Pickin' Time!

Another apple season is upon us, hooray, for picking time!

The first apple since the cooler was shut down in February, the initial crunch, the amazingly fresh texture, it was quite simply delicious. We currently have a few apple varieties in the cooler; Lodi, Pristine and Maiden Blush.

All of these apples, and it is only the beginning of August!

We will be picking several varieties (right around 40) over the next few months; so, how do we know when and which apples are ready to be picked?

First, we look to see if the fruit appears to be ripe according to color and size.

Second, we check out the ground to see if any apples have fallen from the tree yet.

Third, we pick one and cut it open with a knife to have a better look at the seeds. Apple seeds begin white and turn brown as the fruit ripens.

Last, we take a big bite. If it's delicious, it's time to pick!

new and old

Driving by the orchard these days, folks may see something in the distance, it's not just a forest of poles...we started a new adventure this spring: grapes!

We planted 550 vines, a few different varieties for wine and a couple for eating. We are super excited to be working with a new crop, a new challenge.

In the next 3 to 5 years, we hope to start harvesting our first fruits and pressing them for our first wines. Dad calls this acre the 'Glass of 2014'

We also have some hops growing for our Bunny #13, our OTS Wine made by fermenting hops with our apple cider.

They are a couple of years old, and we look forward to the time they reach the top of the poles.

We currently are growing willamette, nugget and cascade; and so far, the cascade hops seem to be doing the best.

And, or course, our old standby: apples. We took out a few hundred trees this winter and planted as many more. I believe we are now somewhere around 4200 trees, but i haven't counted yet this year to be sure.

Despite the inclement weather during bloom, the honeybees seem to have done what they do.

We will probably start picking apples in a few weeks. It's hard to believe that apple season is already upon us again.

This is a branch full of pristine apples.

A start to a countdown for fresh apples!

it's been a while

a year since our last addition to the blog; and, i am still unsure where and how to begin this post.

much has changed at the apple farm, yet so much has stayed the same...we began selling our first hard ciders and wines in early september; and, since then, have introduced many more. we currently are offering folks seven different wines and eleven different hard ciders.

we just put our blackraspberry honeywine on the shelves last week! and, we have more wine and cider on the way.changes weren't found just on the farm. we also had some new additions to the mcclure family; baby Auz was born last June, and this drone asked a little honeybee to be his queen.

unlike most queens, she didn't drive me away last winter!

with regard to the honeybees, they seem to be doing well this year. we lost seven hives over the winter, but added more colonies to the apiary to replace the lost hives and increase our honey production; though, it is shaping up to be a light year. for the first time, we have decided to try russian bees (over the more common italians).

though we have seen a few changes made to the orchard, some aspects of farm life will never change. like trying to keep Jon off of the
honeycrisp apples before they are ready to
be picked. he just gets so excited.

the apples that we saved from Jon, honeycrisp
and others, are doing well. we will start picking the lodi, pristine and zestar apples around the tenth of july.

that's it for now. hopefully, the next post will be before next year.