Still Pick-Your-Own Apples & Harvested Apples, Pears & Asian Pears

   Our pick-your-own apple season is still going strong, now until about Nov. 3.  Pick-your-own means you harvest apples from the trees while you stand on the ground, and you buy everything you pick.  I show you which apple trees you may pick from, and how to pick the apples properly.

   Pick-your-own apple customers sort the apples as they harvest them, placing #1 apples with no damage into white plastic bags and #2 apples with small sunburned areas, cracks or other surface damage into yellow or tan plastic bags.  #1 'Enterprise' apples keep in top condition for fresh eating for 6 to 7 months in a fridge when stored in these plastic bags, and #2 'Enterprise' apples keep well for 2 to 3 months.

Ten families (50 people) from a Joplin home school group enjoyed picking their own 'Enterprise' apples on Fri. Sept. 20.

   We appreciate it if pick-your-own apple customers bring some clean, non-ripped, used plastic bags in different colors, but we have some bags for those who don't bring any.  Do NOT bring cloth tote bags, as I weigh the apples in the plastic bags, and the apples need to be stored in the plastic bags to keep well in the fridge.  We're reusing plastic bags that otherwise would be thrown out, and reusing is much better for the environment than recycling.

   Pick-your-own #1 apples sell for $1.21 per pound + sales tax, and #2 apples sell for $0.97 per pound + sales tax.  We take cash or checks for payment, but NO credit cards or debit cards, and no "apps", so please bring your checkbook or enough cash to cover the amount of fruit you want to buy.  Come during our Fall Open Hours, shown in the left sidebar, and allow enough time to finish picking and check out before we close at 12 noon or 5:30 p.m.  

   I also harvest 'Enterprise' apples, and selections from my apple breeding program, for sale.  We now have a 20-pound box of harvested #1 'Enterprise' apples for sale, plus 4 20-pound boxes of harvested #2 'Enterprise' apples.  The #1's sell about as fast as I pick them, but #2 'Enterprise' apples make great pie filling, applesauce, apple butter, etc.  This variety is the best for applesauce of any of dozens of varieties I've tried.

   We also have many 'Shinko' Asian pears and some European pears for sale now.  I give taste samples of all fruits available at the time.  'Shinko' Asian pears are deliciously sweet, very crunchy and very juicy, and keep 6 months in the fridge.  The European pears have a wonderful flavor and a smooth, buttery texture, and keep 2 months in a fridge.

'Harrow Sweet' European pears have a wonderful flavor and a smooth, buttery texture.

    Harvested apples, pears and Asian pears sell for $1.45 per pound + sales tax for #1 fruit with no damage.  A 20-pound box of #1 fruit costs $28.02 + sales tax, and you save $1.00.  We have some very nice #2 fruit that sell for $1.16 per pound + sales tax. 

  As of today, we still have 28 bags of harvested, cracked pecans for sale.  We'll likely sell out in late Sept., then we won't have any for sale until the new pecan crop starts in mid-Nov.  Pecans store well for 3 to 4 months in a fridge, and for over 6 years in a freezer.

   We sell cracked pecans in 4-pound bags, which are over 75% pecan kernels and under 25% shell fragments.  Each bag has the equivalent of 6 pounds of in-shell pecans, and when you pick out the kernels, you get 3 pounds or more of nutmeats.  Each bag costs $19.32 + sales tax.

   Revised projected sales dates for all our crops are shown in the updated sidebar at left under Crop Sales Seasons.  That also tells which crops we sell harvested, and which crops we sell pick-your-own.

   As always, we take cash or checks for payment, but NO credit cards or debit cards, and no "apps".  We don't use a smart phone, and have no phone line to the sales building.  So please bring your checkbook or enough cash to cover the amount of fruit you want to buy.  Thanks.

On rainy days like today, when I can't work in the orchards, I put up this sign on our sales building porch. If you don't have a cell phone with you, come to the house & ring the doorbell.