MORE THAN DELICIOUS ORCHARD

 

MIKE & VELMA DOWNES

9905 Thompson Road

Woodstock, IL  60098

(815) 338-2309

Click here for the standard schedule, but always check the website for the weekly update which will list the apples available for the weekend.

 

The orchard is now closed for the season.  Thank you for your interest and support.  We'll see you again next fall!

October 14, 2009

We will be open normal hours this weekend, Friday, 11-4, and Saturday & Sunday, 10-5.  Come out for some family fun!

We are adding to the list of apples ready to pick:

Baldwin and Braeburn.

We still have lots of apples on the trees that were labeled last week:
Mutsu
Spigold
Ultragold
Fireside
Northern Spy
Winesap
Yataka—an early version of Fuji
Newtown Pippin—an apple that needs to mellow in the refrigerator; keeps for months
Empire
Connell Red
Red Delicious
Gold Delicious
Golden Russet
Jonathan
Jonagold
IdaRed

Three varieties of Asian pears are now available to purchase.
Also Kieffer pears—these are hard winter pears that ripen off the tree and will be soft and sweet in a few weeks. Great for baking and canning.

Halloween is coming! We still have many beautiful pumpkins that our grandsons, Noah and Bailey, will be selling this weekend.

Don’t forget to sign up as a friend on Facebook so you will get our picking schedule next fall.

We also remind you that different varieties of apples ripen at different times.  Please remember that only the trees that have ribbons on them are ready for picking.  Many apples look great, but they won't be ripe until later in the season.  Thank you for your cooperation!

Cash or checks only, please.  No credit cards accepted.

 

October 7, 2009

This coming weekend we will be open Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, October 9-12.

Apples labeled for picking:

Mutsu
Spigold
Ultragold
Fireside
Northern Spy
Winesap
Yataka—an early version of Fuji
Newtown Pippin—an apple that needs to mellow in the refrigerator; keeps for months
Bramley’s Seedling—an English cooking apple. Very tart!

Still available from last week: Cortland, Empire, Connell Red, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Golden Russet, Jonathan, Jonagold, IdaRed.

Fall pears are still available. We have also picked our Kieffer pears. These are hard winter pears that ripen off the tree and will be soft and sweet in a few weeks.

We still have many beautiful pumpkins that our grandsons, Noah and Bailey, will be selling this weekend.

Don’t forget to sign up as a friend on Facebook so you will get our picking schedule next fall.

We also remind you that different varieties of apples ripen at different times.  Please remember that only the trees that have ribbons on them are ready for picking.  Many apples look great, but they won't be ripe until later in the season.  Thank you for your cooperation!

Cash or checks only, please.  No credit cards accepted.

 

October 1, 2009

Apples that have ripened this week are Golden Delicious, Empire, and IdaRed.

Our picking schedule shows Spitzenburg for this weekend; unfortunately that crop is very small.

There are still lots of pickable apples in the trees that we labeled for last weekend, and they have had this past week to sweeten up even more: Snow Apples, Red Delicious, Connell Red, Cortland, Gala, Jonathan, & Jonagold.

There are always some interesting apples varieties that we only have one or two trees of that are labeled for picking.

We are also running a special on pears...7 lbs. for $7!!!!!!

We are fortunate to have a nice pumpkin crop that we have consigned to our grandchildren. If you are interested in purchasing one, speak to Noah, Sam, Abby, or Bailey!

We continue to pick up beautiful apples that have fallen to the ground, and we sell these windfalls at half price at the barn. They will be available this weekend. If you want to pick up your own, speak to us the last two weekends of October.

We also remind you that different varieties of apples ripen at different times.  Please remember that only the trees that have ribbons on them are ready for picking.  Many apples look great, but they won't be ripe until later in the season.  Thank you for your cooperation!

Cash or checks only, please.  No credit cards accepted.

 

September 23, 2009

For this weekend, Sept. 25-27, we have tagged these trees which have a bounty of ripe apples:

Red Delicious (check our health benefits page for an article on Red Delicious and antioxidents)
Connell Red
Cortland
Smokehouse

There are still lots of apples on these trees that were tagged last week:

Snow Apple
Cox’s Orange Pippin
Blue Permain
Gala
Jonathan
Macoun

We will also have some beautiful pumpkins for sale as long as they last.

Hope to see you this weekend.

We also remind you that different varieties of apples ripen at different times.  Please remember that only the trees that have ribbons on them are ready for picking.  Many apples look great, but they won't be ripe until later in the season.  Thank you for your cooperation!

Cash or checks only, please.  No credit cards accepted.

 

 

September 17, 2009

We want to thank everyone who came out to our orchard this past Friday, Saturday, and Sunday—it’s always good to see so many old friends.  For those of you coming from I90, Route 47 is under construction at Route 176 all the way to Route 120, and it is expected to last throughout the 2009 season.  If you can avoid 47, we suggest you do so.  If you are coming from I90, you should get off at Rt. 31 or Randall Road and navigate to the orchard from there.  Route 31 is very simple and easy.  Just head North to Route 120, then West to Thompson Rd at the light.  Turn left, and the orchard is down about 2 miles on Thompson.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

We just came in from a walk through the orchard and there are still lots of apples to pick.

For the coming weekend we will continue picking

Lustre Elstar
Sweet Sixteen
Gala
Jonathan
McIntosh

In addition, new for this weekend we labeled

Cox’s Orange Pippin
Blue Permain
Snow Apple
Senshu
Jonalicious
Golden Nugget
Tolman Sweet

For applesauce makers, we have a tremendous number of beautiful McIntosh that have fallen. Windfall apples are half price.

A few of the pear varieties that we will have for sale in our store are Bartlett, Maxine, Luscious, Seckel, and Nova.

We also remind you that different varieties of apples ripen at different times.  Please remember that only the trees that have ribbons on them are ready for picking.  Many apples look great, but they won't be ripe until later in the season.  Thank you for your cooperation!

Cash or checks only, please.  No credit cards accepted.

 

 

September 10, 2009

We want to give you 2 quick reminders.  First, we open on Friday, September 11th at 11 am, and will be open Saturday and Sunday.  Second, because of the generous rain in August, we now have a good crop of mosquitoes to go along with the apples.  Be sure to bring your insect repellant!

 

September 7, 2009 - Part II

We’ve been working in the orchard all day today, picking pears and apples, and putting ribbons on trees that are ready to be picked. We want to add these varieties to the list of apples that will be available for picking this weekend: Macoun, Red Baron, and an early-ripening Jonathan. HoneyCrisp are beginning to fall and we will be picking them this week to have for sale this weekend.

McIntosh have also been falling. There will still be some for picking, we will have some for sale in our sales room, and windfalls will be for sale at half price.

We also remind you that different varieties of apples ripen at different times.  Please remember that only the trees that have ribbons on them are ready for picking.  Many apples look great, but they won't be ripe until later in the season.  Thank you for your cooperation!

Cash or checks only, please.  No credit cards accepted.

 

September 7, 2009 - Part I


The warm sunny weather of the past few days is bringing the crop along right on time. In addition to the apples on our picking schedule, we will also have some Jefferis, Pink Pearl, and Wealthy that can be picked this weekend, Sept. 11-13.

Several people have asked about entrance and parking fees. Our philosophy remains that we sell good quality apples and pears which you pay for. We do not charge any other fees. We do require a picking minimum of one peck (approximately 10½ pounds) per family.

We have also been getting questions about our sales room. We do sell freshly picked apples and pears, plus honey from Tanglewood Farm and apple-cinnamon bread from Le Petit Marche.

Rain or shine, we look forward to seeing you this Friday (11-4), Saturday (10-5), or Sunday (10-5).

We also remind you that different varieties of apples ripen at different times.  Please remember that only the trees that have ribbons on them are ready for picking.  Many apples look great, but they won't be ripe until later in the season.  Thank you for your cooperation!

Cash or checks only, please.  No credit cards accepted.

 

September 1, 2009

We thought we would update you once again as the weird-weather month of August is now behind us. We continue to try to figure out whether this crop is a week early or a week late. The best we can tell with the many varieties of apples and pears, it is a mixed year. As we approach our opening date of Sept. 11, Lustre Elstar, Sweet 16, Gala, and HoneyCrisp look to be right on schedule and ready for picking that weekend. We hope to have McIntosh to pick on opening day, but they are showing signs of ripening early and starting to fall, so we may have to go ahead and pick them. They will be for sale in our sales room. This weekend, Sept. 5-6, we will be selling Saturday at the Woodstock Farmers’ Market, and Sunday Dave and Erica will be at the farm market at the Chicago Botanical Garden in Glencoe. At both these markets we should have some Pink Pearls, Jefferies, EarliBlaze, and an assortment of other apples and pears.

The real good news is that with all the moisture in the ground, and finally a warming trend for the coming week, the apples are starting to size up nicely and the crop continues to look beautiful.

 

August 20, 2009
 

This is our first update prior to opening the orchard. We will update again the week before we open, and every week thereafter, so you always know what apples and pears will be available on the coming weekend.

We have several varieties that ripen in late August and the first week of September. We expect to be picking some Starkrimson pears next week, along with two or three varieties of apples. We only have one tree of most of these varieties, and we will be taking this fruit to the Woodstock Farmers’ Market for sale on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

For the orchard’s opening weekend Sept. 11-13, we still expect to be following our published picking schedule. In addition, we should have some nice HoneyCrisp apples available to purchase. HoneyCrisp, as you know, ripens early and goes fast as it has become a favorite American apple.

We do want to remind everyone that this year we are trying something new: the orchard will be open on Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in addition to our Saturday and Sunday hours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

 

Click here for some articles on the health benefits of apples and pears! (Last addition, Sept. 17, 2007)

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