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

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

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!

The good news is that we planted 1000 bushes this year,  so as they mature in a few years, we should have plenty of blueberries and be able to offer U-Pick.

Blueberries ripening; 7-4-11

Raspberries:  We have two local suppliers who will be bringing in black and red raspberries as available.  These are $3.50/pint.  Feel free to call us to see if we have them on hand as it varies by day.

Summer Vegetables:  Each day we bring in more and more summer vegetables:  Fresh dug red potatoes, freshly pulled onions, zucchini, yellow summer squash, peas, cucumbers, lettuce, green bell peppers, hot Hungarian peppers and sweet banana peppers.   The quantities available vary by day, so call us if you want us to hold something for you after we bring them in each morning.  269-244-5690.

“Make Your own flower bouquet:”  On Friday, Saturday and Sundays, we will set up a “make your own flower bouquet” station.  Bring your own vase or buy one of ours.  These are picked from the hummingbird garden adjacent to the market.

Sample of flowers from the Hummingbird garden to "make your own bouquet'

Tomato shortage: Sorry,  we currently cannot keep up with the customer demand for our greenhouse tomatoes, so they are not available every day.    Hopefully soon the field tomatoes will start ripening so we have fresh tomatoes for you each day.

Lodi Apples are coming soon!  The first apple of summer might be ready by this weekend.  If you don’t know this apple, it is the modern version of what was known as the old fashioned “transparent apple.”   They have a thick yellow skin and a sharp/tart taste!  Due to its ability to cook down very quickly, it makes a great (but tart!) applesauce.  Those folks who like sour things like sour candies, also like to eat them fresh.  We seem to have a bumper crop of them year, so give us a call if you would like to place an order and have us call you when they are ready.

Lodi apples, week of 7-4-11

Sour Cherries are now gone for the season, we are picking the last few very ripe cherries off the tree tomorrow hoping to make some cherry brandy!

Where are green beans and sweet corn? These seem to be the most frequently asked question:  Our answer is:  They are coming, but totally dependent on the weather.  We expect to have both in about 10 days to 2 weeks.

Again, thank you for buying local.

From everyone at Corey Lake Orchards

U-Pick Pricing:

• 75 cents per pound to pick
• 60 cents per pound for 100 pounds and over

Picking information:

• U-Pick Hours:  8 – 6 daily, please be finished picking by 6 pm.
• The sour cherry trees are about 10 – 20 feet tall.   For good picking, you should bring your own ladder.
• Be sure to dress appropriately (closed shoes, long pants and sleeves) as you many run into poison ivy/sumac in the orchard area, among other hazards.
• Please bring your own containers.  We have buckets you may borrow to pick in, then you can transfer to your own containers (bowls, tubs, buckets, etc.)
• Check in at the market first for directions and to weigh the containers you are picking in.

Picked Sour cherries:  $3.00 per quart (approximately 2 pounds).

Strawberries are now finished for the season.   It was another difficult season for us not having enough for everyone, plus the last four days of rain ruined what was remaining, but thanks to everyone who was able to enjoy them with us this season.

Sweet Cherries opened for U-pick on Wednesday June 22.    This was earlier than expected, but the weather from this past week with 4 days of rain,  have caused the cherries to start spoiling.    We have four different kinds in our small orchard across the street  from our market.  You can still try to pick them, but it is very difficult due to the damage caused by the rain.   Please realize that we have an older orchard with about 15 – 20 very large trees.  Since we do not have a lot of sweet cherries, we would recommend you not travel a long distance to get them, but if you are in our local area and want to get a few cherries to enjoy eating, please come on over.  We know for many of you, it is a tradition to come pick a bowl of cherries!  We have several colors:

• Dark red (black)
• Red
• Yellow
• Red/Yellow blush

Picking information:

• The sweet cherry trees are very tall (15 – 25 feet).   Please bring your own ladder.
• Be sure to dress appropriately (closed shoes, long pants and sleeves) as you may run into poison ivy/sumac in the orchard area, among other hazards.
• Please bring your own containers.  We have buckets you may borrow to pick in, then you can transfer to your own containers (bowls, tubs, buckets, etc.)
• Check in at the market first for directions and to weigh the containers you are picking in.

Pricing: $1.50 per pound to pick

Picking hours are 8 – 6 daily, we ask that you finish picking by 6:00 pm. 

Picked Sweet Cherries: we no longer have any picked cherries on the market.   They are just too difficult to pick given the rain damage.  Wow, what a short crop, about 3 days!

So what else do we have on the market? The end of strawberry season and the short cherry season leave us with a “gap” of produce available on the market since we grow everything here.  We have some lettuce, peas and onions coming in, but we are now awaiting the next group of summer vegetables.    Of course we still have our great greenhouse tomatoes every day and baked goods on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.  We’ll let you know when more things are ready.    On a positive note, yesterday, we picked our first tomato out of the field.  As many of you know, it is my Dad’s goal to always have the first tomato ready in the state.  He has even set a new record for himself by picking his first one on June 25th!

A glimpse of some of the small joys of farming: This particular last week with all of the rain which ruined the sweet cherries and strawberries and kept us out of the fields was certainly frustrating for those of us in farming.  But there are always small pleasures and joys we find among our days as well.  This past week, when picking radishes, I discovered this nest of bird eggs in one of the plants.   Then, at the end of the week, there were baby birds!!  Needless to say, this group of radishes did not get picked!

Thanks for buying local produce and goods…..from all of us here at Corey Lake Orchards, we truly appreciate you as customers.      Beth

Their offerings for pies will be:  Rhubarb, Rhubarb-Strawberry, Cherry, Dutch Apple, Blueberry, Sugar Free Cherry and Sugar Free Apple.  They will have both the regular 9-inch pie as well as a smaller pie (perfect for two people or I have actually been known to eat one by myself!)

They will also have Chocolate Brownies and 3 kinds of Cookies: Frosted Sugar Cookies in flower shapes, Monster Cookies and Frosted Lemon Cookies.

Eggs:  We are trying to supply you again this year with local eggs.  But…..the local chickens are not cooperating, (too hot?  too cold?  too much rain?) so for a while, our egg supply is going to be short.  You may want to call to make sure we have them before you come over for eggs.    One of our local suppliers is a family from Jones, who have a variety of chickens, which lay blue, white and brown eggs!    Sarah (12), Nathan (9) and Matthew (3) have around 50 chickens and this is their summer project.  When we have eggs, they are $1.75/dozen.

Asparagus:  We are still picking asparagus daily and hope to for about another week. $1.65/pound.

Rhubarb:  We will have rhubarb through strawberry season.  $1.50/pound.

Greenhouse Tomatoes ($2.00 pound) and Cucumbers ($1 each).     We are picking these daily and have a pretty good supply coming in.

Strawberry Sighting!  we picked a couple of quarts today.  We have a new early variety we are trying this year called AC Wendy.  This early berry is just beginning to ripen so we may have a few quarts for sale starting this weekend.  The rest of our berries are for mid-season, so we still think they are 7 – 10 days away.  Pricing for this year is:

• Picked Berries:  $3.00 a quart; a flat of 8 quarts is $22.00; a case of 16 quarts is  $40.00.  We are now taking orders for flats and cases, and will call you when they are available.  Please call us on 269-244-5690 to order.

• U-Pick Berries will be $1.30/quart.  We will update you in about a week on picking conditions and availability.

Vegetable plants are now gone for the year.  We still have hanging flower baskets for sale.

Brandy Tasting:   Reminder, we are open every Saturday from 1 – 4 for Brandy tasting.

Thanks again for buying fresh, local goods.  Hope to see you soon.

All of us at Corey Lake Orchards

Vegetable Plants:  We are now sold out of plants for the season.

Fruit:

• Peaches
• Apples
• Cantaloupe
• Watermelon
• Tomatoes (Slicing, canning, roma, green, grape and cherry tomatoes)

Vegetables:

• Sweet Corn    ****  We currently have a very nice bi-color corn in, picked fresh daily, $4.00/dozen or 3 dozen for $10.00!!****
• Yellow, Red and White sweet onions
• Zuchinni and Yellow summer squash
• EggPlant
• Cabbage
• Cucumbers
• Bell Peppers (Green and Red)
• Hot Cheyenne peppers
• Mild Sweet Banana peppers
• Hot Hungarian Peppers
• Green Beans

Tomato Update:   This heat has our tomatoes really coming in.  So, we have reduced the price of picked tomatoes on the market to $1.50 per pound or 4 pounds for $5.00.  You can also get bushels of tomatoes while we have an abundance of them for $20.00 per bushel.  It would really help us if you call and order them at least a day in advance. 

U-Pick tomatoes:  Everyone out to pick this week has been very pleased with how easy it is to pick tomatoes and how nice they are this year.  There are a lot there to pick right now, so plan to get yours soon.  There are so many tomatoes right now that there should be plenty for everyone, but just in case we get lots of customers on the same day, it is always better to call ahead just to make sure there are plenty left to pick.  269-244-5690.

Homemade Baked Goods:  Our baked goods, particularly the pies and cookies are becoming so popular, that our bakers are now bringing them Sundays, as well as Fridays and Saturdays.     This week I recommend their apple pie, which is made from our Earli-blaze apples.  This is an amazing pie and apple sauce apple that we currently have for sale in the market.

What’s coming next? 

Bartlett Pears:  We expect our pears to be ready next week.  Bartlett pears are a great eating and canning pear.  If you would like to get bushels of pears, please call us or email us and let us know how many you would like.    Due to a pear shortage in Michigan this year (but not at our farm) we have many new customers who want to get pears.  But….we want to make sure all of our regular customers get them first.  So, we are keeping a list of customers and phone numbers and will call you when they are ready.  Please call us to give us your order at 269-244-5690.

Stanley Prune Plums:  We expect our plums to be ready next week.  If you are looking for bushels of plums, please call to get on our list to be called.

Apples:  Check with us toward the end of August  for an apple update.  Like everything else, we expect them to be early this year to due to hot weather.  The website and an email will be sent out when each variety comes in so you will know when your favorite is ready!!  We will have U-Pick and picked apples.

Grapes:  We expect grapes to be early as well, check with us the first part of September for an update on when they will be ready.  We will have U-Pick grapes, the white Niagra and the purple/blue Concord.

Thanks as always, for supporting us by buying fresh, local produce and other goods from us.  Hope to see you soon.

Beth