Monday, October 27, 2014

Last Week of 'Enterprise' Harvest, 'GoldRush' Ripe

   We're getting into the last week of harvest for 'Enterprise' apples, so if you want to pick your own 'Enterprise', come this week.  'Enterprise' apples are sweet-tart, great for both fresh eating and baking, stay crisp and juicy for 6 to 8 months in a refrigerator, and are a favorite of many customers.
'GoldRush' apples (on trees) are ripening now, and these kids picked a few after picking a bunch of 'Enterprise' apples (in wagon).  There are only a few 'Enterprise' apples left on the trees now, so if you want to pick your own 'Enterprise', come this week.
   'GoldRush' apples are ripening now, so many customers pick some 'GoldRush' also.  'GoldRush' apples keep well for 8 to 10 months in a refrigerator, and are best after at least 1 month in the fridge, as they get sweeter as the starches convert into sugars.  The pick-your-own season for 'GoldRush' will continue for the next 3 weeks or so, until the first hard freeze in mid-Nov.
   Harvested apples are kept in top condition in our cooler, which is now full.  Besides many 'Enterprise' and some 'GoldRush', we have many harvested 'Scarlett O'Hara', 'Sundance' and 'Jonafree' apples for sale.  We also have a few bags or boxes each of many other varieties and selections, including some from my apple breeding program that I just named this year.  I give taste samples of all 28 of our apple varieties and selections, to those interested in buying them.  If you want to buy harvested apples, we'd appreciate it if you can come soon, so we'll have room to store more apples that we need to pick!

Our cooler is now full of harvested apples ready for sale, in green and light blue trays holding 20 lbs. each.  I've also started harvesting apples for winter storage into the large dark blue boxes that hold 30 lbs. each, on the top rear rack and the floor.  
   Apple prices are the same as last year, and are listed in the previous blog post.  Pears and Asian pears are now sold out for the season.  Pecans are also sold out, until we start harvesting and cracking the new pecan crop in late Nov.
   We do have a few fall red raspberries ripening, now until the first frost.  These are sold pick-your-own only, for $1.86 per pint + tax.  Let me know if you want to pick some.

A few fall red raspberries are ripening, now until the first frost.  These are sold pick-your-own only.
   Our fall hours started on Sept. 1 and continue until Nov. 30, as the sidebar at left shows.  During this period, we are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays, and 1 to 6 p.m. on Sundays.  I appreciate phone messages a day or so ahead, letting me know when you're coming.  If you drop by and I don't see you come in, since I'm out harvesting apples, ring the bell on the sales building.  

Thursday, October 16, 2014

'Enterprise' Harvest Winding Down, 'GoldRush' Harvest Starting

   We've had perfect fall weather for apple picking over the past couple days, and several groups have taken advantage of it.  Fri. Oct. 17 and Sat. Oct. 18 should be beautiful also, as should next week.
Most 'Enterprise' apples on the outsides of the trees have been picked, but there are still many in the interiors of some trees for pick-your-own customers who come within the next 2 weeks.
   We're getting into the last couple weeks of harvest for 'Enterprise' apples, so if you want to pick your own, come in the next 2 weeks.  'Enterprise' apples are sweet-tart, great for both fresh eating and baking, stay crisp and juicy for 6 to 8 months in a refrigerator, and are a favorite of many customers.  'GoldRush' apples are starting to ripen now, so some customers pick some 'GoldRush' also.  The pick-your-own season for 'GoldRush' will continue for the next 4 weeks or so.  Weekdays are good uncrowded times to pick apples, for those who are able to come then.

The pick-your-own season for 'GoldRush' has just started, and will continue for the next 4 weeks or so.
   Harvested apples are kept in top condition in our cooler, which is now full.  We have many harvested 'Enterprise', 'GoldRush', 'Scarlett O'Hara', 'Sundance' and 'Jonafree' apples for sale.  We also have a few boxes each of many other varieties and selections, including some from my apple breeding program that I just named this year.  I give taste samples of all 28 of our apple varieties and selections, to those interested in buying them.
   Harvested apple prices are the same as last year: $1.21 per pound + tax for harvested #1 apples (practically perfect) and $0.83 per pound + tax for harvested #2 apples (with small cracks or other surface damage).  20 lbs. of harvested #1 apples cost $23.22 + tax, which saves $1.00.  20 lbs. of harvested #2 apples cost $15.79 + tax, which saves $1.00.  40 lbs. of harvested #1 apples cost $44.59 + tax ($1.11 per pound + tax ), which saves $4.00 off the per-pound price, and 40 lbs. of harvested #2 apples cost $29.73 + tax ($0.74 per pound + tax), which saves $4.00.
   Smaller amounts of pick-your-own apples are $0.93 per pound + tax for #1's and $0.70 per pound + tax for #2's.  For 40 lbs. or more total of pick-your-own apples, the price goes down to $0.88 per pound + tax for #1's and $0.65 per pound + tax for #2's.
   Our fall hours continue until Nov. 30, as the sidebar at left shows.  During this period, we are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays, and 1 to 6 p.m. on Sundays.  I appreciate phone messages a day or so ahead, letting me know when you're coming.  If you drop by and I don't see you come in, since I'm out harvesting apples, ring the bell on the sales building.

Friday, October 10, 2014

Many 'Enterprise', 'Scarlett O'Hara', 'Sundance', 'Jonafree' & Other Apples for Sale

   We've harvested many 'Enterprise' apples and have them for sale, and there are still plenty of 'Enterprise' apples for pick-your-own customers.  'Enterprise' apples are sweet-tart, great for both fresh eating and baking, stay crisp and juicy for 6 to 8 months in a refrigerator, and are a favorite of many customers.  'GoldRush' apples are just starting to ripen, and more will ripen over the next month. 
   There's a high chance of rain over the next few days, but our pick-your-own apple season will continue for the next 5 to 6 weeks.  Weekdays are good uncrowded times to pick apples, for those who are able to come then.
   You can get harvested apples even in the rain; they're kept in top condition in our cooler.  Besides 'Enterprise', we also have many harvested 'Scarlett O'Hara', 'Sundance' and 'Jonafree' apples for sale, and a few boxes each of many other varieties and selections, including some from my apple breeding program that I just named this year.  I give taste samples of all 28 of our apple varieties and selections, to those interested in buying them.

'Scarlett O'Hara' (front box) and 'Sundance' (2nd box) apples can grow very large, which some customers want. 'Enterprise' and 'GoldRush' apples (3rd box) are favorites of many customers, so I pack some boxes with a bag of each variety. I also pack some boxes with a bag each of 'Enterprise' and 'Sundance' (4th box). 
   Prices are the same as last year, and are detailed in the post made on Sept. 24.
   Pears and Asian pears are now sold out for the season.  Pecans are also sold out, until we start harvesting and cracking the new pecan crop in late Nov.
Since I couldn't harvest apples until late this morning due to almost 7 inches of rain, I made apple pecan pancakes for breakfast. I froze some, and the rest keep well in the fridge for a couple weeks. The recipe is posted as a note on the Brenda's Berries Facebook page, along with many other recipes using apples and pecans.
   Our fall hours started on Sept. 1 and continue until Nov. 30.  During this period, we are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays, and 1 to 6 p.m. on Sundays.  I appreciate phone messages a day or so ahead, letting me know when you're coming.  If you drop by and I don't see you come in, since I'm out harvesting apples, ring the bell on the sales building.
   We use plastic grocery sacks in different colors for pick-your-own apples, and appreciate it if customers can bring some clean, non-ripped, used bags.  Reusing is better for the environment than recycling.  We now have plenty of gray bags, but could use more white, tan, yellow or blue bags.
   For payment, we accept paper, not plastic: we take cash and checks, but NO debit cards or credit cards, so plan accordingly.    

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Many Apple Varieties and Selections for Sale

   Harvest of 'Enterprise' apples continues.  This is our most popular apple variety, and we have 45 trees of it, which produce over 16,000 pounds of apples each year.  We have many harvested 'Enterprise' apples for sale, and also let customers pick their own 'Enterprise' apples.  This variety is great for fresh eating, baking and cooking, and keeps well in the fridge for 6 to 7 months.
'Enterprise' apples are large and easy to pick, and great for fresh eating, baking and cooking.
   We also let customers pick their own 'GoldRush' apples when they are ripe. 'GoldRush' apples ripen very late, from mid-Oct. to mid-late Nov.  'GoldRush' apples are also excellent for all uses, and keep well in the fridge for 8 to 10 months.
   Both 'Enterprise' and 'GoldRush' are immune to apple scab disease, as are almost all of our other apple varieties.  That means we don't have to spray for that disease, so scab-immune varieties need 33% fewer fungicide sprays than do scab-susceptible varieties such as 'Jonathan' or 'Golden Delicious'. 
   We have just a few trees each of several other apple varieties, which I  harvest and have for sale, and many selections from my apple breeding program, which I began 12 years ago.  I use apple scab-immune varieties or selections as parents in this breeding program, and the gene for scab-immunity is dominant, so all progeny will also be immune to apple scab disease.  This year I've named 10 apple selections, and have small amounts of each of these for sale.  I give taste samples of all 25 of our apple varieties and selections to those interested in buying them.
'Sun Shower', in the box at left, is a selection from my apple breeding program that I named this year.  It resulted from a cross of 'Sundance', in the middle box, and 'Jonafree', in the box at right.
   Pears and Asian pears are now sold out for the season.  Pecans are also sold out, until we start harvesting and cracking the new pecan crop in late Nov.
   We're still open our fall hours, as the sidebar at left shows, until Nov. 30.  We do appreciate phone messages a day or so ahead, letting us know when you're coming, since we can't always see the driveway when harvesting apples at the back of the orchard, or while working on our other fruit plantings.  For apple prices, scroll down to the previous post.