Melrose and ALL rows of Jonagold are ready!

September 8, 2015 Beilke Family Farm

NOTE: Apple availability updated FRIDAY, 9/11/15. See below.

Thanks for the great Labor Day weekend! So fun to be around all your enthusiastic attitudes! Especially the couple who was going to go home and process 11 (Yes, 11! buckets of apples that afternoon into applesauce.)

Melrose are a great baking apple. They keep their shape and flavor after baking. It is a great apple for baking whole. They are a nice eating apple too, especially if you let it sit for a bit after being picked. Melrose are a cross between a Red Delicious and Jonathon apple. Come try some if you never have before.

We have a row of Melrose, and we have some scattered trees in the older portion of the orchard. Ask about those if you'd like them.

Because of the cooler weather, the Melrose have an extra beautiful color this year...just such a nice pink/red color.

ALL Jonagold rows are now ripe for picking! 9 rows total. Come pick your hearts out! I talked about Jonagold more in a previous post but they are a great all-purpose apple. Fantastic for everything! Super crispy and a sweet/tart flavor. Definitely a favorite of mine.

Other apple update:

Honeycrisp- Pretty much gone but if you look inside the tree, you will still find some small size ones.

Gala- 1/4 of each of the 2 rows is left. Walk ALL the way to the far end. Getting pretty ripe. Still good for eating but losing it's crispiness some. GREAT for applesauce at this point too. We do have some random trees in the older part of the orchard too we can take you too.

Ruby Jon- Just opened these last week, so lots left.

Ruby Mac- Plan on these being gone by mid-day today (Friday). Only a few buckets left.

Smoothies- Done

D'Anjou pears have all been sold. Pears of all kinds are done for the season.

Up Next:

Golden Delicious should be up next. Still a little too green and tart so I am holding out on those for awhile longer.

For those of you who bought some D'Anjou pears, I thought this was an interesting article about chilling and ripening pears successfully.

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/node/413

Other Farm Happenings:

We just planted a new grass seed field last week, so we are irrigating that and waiting for it to sprout up! Plus we still have a field of corn growing so we have to keep up with watering that. It will be ready to harvest soon...our last crop to harvest for the season besides apples. We have almost made it! :)

So a little calmer pace around the farm, but of course still many small detail things to keep up with.

Ruby Jon are Ripe! Labor Day Weekend Hours

September 4, 2015 Beilke Family Farm

This Labor Day weekend, we are open regular hours, including OPEN Monday. Monday-Saturdays, 8am-6pm, Sundays, 12pm-6pm.

Ruby Jon is ready for picking!

Really pretty red, small to medium size apple, more tart than sweet flavor but not super tart. Great for applesauce, pies and eating. If you have loved the old time Jonathon apple, this one is for you!

These are my new favorite apples for applesauce in the last few years! I tried all the applesauce samples at our apple festival a few years ago and really was drawn to Ruby Jon. Do you guys love it for applesauce too? Same as Ruby Mac in the fact, that if you leave some of the peel in the mix, the applesauce turns a light pink color. Kinda fun!

LOTS OF VARIETIES AVAILABLE NOW:

Gala

Smoothie

Ruby Mac

Honeycrisp (Updated 9/5/15-Still lots of Honeycrisp but not many of the big, red ones. The ones out there now are medium-sized green with a bit of red. Still sweet and tasty though.)

Jonagold

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Honeycrisp and 3 Rows of "Red" Jonagold are Ready!

August 31, 2015 Beilke Family Farm

The 2 main rows of Honeycrisp are now open! Pick the red ones first, but even the ones that don't have lots of color are tasting pretty ripe.

Honeycrisp are probably our most popular eating apple. Sweet and very juicy. They are good for pies too. You can also use them for applesauce but they don't breakdown easily at all so you'd need to use a blender or food mill.

The 3 "Red" Jonagold colored up a ton over the weekend and they are GOOD! (South side back next to the railroad tracks). We have 6 other rows of Jonagold that will be coming up a bit later. They are usually always behind because they are older trees.

Jonagold apples are a great all around apple. Firm, crunchy and sweet for eating. Larger sized apple. Great for applesauce and pies. One of my personal favorites!

Green D'Anjou pears are also ready. We only sell these pre-picked. $6 for a 2 gallon bucket size. $12 for a 5 gallon bucket. You MUST chill these pears 4-6 weeks in the fridge before they will ripen FYI. The grocery stores do this for you already.

I welcome feedback on these pears. Did they do well for those who purchased and chilled them last year? Just want to make sure people are having good luck with them! Please tell us when you come out or feel free to email at BeilkeFF@gmail.com