“Pick Your Own”opening date for the 2018 season is Sept 1st. We will be open from Sept. 1 to Nov 3rd, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 4:30 pm. If you have a group or wish to come at a different time then please call 414-249-6693.
We now have a state approved TODS (Tourist Oriented Directional Sign) on Hwy 50 West, just before the County O exit and a second directional sign on county O to Geneva Road. The orchard is .5 miles off the state double lane Hwy 50.
By popular demand, we are primarily a pick your own orchard. This works because the trees are small (very dwarfing) and no ladders are needed. This is not unlike going down an isle at your grocery store and picking out what you want.
Further, we label the varieties by stapling tags to the trees with the picking dates. All apples are not ready to pick at the same time. Please note the picking dates of the various varieties on this web site.
Oh, and one word of caution. Picking seems to be an infectious activity and you may pick more than you can use in a short period of time. If this is the case, then refrigerate them, leaving some out to ripen at room temperature. Apples will ripen and increase in sugar content at room temperature, not unlike most fruit you buy at the grocery store. However, for those you wish to keep long term, refrigerate before they become fully ripe.
I had a good year and each tree produced more apples than in previous years. A downside to this is that some of the varieties are tending on the small side, especially Honeycrisp. On the upside, the apples have no disease or insect (worm) damage thanks a new onsite weather station and a subscription to the web site, newa.cornell.edu.