Retail Store, Apple Picking, Pumpkin Patch, and Christmas Trees
The weather has been fabulous lately and we are seeing more and more visitors come out
Admission this weekend is $5 per person plus apple picking cost. We encourage all visitors looking to save money to purchase apples in our store, Open 10 to 5 this Saturday and Sunday…
The Salvation Army was here once again with their truck to pick up a load of fresh apples (1800 lbs) here at Albion Orchards. Pat Labuick, the Manager for Procurement with the Salvation Army in Toronto had contacted us with an urgent call for a contribution to help feed needy families and children. The need is especially dire due to the increasing numbers of homeless on our streets and those who cannot afford food. Without help from donations like these she says, many may otherwise go without. This is especially the case with fresh items (produce like fruit and vegetables) as they are sometimes hard to obtain. Their motto is “Giving Hope Today”. We are pleased to do our part to help in a small way, as it seems that Government policies implemented in the past nine years have only exacerbated the problem…..
Pick your own apples or buy them from our market, which we very much encourage because it’s so much cheaper!
We are opening our entire farm for visitors beginning this Saturday, and many varieties of apples are available and ready for harvest such as Macintosh, Royal Gala, Northern Spy, Honeycrisp, Empire, Ida Red, Red and Golden Delicious, Mutsu, Cortland, Aurora Golden Gala, Fuji, Ambrosia, Granny Smith, and Spartan. Some apple varieties we also grow are not quite ready for harvest, such as Jonagold and Pink Lady. If you want to try one and find out for yourself, go ahead! (We also grow Golden Russet apples, but these have all been picked from the trees and are available in our store for purchase.) You will also be able to see the pumpkin patches. We have not yet had time to cut the pumpkins from the vines so we are asking people to take as many pictures as you wish, but please do not treat our fields as a playground. We grew the gourds, pumpkins, squash and other veggies as food for sale and not playthings. If you do not intend to purchase any food you encounter while visiting the farm, please do not touch. We have never charged for admission before but starting this weekend there will be an additional admission charge of $5 per person on top of the cost of apple picking. Sorry folks, but times have changed and we have not kept pace with these changes. We have focused on growing food here this year and it has been a challenging 2024 to say the least. Our intention as always is to sell apples in our store as cheaply as possible. Some of our fruit varieties on display are being sold for 30 percent less than in 2023. For instance, last year we sold certain apples at $1.49/ lb, and they are now .99 / lb. We always remind people it is way cheaper to buy the same apples in our store than picking their own from our trees. YES it costs more to pick your own, mainly due to the tremendous amount of waste (apples dropped on the ground). We also require more staff members. Economic circumstances require this added cost to our visitors. Unfortunately, it is generally a small number of people in society whose behaviour causes the rest of the population to pay more for things. We regret having to charge more but we will not be able to pay our employees, bills and taxes without making this necessary adjustment in our pricing for pick-your-own.
Due to the changing weather patterns in 2024, Apple season has started earlier, and so has the picking. Many types of fruit such as Macintosh are not holding on during the recent weeks of hot temperatures and falling to the ground. Do not wait until later in October to do your annual apple picking excursion with the family, there may not be as many apples left on the trees as you may have experienced in previous years!
Cost is $25 for 10 lb bags and $45 for 20 lb bags. We still have a very substantial crop of Macintosh and Royal Gala apples at the front section of our farm to be picked. Pick your own guests are easily filling their bags with these varieties. We hope to see these apples get picked over the next few days, then we will open the rest of our farm (the large sections in the back forty acres) to the public. We also want to give our pumpkins a few more days to fatten and color up nice and orange.
The recent summer weather we are experiencing makes for pleasant visits and bright, blue-sky photos. Hot days and lack of rain is not really pushing the size of fruit much but they are certainly ripening fast.
All varieties are ahead of regular schedule in 2024. in general terms, apple season has started early which means it will likely end early too this year. We are now picking Honeycrisp and Cortland apples as fast as we can to supply the store. Spartan and Empire are ready to go. Mutsu, Granny Smith, Northern Spy, and Ambrosia are approaching maturity. Even Golden Delicious have brown seeds inside, a telltale sign that harvest time is imminent. Only Pink Lady, Jonagold, Golden Russet and Red Delicious still need some time to sweeten up on the trees.
