Thursday, February 1, 2018

2nds Apples on Sale

   During cold or rainy weather, I'm still sorting apples in the sales building.  We still have many 'Enterprise' and 'GoldRush' apples for sale, now and for the next 5 months or more, until late June or early July.  Our #1 apples, with no damage, sell just as fast as I sort them.  Small amounts of harvested apples cost $1.30 per pound + tax.  A 20-lb. box of #1 apples costs $25.00 + tax ($1.25 per pound + tax), which saves $1.00 off the per-pound price.  I sort apples into two plastic bags per box, so you can get a mixed box of one bag each of 'Enterprise' and 'GoldRush' apples, and still get the 20-lb. discount.
   We have many 2nds apples, with small cracks, cork spots, hail damage, or other surface damage.  These are great for baking, slicing for salads, or for making applesauce or apple butter.  Usually 90% to 98% of the fruit is still usable, but they're 70% or less the cost, at $0.93 per pound + tax for less than 20 pounds and $0.88 per pound + tax for 20 pounds.  We've just reduced the price on 40 lb. or more of 2nds apples.  When you buy two or more boxes, each 20-lb. box of 2nds apples costs just $16.67 + tax ($0.83 per pound + tax), so that's $33.34 + tax  for 40 lbs. of 2nds apples.
These 'Enterprise' (left) and 'GoldRush' (right) 2nds apples are great for baking, slicing for salads, or for making applesauce or apple butter.
   We're now selling our last and largest pecan variety, 'Pawnee'.  We'll have cracked pecans for sale until we sell out, probably till late Feb. or early March.  We sell pecans in 4-pound bags.  These pecan bags contain at least 75% pecan kernels, so you get the equivalent of at least 6 pounds of in-shell pecans in each bag.  These pecans are very fast and easy for customers to pick out, and when you pick out the pecans, you get over 3 pounds of nutmeats per bagThe price on pecans is $16.67 per 4-pound bag + tax.
We're now selling our last and largest pecan variety, 'Pawnee'.
    Please remember, since there is no phone line to the sales building, we do not have a card reader.  So we can NOT accept credit cards or debit cards for payment.  We accept cash and checks from any state, so please bring your checkbook or enough cash to cover the amount of food you want to buy.  Thanks.
   During warmer days, I've been transplanting more 'Natchez' thornless blackberry plants, our earliest-ripening blackberry and our customers' favorite variety.  Over the last 2 years, we removed the late-ripening-ripening 'Triple Crown' plants from 2 blackberry rows, and all last summer I herbicided the sprouts that kept growing from the roots, so we could change the variety.  Over the last week I've transplanted rooted tip layers of 'Natchez' into these rows, so this summer we'll have 5 rows of 'Natchez' thornless blackberries for customers to pick, instead of the 3 1/2 rows we had last year.
Yesterday I transplanted these rooted tip layers of 'Natchez' thornless blackberry plants.
   By 2019 we'll have 6 rows of 'Natchez' thornless blackberries, and by 2020 we'll have 7 rows, for a total of about 600 'Natchez' plants.  'Triple Crown' blackberries will be down to about 400 plants.  We still have about 300 'Apache' plants and about 300 'Ouachita' plants, for a total of about 1600 thornless blackberry plants.
   We're still open by appointment until May 31.  That means, during Dec. to May, to phone 620-597-2450 a day ahead and leave a message on the answering machine with your name, the crops you want, and the day and time you're coming.  The phone rings in the house, so I'll answer it on super-cold days when I'm inside working on the computer.  On warmer days, I'll get your message when I come in from working in the the sales building or orchard.  Then I'll meet you in the sales building when you arrive here.
  
You can make an appointment for between 9:00 and 11:45 a.m. or between 1:00 and 5:15 p.m. Mon. to Sat., and between 1:30 and 5:15 p.m. Sundays.  We're closed every Sunday morning, year-round, for church.