I send a weekly email throughout the orchard season – full of lots of great info!  If you’re not signed up for it yet…do so HERE.

Just this once…since tomorrow is such a big day, I’m reposting most of my email so you don’t miss a thing!

Apple Season Starts Tomorrow!

I don't know about you but the summer has just flown by!  I can't believe that we'll be starting the 2014 apple season tomorrow!  I'm excited to see you all again and meet new apple loving folks this year.  The guys have been itching to start picking apples but they just weren't quite ripe...until about yesterday.  They've started to pick which means it's time to invite you all back out to the farm!

Check out my 'Polar Vortex' post to find out how the cold affected the orchard.

Varieties we'll have at the store tomorrow - Paulared, Dandee Red, Zestar!, Chenango Strawberry, Duchess, and William's Pride.

Since I only send out emails once a week I would highly recommend 'liking' us on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/LapaceksOrchard  I post a daily update on the apple varieties in the shop. 

Are you wondering when you're FAVORITE apple variety is going to be ready?  Or do you just want to check out a list of all the apples we have to see what you want to try this year?  Well - you're in luck!  I have created oneHERE and I continue to update it when I discover new things!  I hope you enjoy it!

A 'Produce Available Right Now' list on the left hand side of the orchard blog.  This list tells you what apples we currently have in the shop, if they're running low, or if we only have a few this year.  Stop by often!

August Hours Schedule
Tuesday - Saturday: 9am to 6pm
Sunday: 10am to 5pm
Monday: Closed

Caramel Apples, Apple Cider Donuts and Apple Cider Update

We'll have freshly hand-dipped caramel apples available at the shop when we open for business tomorrow.

 
We'll have our apple cider donuts this weekend - Saturday and Sunday.  Which is what we will continue to do throughout the season - fresh donuts just on Saturday and Sundays.

We won't press our first batch of apple cider for a few weeks.  We need a few things before we do this...enough apples and enough varieties of apples.  This helps create a better flavored cider.  What we are offering at the start of this season though is frozen gallons of cider.  Just thaw your gallon completely and enjoy a refreshing cup of unpasteurized apple cider.  Our family has been drinking almost a gallon week this year!

Veggies

We'll have some veggies available in the shoptomorrow.  Diane has grown some amazingly monstrous and delicious onions!  We also have a prolific crop of tromboncino squash, pyo peppers (including jalapeno...but our jalapeno's have no heat this year...still great flavor), baby tomatoes, and herbs. 

New Kittens

We have new orchard kittens!  We usually try to have them so they've been at our orchard for a month or two before you all start to visit.  Unfortunately that didn't work this year so we have kittens that are very new.  I would like to request/encourage a 'kitten honk' before you drive off with your wonderful apples.  Thanks so much for your help with this!

We also have a mama cat that has 3 week old kitties.  You are more than welcome to look at these kitties but please don't pick them up and carry them around.  We don't want the mamma to get nervous and decide to move them somewhere that isn't as safe as the house she's in.

2014 Bushel Policy

A Bushel is equivalent to four peck's of apples.  Our method for pricing our bushel is by only charging you the price of 3 pecks of apples. That is either a $9.50 or $14.50 discount per bushel depending on the apple.  
We really want to ENCOURAGE you all to call ahead, 608-635-4780, (not email...I don't always get to check regularly during the day) for your bushel orders.  If you give us the courtesy of calling ahead (608-635-4780) we will give you a $3.00 discount  per bushel!  By knowing bushel orders ahead of time it really saves us a lot when sorting them.  
*some varieties may not be available in bushels due to quantities of apples produced.

Blueberry & Raspberry Update

We did not have a very good blueberry crop this year due to the harsh winter.  There are *some* out there though so if you want to go look feel free - but I'm not guaranteeing very many.
The raspberries are just starting.   Raspberry picking is open whenever we're open but if you're looking for quantity for jams and jellies...I would give it a week or two.  Tuesday and Wednesday picking rates are $2.50/pint and Thursday - Sunday is $3.00/pint

Apply NOW for the 4th Annual Craft-Apple-Ar

My good friend Naomi of the Glitter Workshopis coming back at the end of August and organizing the 4th Annual Craft-Apple-Ar onSunday, August 24th.  You can apply now for a spot  - just send an email to naomi@glitterworkshop.com for more info!  More details on the orchard blog soon!