It’s Apple Time!

Last year my husband, daughter and I went to a local apple orchard and picked 40lbs in just over 30 minutes. We didn’t set out to pick 40lbs, but the trees were so loaded with fruit many touched the ground, and even my two year old was able to pick to her hearts content.  When our bags were weighed I nearly choked on the fresh, crisp Macintosh I was munching on. Eating while picking is not only encouraged at this orchard, it’s practically mandatory.  40lbs, that’s going to be expensive right? Actually, the orchard only charged.35 per lb, so for $14 we not only had a fun family outing, albeit one that lasted a half an hour but was definitely one for the memory books, but we left with well over my daughters weight in apples!

The picking was only the beginning of our apple adventure. Over the next few weeks we cobbled, sauced, pied, baked and of course ate them straight from the bag.  Apples stay fresh in a cool dry place for quite a while, so it was nearly a month before we got to the bottom of the bags. Except for an incident with a rather large angry looking spider, the entire experience was fantastic.

It’s apple time again, and the orchard we visited last year opened their pick your own section last weekend, and we will definitely be returning. Pick your own orchards are plentiful in New England, and most states have lists of participating farms right on their department of agriculture website. For under twenty bucks, you can’t beat apple picking for a fun, inexpensive family outing.

Kate Kastelein is a stay at home mom, freelance writer, and life long Mainer. When she’s not writing or chasing her daughter, she works on a farm part-time, cooks, scours yard-sales, knits, and tries unsuccessfully to keep her free range chicken flock off the porch. In order to keep up with everything she drinks way to much coffee.

photo credit: suzannelong