Market closing date:   It looks like we will be open until Mid November, based on the number of apples we still have left.    Effective November 1st, we will be open daily from 9:30 to 5:30.   However, you may want to call before you come out to make sure that we have what you are looking for as we will start selling out of some apple varieties.  269-244-5690.

Brandy House Hours and Brandy Sales:  We will continue to have the Brandy House open each Saturday from 1 – 4 for tours, tasting and sales, even after we close the market.

Apple Specials:  Since we are trying to “wind down the season” we have many apple specials going on, call or ask one of our clerks about these.  269-2444-5690.

Cider:  We will continue to make cider as long as there is a demand for it…hint, hint.   The apples we are mixing together for cider now are at their absolute peak flavor so the cider is delicious.  This is the time to get it and freeze it.  If you buy over 10 gallons, it is only $4 a gallon.  Simply pour off a cup from the jug to allow expansion room, then freeze.  When unfreezing, allow it to totally thaw then shake it before pouring to re-blend the flavor.

U-Pick “After harvest” apple gleaning:  There are still plenty of apples to get off the tree or from the ground for $4 a bushel.    This is the perfect way to get some to make a lot of juice/applesauce or to feed animals.

U-Pick Grapes:  Surprisingly we still have some purple Concord and white Niagara grapes yet to pick!

Keeping apples for the winter:  Many of you have asked the best way to store your apples, here is a brief “how to.”  We have copies of this available at the market and will be happy to help you pick out varieties.

• Apples are best kept in your refrigerator, preferably the crisper drawer or in an unsealed plastic  bag.  Refrigerate apples separately from vegetables because apples naturally release small amounts of ethylene gas that can be damaging to lettuce and other produce.  If you have a root cellar, you can keep larger amounts there if it is cool, dry and dark. 
• For every 10 degrees above 30°F, the apples’ lifespan decreases dramatically.  You do not want the apples’ temperature to fall below 30°F, however, because that will make them freeze and turn to mush when they’re thawed. Their cell walls will all collapse.  Therefore, apples are best stored somewhere around 30-35°F, in a humid environment.
•  If storing apples in the fridge, place them inside a crisper drawer and lay a slightly dampened paper towel on top of the apples.  Apples are one of the few fruits that really do benefit from being stored in the fridge as quickly as possible. Keep them in the crisper drawer with aforementioned damp paper towel, or else keep them in perforated plastic bags in a cold shed or cellar.
• There is trust to that old adage: “One bad apple rots the whole bunch.” Apples give off a lot of ethylene gas, and so just one bruised and rotting apple will give off enough to swiftly ripen (and rot) the others. If you have any bruises or soft spots on an apple, set it aside for eating. Don’t store with the other apples.
• Ultimately, if you’re planning on storing a lot of apples for the winter, look for firm, long-lasting apples. These are usually thick-skinned, tart apples.   We recommend storing Rome or Fuji,  properly stored they will last until spring.
  

We hope to see you this weekend!

Beth and everyone else at Corey Lake Orchards

U-Pick apples:   We still have a lot of apples to pick, but on some varieties you may need to bring a ladder as they are up in the tops of the trees.  Apples which are still plentiful are:  Red Delicious, Cortland, Fuji, Jonathan, Northern Spies and Cameo.

Red Delicious are so thick on the trees this year they hang in "ropes" so fun to pick!!

U-Pick grapes (Concord and Niagara):  The customer demand for grapes this year has surprised us, so they will not last much longer.   Please call before you come out to make sure there are some left.

Customer who filled their entire trunk with Concord grapes they picked....

Then fit the rest in the car with them!

Concord grapes: great for juice, jelly and wine!

Cider:  We are pressing fresh cider 2 to 3 times per week now, the flavor gets better with each pressing as the apples get riper and riper as the season goes on.    Ask for a sample when you are here and try it for yourself.

Picked Apples:  Here is what we have in the market for picked apples:

• Braeburn*
• Cameo
• Cortland
• Fuji
• Golden Supreme
• Honey Crisp
• Ida Red*
• Jonathan
• Nu-Red*
• Red Delicious
• Spy’s
• Yellow (Golden) Delicious*

*This indicates we do not have many of these left, if you want some, you may want to call us and have us reserve them for you.  269-244-5690.

Sadly, the following are now gone for the season, many of our favorities…..

• Gala
• JonaMac
• JonaGold
• McIntosh
• Molly’s Delicious
• Mutsu

Our 50th anniversary apple special!  This marks the 50th year our farm has been in business, originally starting as an apple orchard.  To celebrate this milestone and to reward our many loyal long-time customers, we have “rolled back” the price of Red Delicious apples.  Fifty years ago, Red Delicious were one of the most popular apples.  They sold then for $5 a bushel.  So we are offering each customer an opportunity to purchase them once again at that price:  $5 a bushel (Limit of 3 per customer.)    You will find these in large bins outside our market, just grab a bushel bag and fill it up.  This is a great way to get apples and share with neighbors, friends, schools, donate to food shelters, etc.   In the days and weeks to come, we will be giving you some additional information about the 50 years of our farm’s history.

Yes for real, $5 a bushel

Customers filling their Red Delicious bushels

It is possible to get a bushel of Red Delicious in a motorcyle!

Fall Ornamentals:  We have a great variety of mums, gourds, warty pumpkins, Indian corn and Jack O’ Lantern pumpkins for sale.  We also have painted pumpkins and gourds, done once again for us by Diane Jones, they are adorable.

Fall Squash:  We have butternut, acorn, hearts of gold, spaghetti and Hubbard squash.

Baked Goods:  A new addition for fall (besides the apple dumplings) are pumpkin muffins.  I personally ate one entire dozen by myself last week they were so good.

Brandy House:  When planning your trip to the orchard this weekend, remember the brandy house is open for tasting and tours on Saturday from 1 – 4.

Fall Color Tour:  The annual Fall Color Tour is Sunday, October 16th, from 11 – 5.  We will be part of the tour once again and will have arts and crafts, brandy tasting and tours, free cider and apple samples, Live Birds of Prey Exhibit (1pm to 3pm)  and many other fun and interesting things.   More to come on that next week, but mark your calendar.

We hope to see you this weekend. Beth and everyone else at Corey Lake Orchards.

But if you are able to come pick this weekend, all of our apples and grapes are ready now.  You can pick both the Niagara and Concord grapes as well as all varieties of apples except Honeycrisp, (we don’t have U-Pick Honeycrisp)  McIntosh and Gala (which are already gone.)

We have lots of picked apples on the market, all varieties are now in.  We have some great specials going on some of our varieties, such as Gala and Red Delicious.   We have also picked our pumpkins and have mums, gourds, Indian corn and many other fall ornamentals.

On Saturday, the brandy house will be open from 1 – 4.  Our brandy maker Bruce has been quite busy lately making apple, pear and peach brandy…..you can smell the wonderful aroma when you walk in!

Check out our scarecrows…..and have your picture taken with them!    And if anyone feels like this scarecrow should not be wearing an MSU sweatshirt and and MSU hat, then just make sure I am not looking if you try to switch the hat!!

Our "MSU fan" scarecrow

So, dig out your boots, winter coat, hat and gloves and come on over this weekend!  Fall is definitely here.   (Even if it seems like winter!)

Beth and everyone at Corey Lake Orchards

Fall U-Pick apples:  We will open the fall apples on Friday, 9-23 for U-Pick.    The fall apples that will be available to pick are:

• Cameo***
• Cortland***
• Fuji–Early and late varieties***
• Jonathan**
• Mutsu*
• Ida Red*
• Red Delicious***
• Red Rome**
• Northern Spys**
• Yellow (Golden) Delicious**

• *** Three stars means we have lots and lots of these apples
• **Two stars mean we have a moderate amount of these apples
• *One star means we don’t have many of these

However, please be aware that all of the apples are not as ripe as others.    The apples in green above are ready now.  The others will be better if you can pick them a bit later.  However, we know that isn’t always an option for those who are coming from a distance or who are trying to juggle the many things we all have going on in our busy lives.    So if you are unable to wait for some of the later varieties,  please pick carefully and select the ripest apples from the tree.  We want to send you home with ripe, flavorful apples!  Please call us or talk to any of our market clerks or apple field guide when you come out for more guidance on the best apples.   (269-244-5690).

Information for apple picking:  We are open 8 – 6 daily, please be finished by 6 pm.  Bring baskets if you have them, if not, we will set you up with bags/baskets.  Please dress appropriately for an orchard, where natural hazards exist (bees, tall grass under the trees, the occasional sprig of poison ivy, etc.)   We do not supply any ladders, so if you would like to get that perfect apple that is beyond your reach, please bring your own.

For a description of these and all of the apples that we grow, please go to the apple listing on our website:  http://www.coreylakeorchards.com/seasonal-offerings/apples/

Pumpkins:  We started bringing in our pumpkins today from the field.  They range from $1 for the smallest to $6 for the largest ones.  We also have gourds, corn stalks and mums available for your fall decorating.

Bringing in pumpkins from the field on 9-21-11

Denim "guarding" the pumpkin pile

This picture with the big slide in the background reminds me to tell you that when you visit us, you are welcome to use the slide to enjoy with  your families.  We would just ask that the parents/adults along watch their children carefully when using it.    Here’s a family that came out this week, brought a picnic lunch and really enjoyed our old-fashioned slide (they just don’t make them this way anymore!)

Family posing for a picture on the big slide

This little body seems pretty content to eat two apples while his siblings slide!

Brandy Tasting will be open on Saturday from 1 – 4.  Bruce has made some wonderful peach brandy this week.   When you walk into the distillery, you can still smell the aroma….

Apple Dumplings:  Apple dumplings, made out of our own Cortland apples will be here again this weekend.  They are a definite fall favorite.

From all of us here at Corey Lake Orchards, we look forward to seeing you soon to enjoy all of our fall offerings!

Beth

Cider:  Yes, we successfully made our 2nd pressing this afternoon.  Thanks to the many people who helped us with our equipment issues and got us going again: my son Jay, my husband Joe, our brandy maker Bruce, and the rest of the team here at the orchard who helped pull it all together.    We sampled it coming off the press tonight and declared it “delightful.”  It is a blend of Gala, McIntosh, Mollies Delicious, JonaMac, Honeycrisp and Jonagold.    Free samples available at the market for you to try.   Reminder:  Our cider is not pasteurized, it is the “real” thing.

Apple Dumplings are Back:  Our bakers will have their famous apple dumplings available on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  If  you have never tried these, it is a must!

Picked or U-Pick apples in the market:  We now have Mollie’s Delicious, Gala, Jon-a-Mac and McIntosh apples for sale in the market.   You may also pick these four kinds.

• Mollie’s Delicious is a large, sweet eating apple.  It is a late summer apple and this will probably be the last weekend for them.
• Gala is a great eating and cooking apple.  It has a crisp snappy bite over a mellow sweetness.
• Jon-A-Mac:  This is a good cooking or eating apple.  It has all of the best qualities of a Jonathan apple and a McIntosh.
• McIntosh:  This is the “real” old fashioned McIntosh.  It has a white flesh, is very juicy, slightly tart and smells wonderful.  Great for applesauce or making apple juice.

Available in the market, already picked are:  (Not for U-Pick)

• Honeycrisp:  Very crisp, excellent sweet flavor with a great bite.

A 20-bushel bin of Honeycrisp just picked!

• Jonagold: This is a large, crisp juicy apple, both tart and sweet.  We do not have a lot of these this year, so if this is your favorite, call us to reserve them for you.  269-244-5690.

Large and lovely Jonagold apples on the tree

• Nu-Red:  This is a hard, crunchy, sweet/sour eating apple, that has become my personal favorite.

Fall apples:  The remainder of the fall apples are not ready yet.   Yes, we know it seems late, but they simply are late.  We anticipate opening the remainder of the fall apples around 9-23 for U-Pick.  The cool weather continues to slow things down and we want to make sure the apples are ripe and at full flavor.   We have lots of apples this year, so there will be plenty when we open for picking.   So please let them enjoy a little more time on the tree.  The fall apples that will be available to pick are:

1. Cameo
2. Cortland
3. Fuji
4. Jonathan
5. Mutsu
6. Ida Red
7. Red Delicious
8. Red Rome
9. Northern Spys
10. Golden Delicious

For a description of these and all of the apples that we grow, please go to the apple listing on our website:  http://www.coreylakeorchards.com/seasonal-offerings/apples/

Grape Update:    The white Niagara grapes will open for U-Pick on Friday, September 16th.    We anticipate the purple Concords opening around 9-23, again, depending on the weather.    The grapes will be 25 cents/pound to pick, if you pick over 100 pounds, they will be 20 cents a pound.

When you come to pick grapes, please bring the following if you have them:

1. Five gallon plastic pails to pick in, this is how we measure how much you pick instead of having to weigh them all.   A five-gallon pail (which is about a 1/2 bushel) weights 20 pounds.  If you don’t have these, you can borrow ours, but bring containers to take them home in.
2. Scissors or clippers to cut them with.
3. Small wagons to help you get them out of the vineyard (our rows are very long!)

Here are answers to the most frequently asked questions about grape picking:

Can I wait and pick the white grapes when I come for the purple concords?  Yes.  We are reserving a block of white grapes for that purpose.

How long will the grapes last?  Once we open, we are anticipate several weeks, but that depends on how many customers come out and how many grapes they pick.

What hours is U-Pick open?  We open at 8 am and close at 6 pm.  We ask that you be finished picking by 6 pm.

Can I pick apples and grapes together?  It looks like our apples will be ready to pick at the same time as the Concord grapes.  So yes, save room to pick apples to take home as well.

Fruit:   This is the last few days for watermelon and peaches.

Tomatoes:  We are still trying to pick tomatoes for everyone who wanted them.  If you haven’t got on our list, please call us at 269-244-5690.     This week as I was unloading a bin of tomatoes, I got to the last few only to find a friendly frog waiting for me!

Friendly frog in the bottom of the tomato bin

Winter Squash:  We have acorn, butternut. buttercup and sweet dumpling squash ready now.

Fall Ornamentals:  We have a good selection of gourds, small white and orange pumpkins to decorate with and some beautiful mums.

Brandy House:  The Brandy house will be open for tasting and tours on Saturday, from 1 – 4.  Bruce would love to see you.  He has been busy trying to make peach brandy this week.

Thanks again for buying local, we hope to see you soon.

Beth and everyone at Corey Lake Orchards

Picked or U-Pick apples in the market:  We now have Mollie’s Delicious, Gala, Jon-a-Mac and McIntosh apples for sale in the market.   You may also pick these four kinds.

• Mollie’s Delicious is a large, sweet eating apple.  It is a late summer apple and this will probably be the last weekend for them.
• Gala is a great eating and cooking apple.  It has a crisp snappy bite over a mellow sweetness.
• Jon-A-Mac:  This is a good cooking or eating apple.  It has all of the best qualities of a Jonathan apple and a McIntosh.
• McIntosh:  This is the “real” old fashioned McIntosh.  It has a white flesh, is very juicy, slightly tart and smells wonderful.  Great for applesauce or making apple juice.

Fall apples:  The remainder of the fall apples are not ready yet.  We will open for those to pick probably mid to late September.  This past week’s cool weather has slowed things down.  We have lots of apples this year, so there will be plenty when we open for picking.  The fall apples that will be available to pick are:

1. Cameo
2. Cortland
3. Fuji
4. Jonathan
5. Mutsu
6. Ida Red
7. Red Delicious
8. Red Rome
9. Northern Spys
10. Golden Delicious

Grape Update:  When you come out, that wonderful aroma you smell is the white Niagara grapes!    We are awaiting the results of a sugar sample (hope to know by 9-13) to determine the opening date.    For your planning purposes, we think the white Niagara grapes will be ready around 9-14 and the Concords possibly the week of 9-18 or later.   They will be 25 cents/pound to pick, if you pick over 100 pounds, they will be 20 cents a pound.

Fruit:   Our seeded watermelon have decided to get ready now that summer picnic season is over, so we have a lot and will have them on special this weekend.  We will have peaches this weekend as well.

Winter Squash:  We have acorn, butternut and sweet dumpling squash ready now.

Brandy House:  The Brandy house will be open for tasting and tours on Saturday, from 1 – 4.  Bruce would love to see you.

Thanks again for buying local, we hope to see you soon.

Beth and everyone at Corey Lake Orchards

Exciting news!!  We are opening up U-Pick apples this weekend since we have so many early apples ready to be picked.  We have never had as many early apples before as we have this year, plus they are beautiful.   There are four varieties ready that you may pick:

1. JonaMac
2. Mollies Delicious
3. Gala
4. Macintosh

They will be $15 a bushel to pick.  Please bring baskets or containers if you have them.  We will give you baskets to pick in.

We are pleased that we can open this weekend as we know many people will be in the area for Labor Day weekend and would like to have the “apple picking experience” with their families, especially so that the kids can take their teacher an apple they picked themselves!!

Mollies Delicious: A large, sweet eating apple, the perfect apple for your favorite teacher

Picked apples:  If you want your apples already picked, we will have the same four varieties available on the market as well.

A happy apple customer!

Fall apples:  The remainder of the fall apples are not ready yet.  We will open for those to pick probably mid-September.  We have lots of apples this year, so there will be plenty when we open for picking.

U-Pick Tomatoes:  We have finally opened U-Pick tomatoes.  They are $12 a bushel.  Please bring your own containers or baskets.    Until there are “lots” of tomatoes, we are limiting each picking group to 5 bushels.    We expect to have tomatoes until the first frost.  Please call ahead before you come out to pick tomatoes to check the picking conditions since we never can tell how many customers might pick in one day.   269-244-5690.

Grape Update:  If you are out this weekend, that wonderful aroma you smell is the white Niagara grapes!  They have really changed in the past week and are ripening nicely.  For your planning purposes, we think the white Niagara grapes will be ready the week of 9-11 and the Concords possibly the week of 9-18 or later.  Call us by September 10th and we will hopefully have an opening date for U-Pick and the pricing.

Summer Vegetables:  We still have sweet corn, green beans, peppers, and tomatoes on the market.    We still have lots of onions left.  Time to get them to store for the winter.  We also have red potatoes for sale by the bushel.

Fruit:   Our seeded watermelon are ready and very sweet. along with cantaloupe, peaches, pears and plums.    And of course the beautiful apples that we already mentioned!!

Baked goods:  Our bakers will have all of their usual goodies this weekend (starting Friday) and also will have them on Monday for the holiday.

Brandy House:  The Brandy house will be open for tasting and tours on Saturday, from 1 – 4.  Bruce would love to host you.

This Labor Day will mark the 6th year since the loss of Allene Hubbard, my mother who started this beautiful market.  We all work hard to honor her legacy by maintaining the market in the spirit she imparted to all of us.  Thank you to all of the customers who continue to think of her and share her memory with us.

Have a great and safe holiday weekend!

Beth and everyone at Corey Lake Orchards

Apples thick on the trees, 8-25-11

Summer Apples:  This weekend we will have a nice selection of summer apples for you to choose from:   Molly’s Delicious, Gala, Jon-a-Mac and Earli-blaze.   Good for fresh eating and cooking, come sample to see which one you like best. We have bushels of Earli-blaze available,($18/bushel)  they are a wonderful pie apple and won’t last long on the market.  Call us if you want us to reserve some for you.  269-244-5690.

Summer vegetables:   The summer vegetables are tapering off, so we are only bringing in a few summer squash, zucchini and cucumbers each day, they will probably be done by Labor Day.  We still have plenty of peppers, green beans, eggplant and hope to have sweet corn (Stears) available through Labor Day weekend.

Melons:  Cantaloupes will be coming to an end in about a week, they have been really good this year, so come out and get a few more while you can.  We have lots of seeded watermelon available.  All of our melons are “guaranteed.”    If you ever get one that wasn’t to your liking, please let us know and we will replace it or refund your money.

Onions:  The sweet onions we have hung to dry are now dry enough to put in mesh bags. Each bag weighs between 8 – 9 pounds.    Yellow and white onions are $7/bag and the red onions are $8/bag.

Peaches:  We are finishing up the Red Haven peaches and are now picking a nice freestone called Reliance.  We should have a pretty good picking of them this weekend, so we will try to offer them in 1/4 bushels (pecks) as well as by the pound.

Bartlett Pears:  We expect to start picking the pears on Monday, August 29th.  They will be $20 a bushel.    If you have not placed your order for these yet, please call the market at 269-244-5690.  For those who have ordered, we will start calling you when they are ready for you to pick up.  Please bring your own containers to put them in when you come.

Bartlett pears, 8-25-11

Red Potatoes:  This year we seem to have more potatoes than we expected, so we are offering them in bushels for $25.00.  A bushel of potatoes weighs between 50 and 60 pounds.    Please call ahead to order these if you would like them so we can dig them for you.  269-244-5690.

Tomatoes:  The U-Pick tomatoes are coming, really they are.  Hopefully we will open sometime this coming week,  Check with us around September 1st for an update.  They will be $12/bushel to pick, the same price as last year.

Homemade Baked Goods:  Since last weekend’s offerings of fresh peach pie and Earli-blaze apple pie were such a hit, they will both be back this weekend.   Also, our bakers are trying a new item:  whole wheat bread and 12-grain bread.

Pictures are back, thanks to my son for giving me his camera that I gave him!

Thanks again for buying local,

Beth and everyone at Corey Lake Orchards

• Duathlon:  Pick a bushel of tomatoes, then carry two large watermelon at a time from the field to the waiting tractor.
• Triathlon:  Pick a bushel of tomatoes, then carry two large watermelon at a time from the field to the waiting tractor, dig one bushel of potatoes (we will loan you the shovel) and carry them into the market for us!!

Summer Apples:  We have two great summer apples on the market right now.  Jersey Macs and Earli-blaze.  They are both excellent for eating or cooking.  We have samples of each for you to try to see which you like best.   They are available by the bushel, peck, 1/2 peck of pound. For those of you who love the Jersey Mac, this is the last weekend for them. so hurry over.

Baked goods:  Our bakers are offering fresh peach pie this week (because it is finally peach season!!) andfresh apple pie made out of our Earli-blaze apples.   I can personally attest to both of these pies being delicious.  Of course the bakers say it is because of their crust, I say it is because of our fruit.    You decide….

Watermelons are here:  We started bringing in watermelon today.   These are the real thing: Crimson Sweet (striped round with seeds) or Charleston Grey (long green oblong with seeds.)  Sorry, we don’t grow any seedless watermelon as we find seeded watermelon so much tastier.

Canteloupe:   The canteloupe must have loved this summer’s weather, as they are really nice this year, and so sweet.    We have three sizes:  Medium, Large and Extra-large (and even we are shocked by the size of the extra large!)  The season is at its peak right now and won’t last much longer so come out and get some.

Peaches:  We still have Red Haven peaches, available in small eating quantities only, no bushels.  We have a very small peach orchard since we took out a peach orchard last fall.

Sweet Corn:  Our own sweet corn is now gone for the season, but we will be bringing in Stears Sweet corn (white and bi-color) hopefully through Labor Day weekend.

Greenhouse Tomatoes:    We finished taking out the greenhouse this week,  a huge thank you to all of our customers who have faithfully bought greenhouse tomatoes from us since April.  We have a few left to sell, plus all of the remaining green tomatoes we are selling for 50 cents a pound, this is the time to make fried green tomatoes!!

U-Pick Field Tomatoes:  We are having a very difficult tomato growing year based on a number of field conditions and the weather, beginning with the spring planting.    We had to replant them several times this spring,  which is one of the reasons causing them to be late.    The extremely hot/humid weather in July caused excessive mold/mildew.  Now some of the plants have developed late blight.    There are good years and bad years in farming; and with last year’s tomato crop being so good, this year’s is disappointing.  However,  we still have good tomatoes, with the same great flavor that you are used to getting from us.

Given the need to continue to take care of the tomato plants and keep them as healthy as possible as the tomatoes ripen, we have decided we must postpone U-Pick until at least some time in September.  Knowing our customers are anxious to start canning tomatoes, we will pick them and offer “field tomato seconds” at the same price you could have picked them for: $12 a bushel.  A field tomato “second” is simply a “not so perfect tomato.”   It might have a crack, a skin mark where the tomato touched the wet ground, or be mis-shaped.  These are perfect for canning, you will just have a little extra work to cut some of the spots out.     If you would like these, please call and give us your name, phone number, and quantity desired (limit of 3 bushels per customer until we get everyone some tomatoes).  We will call you as soon as we can get them for you.  269-244-5690.

We will still have tomatoes to pick once we open the U-Pick in September, for $12/bushel.  Check back at the very end of August to see if we have an opening date.  We have about  80  plants that we put in late, which have not even started turning red yet!  So far, these plants are large and beautiful, have not been affected by the blight and are producing lots of tomatoes, if you can just be patient and let them grow and ripen!!  Your patience and support of this change is appreciated as we work through this problem.

Other vegetables on the market:  onions, red potatoes, various kinds of peppers, summer squash, spaghetti squash, cucumbers, eggplant, green beans, cabbage, kale and collard greens.

Brandy House:  The brandy house will be open on Saturday from 1 – 4 for tasting and to learn about how we make brandy.

Fall apples and grapes:  We have a good crop of both this year and will have them available for U-Pick and picked in the market.  They are going to be late this year by about 10 days to two weeks.  Check back the week of September 5th for an update on how they are progressing.

Sorry, no pictures again as my camera has still not turned up from being lost.    I still think it got lost picking corn, if you happened to find a camera in your dozen of corn, please let me know!

Thanks as always for buying local goods and produce.

Beth and everyone else at Corey Lake Orchards

Fruit:  We still have blueberries and hope to have for about another week.  Our melons (canteloupe) are just starting to come in.   We are starting to pick Jersey Mac Apples which are good for eating fresh or cooking.  We will have a very good apple coming in about a week called Earli-blaze, which is excellent for cooking (especially pie) and eating.

What’s coming for fruit? Some peaches will hopefully be ready in about a week to ten days.  Peaches are late this year because we took out one of our early peach orchards last fall, so we only have midseason and late peaches this year.  We have a small crop this year of Stanley prune plums, check back around August 20th for ripening update.  We have a good crop of Bartlett pears this year, check back with us around August 22 for availability.

Peaches ripening on August 6, have color but not size yet....

Fall crops:    Many of you are beginning to ask about apples and grapes.    As of right now, we have a good crop of both.  We will keep you updated in these emails on when each variety of apples is ready as well as grapes, but we won’t have much information until September.   We will have U-Pick on both of these crops.

Preview of fall apples, 8-6-11

Preview of fall grapes, 8-6-11

Vegetables:  We have plenty of vegetables, especially sweet corn right now!    We are waiting for the next planting of green beans to come in, so probably will not have more green beans until about August 17th or so.  We have started picking October or “cranberry” beans.  This is a bean that must be shelled out, like a pinto bean.  We fix a large pot of these every week when they are in season, they are Mr. Hubbard’s favorite meal.

Tomatoes:  Everybody is anxious for U-Pick tomatoes.  They are coming on slowly, but check back around August 13th and hopefully we will have a starting date by then and price.

Onions:  We have all of our onions harvested now for the year.  We had to pull them earlier than we would have wanted due to the heat and humidity.     They are still drying but can be purchased now “on the string.”   There are 4 varieties, all sweet.  All of the white and yellow onions are 80 cents per pound “on the string.”  The red onions are $1.00 per pound “on the string.”

• Yellow Sweet Spanish
• White Sweet Spanish
• Candy (Sweet yellow onion, very large)
• Mars (Red, sweet onion)

Getting large quantities for canning/freezing:  If you need large quantities for canning or freezing of anything we grow, please call the market and we will take your name/number and how many you want and call you when/if we can get those for you and give you pricing.

The Humming Bird garden:  A large bird has appeared in the hummingbird garden, which is certainly not in the hummingbird family.    Maybe it will help harvest the sunflowers which have grown to record height and will require a ladder to be picked!!

As always, thanks for supporting us by buying local produce and goods.

Beth and everyone at Corey Lake Orchards!