Many Harvested Pears & Pecans, Pick-Your-Own Apples

     Our pick-your-own apple season, and main apple season, is still going strong, now until early Nov.  'Enterprise' is the variety that we have for pick-your-own apples.  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.

A homeschool group from Coffeyville, KS had fun picking apples on Sept. 30.

   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.

Two Pittsburg, KS 1st grade classes had a field trip to our orchards on Oct. 1.

   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 $1.23 per pound + $0.02 sales tax, and #2 apples sell for $0.99 per pound + $0.01 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.  Seasons for all our crops are at left under Crop Sales Seasons.  That also tells which crops we sell harvested, and which crops we sell pick-your-own.

We still have 'Blake's Pride' pears for sale for the next couple weeks, so get more while we have them.

   Our 'Blake's Pride' European pear trees are heavily loaded this year, and we still have many for sale.  We've harvested over 2800 pounds of 'Blake's Pride' pears already, sold over 2100 pounds of them, and are still harvesting more.  'Blake's Pride' pears have a very smooth, buttery texture and exceptional flavor, and are great for canning and cooking as well as fresh eating.  We're also harvesting two other European pear varieties, 'Harrow Sweet' and 'Shenandoah', and have some of these for sale too.

   We're now harvesting many 'Shinko' Asian pears, and have them for sale now until early Nov. or so.  'Shinko' Asian pears are deliciously sweet, very crunchy and very juicy, and keep 6 months in the fridge.  They're great for fresh eating, salads and stir-fry dishes.

    Harvested pears and apples sell for $1.48 per pound + sales tax for #1 fruit with no damage.  We harvest directly into bags in boxes that I weigh to 20 pounds, so if you get a 20-pound box of #1 pears and/or apples you save $1.00.  We also pick some nice #2 fruit, with some surface scarring but no internal damage, that sells for just $1.18 per pound + sales tax, and often sells quickly.

   We do not allow customers to harvest pears or Asian pears, as they're tricky to pick at the right stage, and we harvest many pears from ladders, which we don't ever allow customers to use.  I also harvest all selections from my apple breeding program, and have small amounts of some of these apple varieties for sale now.  I give taste samples of all fruits and pecans available when customers come, for those interested in buying them.

I named this selection from my apple breeding program 'Sunflower' because from the top down it resembles a sunflower, with bright yellow skin and a brown stem-end russet. It's very crisp and sweet.

    We still have many cracked pecans for sale now until late Oct., and many people have bought some lately.  Pecan harvest doesn't start until early Nov., and we start selling our new pecan crop in mid-Nov. Each year, many people come in early Nov. and want pecans, but we don't have pecans for sale then.  If you'll want pecans before about Nov. 12, come get some in Oct.  Pecans keep in top condition in your freezer for at least 6 years.

    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.  These are superior selections from my husband Bill's pecan breeding program.  Each bag costs $19.70 + sales tax.  

   If I'm not in the sales building when you arrive, ring the bell VERY loudly so I can hear it from the back of the orchards.  (If I am in the sales building, please do NOT ring the bell.  Thanks.)

   As always, we take cash or checks for payment, but NO credit cards or debit cards, and no phone "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 produce you want to buy.  Thanks.