A Few Harvested Apples, Asian Pears & European Pears Ripe

   We now have a few harvested early apples, Asian pears, and European pears for sale.  A late April freeze greatly reduced the crops of early-ripening apple and pear varieties this year, since these varieties also bloom early.  So amounts of early apples and pears for sale will be very limited this year.

We have only a few 'Sun Gala' apples this year. This selection from my apple breeding program resulted from a cross of 'Sundance' x 'Gala'.

   I harvest all selections from my apple breeding program, since these were grown from seed resulting from controlled pollination, and there's only one tree of each selection.  I also harvest all pears and Asian pears, since these trees grow straight up, and I harvest most fruit from a ladder.

The 'Blake's Pride' pear crop was greatly reduced by a late spring frost this year. I've already finished harvesting them, and have only about 40 pounds for sale. We'll have more 'Harrow Sweet' pears in a few weeks.

   Harvested apples, Asian pears, and European pears all cost $1.39 per pound + sales tax.  We often have some 2nds of these fruits, with small cracks or other surface damage, which cost just $0.93 per pound + sales tax.

I've just started harvesting 'Shinko' Asian pears, as only a few are ripe now, but we'll have a good amount in 10 days to 2 weeks.

   Our Fall Open Hours run from Sept. 1 until Nov. 30, as shown in the sidebar at left.  Note that we've changed the Fall Open Hours a bit this year. We'll be open Mon. to Sat. 9 a.m.to 12 noon and 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Sundays 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. only.  We're closed Sun. mornings for church services (as we are year-round), and closed from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. each day so I can take a lunch break.

Our new Fall Open Hours sign is posted on our sales building.

   Since early apples and pears are limited, for the next couple weeks it's a good idea to phone 620-597-2450 a day ahead and leave a message on the answering machine with your name, day and time you'll come, and what you want to buy.  State your phone number, including area code, if you want a call back.  Our phone rings in our house, so I won't get your message until I come in from working in the orchards.

   If you just come during our open hours, I'll probably be out harvesting the fruit.  I put a sign up on our sales building by our bell, so ring the bell loudly and I'll hear it and come to the sales building.

If you drop by, ring the bell loudly so I'll hear it and come to the sales building.

   Our pick-your-own apple season doesn't start until Sept. 25, and is heaviest the whole month of October.  Once the pick-your-own apple season starts, pick-your-own prices will be $1.00 per pound + sales tax for #1 apples and $0.79 per pound + sales tax for #2 apples (2nds).

   Sales dates for all our crops are listed in the sidebar at left under Crop Sales Seasons. That also tells which crops are sold pick-your-own and which crops are sold harvested.