Fall is officially here and it is a great time to come out and pick some apples! We are now in the second half of the season, so we have put orange cones down all the open rows to mark where the apples begin. Make sure to walk all the way to the cones to find loaded trees that are ready to be picked.
Pumpkins are plentiful! We have an abundance of classic carving pumpkins ready to be found in the patch.
Tomatoes are overall still doing great. The Romas are plentiful and easy to pick. They are in the last ten rows of the Tomato section. The slicers are struggling with the rain we have gotten, but with some hunting can be found.
Flowers are doing well and are still available for u-pick until the first frost. We also have beautiful bouquets available at the stand Thursday - Sunday.
This is a great time of year to come out and pick apples for storage. Our storing apples are Braeburn, Gold Rush, Granny Smith, and Cripps Pink. Make sure to stock up while we still have them!
Since we have so many great storing apples still available for picking, we thought we would give our best advice for how to make those apples store for as long as possible.Your very first step to a long lasting apple is to TAKE IT OUT OF THE BAG! Bags have eased the picking and taking home of our apples, but we have realized you may not be aware that the bag should just be for transportation. Apples release ethylene gas, and if they are in a plastic bag, that gas will make them ripen much faster. So start by taking those apples out of those bags! Next, you want to think of a cool dark place. Root cellar is best, but for those of us without a cellar, a garage can suffice. Just make sure your apples won't be getting hit by the sunlight from a window everyday, that will make the temperature of your apples fluctuate and ripen faster. A cardboard box is great for storing. Ideally, the apples would be in a single layer. For those of us who do not have much garage space on shelves, a garage fridge will do as well. But there is a bit of moisture in a fridge so this method might last 2-3 months instead of 3-4 months.
RIPE AND READY:
Melrose
Golden Delicious
Braeburn
Gold Rush
Granny Smith
Cripps Pink
HOURS:
Mon-Sat 8am-6pm
Sunday 11am-6pm
4925 Rockdale St NE, Brooks, OR 97305
(503)393-1077
BEILKEFAMILYFARM.COM
