested from our farm including our sunflowers.  We also sell various vases if you need one.  This will be our last weekend for the flower bar.
  • Fall ornamentals – gourds, pie pumpkins, stacking pumpkins, mini straw bales, and more ornamentals coming soon

Below, our first bin of Gala apples for the year, acorn squash, gourds, and Mollie’s Delicious.

Across the Market
Bulk Produce
Produce currently available in bulk quantities.  We try to have these available for walk-in, but preordering is helpful.  269-244-5690.  If you miss us, please leave your name and phone number on the recorder and someone will call you back to get the details and confirm.  We do not accept orders left on voicemail.

If possible, please bring containers to get your items home.  Boxes, tubs, laundry baskets, reusable grocery bags, etc. are helpful.

  • Sweet Corn – 5 dozen mesh bag (last weekend for corn)
  • Tomatoescanning – bushels, half bushels (will have for another 10 days)
  • Peaches – freestone, bushels, half bushels (7 to 10 days left)
  • Bartlett Pears – bushels, half bushels (will have for about 10 days)

Note on Bartlett Pears: These are picked green and ripen from the inside out.  Lay them out (single layer) in a cool area away from direct sunlight for 7 to 10 days to ripen and turn yellow.

Below are the Flamin’ Fury peaches picked today.

Bakery
We are busy making assorted baked goods.

Freshly baked – Friday through Sunday or until gone
–Mini fruit pies, already baked, last weekend for these special treats!
–Focaccia breads: Olive/Rosemary, Basil Tomato and new this weekend: Apple Drizzled with Honey

Our famous donuts – Friday, Saturday and Sunday
–Donuts – our year-round buttermilk, keeping our great taste of summer blueberry, and bringing back fall’s apple cider

Saturday and Sunday:
–Iced yeast ring donuts, decorated with sunflowers!

Freshly baked (whenever we are open)
–Assorted cookies, breads, and muffins
–Back for the fall season starting on Friday – pumpkin and apple muffins

In our freezer section, just “bake and enjoy”:
–Fruit pies in assorted farm fresh flavors, large and small
–Stromboli’s – various types in breakfast, sandwich, and pizza styles

During sunflower season, our Sunflower bread is a must!!  Pick up a loaf!

Grocery
We offer selected grocery products like salad dressing, jam, jelly, salsa, fresh eggs, cheese, yogurt, fresh milk, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, crackers, chips, meats, dog treats, and more.  We focus on offering products from companies located in Michigan, to support Michigan-grown and Michigan-made!

Please note that with the summer season coming to an end, we are reducing the variety of grocery products we currently offer such as: yogurt, frozen meats, cheese, selected crackers and chips, pita chips, granola, eggs, olive oil, pretzels, dressings, fermented vegetables, fresh milk, maple sauces and seasonings and ice cream.  These products will not be reordered after this weekend.

Alcohol
We have a variety of spirits, wines, and hard ciders – most made on the farm using our surplus fruit and cider.  We have red and white wine ranging from dry to sweet.
Gifts
We carry an assortment of gift items from local artisans.  Perfect for when you need a gift, especially for those who are difficult to shop for.  We also have gift bags, tissue paper, and cards.  Check out our sunflower gifts!
The Recipe Rack
Ideas for Using Fresh Produce
Over the years, we’ve collected an assortment of recipes that use our produce.  We haven’t tried them all, but we look for recipes that we would like to eat and are relatively easy to make.  We invite you to visit the recipe page on our website for ideas.
How to Preserve Food
Ball Mason, a leader in home canning supplies, has a set of canning and preserving guides available.  They describe the process and include how-to information on canning, freezing, pickling, dehydration, and making jam for a variety of fruits and vegetables.
Ball Mason Canning and Preserving Guides

We also have information on Storing and Preserving Food on our website.

Happenings on the Farm
Portage Garden Club
Last week we hosted the Portage Garden Club.  Part of their club meeting included a tour of our various annual and perennial gardens including our largest “garden” of all, our sunflower field.  We enjoyed meeting with them and discussing gardening.
Bartlett Pears
We picked our Bartlett Pears earlier this week.  Pear harvest is our heaviest time of lifting.  We thank our crew who climb tall ladders with a picking bag holding 50-plus pounds!  Pears are picked green and need 7 to 10 days to ripen.
Picking Peaches
Our crew took a break from pears to pick these absolutely lovely and very large peaches!  And they taste as good as they look!  Stop by this weekend and get some!
McIntosh Apples
Our McIntosh apples will soon be ready – maybe another 7 to 10 days.  Check our website, newsletter, or call to see when these are available on the market.
Concord and Niagara Grapes
We grow Concord and Niagara grapes which are primarily used for juice.  As you can see, they still have a way to go before they are ripe.  Check back September 10 or later for an update.  They typically start towards the end of September.
Loving the Cooler Mornings and Sunrise
We are so grateful for this stretch of cooler days and especially cooler nights. This allows our apples and grapes to gain size, color and flavor.

We are also grateful for the fall weather that has arrived to give the grapes time to grow and sweeten.

Apple Descriptions
Already Picked Apples
Galaa great eating and cooking apple.  It has a crisp snappy bite over a mellow sweetness
Ginger Gold.  One of the best early seasons eating apples.  Sweet and mildly tart flavor.  Great for salads and snacks as they are slow to turn brown, and cooking and baking.
Mollie’s Delicious.  A crisp, sweet, and juicy apple with white flesh, originated from Golden Delicious.  Great for fresh eating.
Paula Red.  Slightly tart and juicy – the first taste of fall.  Makes great applesauce and needs little or no sugar.  Have a white flesh and similar coloring to a McIntosh.  For fresh eating or cooking.
Zestar.  A relatively new variety.  It tastes sweet and tangy, crisp, and known for its unique flavor.  Good for fresh eating, cooking, salads, and applesauce.  It can be stored for up to two months.

U-Pick Apples
Blondee.  A medium sized apple, crispy and crunchy, white flesh slow to brown, sweet, and low acid.  Great for eating or baking.  Part of the Gala family.
Ginger Gold.  One of the best early season eating apples.  Sweet and mildly tart flavor.  Great for salads and snacks as they are slow to turn brown, and cooking and baking.
Jonamac.  A good cooking or eating apple.  It has the best qualities of a Jonathon and a McIntosh apple, resembles the McIntosh in flavor.  It is a favorite for apple sauce.
Kindercrisp.  Very crispy and sweet, medium size, with a flavor and texture similar to a Honeycrisp, one of its parents.  Ideal for fresh eating, best kept refrigerated.
Mollie’s Delicious.  A crisp, sweet, and juicy apple with white flesh, originated from Golden Delicious.  Great for fresh eating.
Paula Red.  Slightly tart and juicy – the first taste of fall.  Makes great applesauce and needs little or no sugar.  Have a white flesh and similar coloring to a McIntosh.  For fresh eating or cooking.
Sansa.  One of the first sweet apples of the year.  Juicy and crisp – great for fresh eating.  A cross between Gala and Akane.
Spartan.  A cross between a Macintosh and an unknown variety.  It is a bit smaller in size, has a crisp white flesh that is aromatic and juicy.  Good for fresh eating, cooking, and juicing.
Zestar.  A relatively new variety.  It tastes sweet and tangy, crisp, and known for its unique flavor.  Good for fresh eating, cooking, salads, and applesauce.  It can be stored for up to two months.

Thank you for your continued support and for buying local.
Everyone at Corey Lake Orchards wishes you a safe
and enjoyable Labor Day holiday!
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