Apple season has arrived
SHILOH — Jeff and Laura Burrer were busy sorting and selling apples last week at their orchard on Ganges-Five Points Road in rural Shiloh.
"It's a bumper crop," said Jeff, who also wears the hat of fire chief at the Shiloh-Cass-Bloominggrove Fire Department when he's not running the apple orchard with wife and family.
With 38 varieties of apples this year, Jeff said the last big bumper crops were in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
The family has been operating the orchard since 1998, first leasing and then buying the orchard in northern Richland County from Burrer's father.
Apples are picked from Aug. 1 to Nov. 1.
April cold snap damaged most peaches
Burrer said a 25-degree day on April 28 damaged most of the peach crop, as many of the peach trees were blooming.
"We had one variety of peaches, contenders, that survived," he said.
The 17 acres of apples and the rest of the property's peaches, pears and plums are doing fantastic.
Laura said their customers are the reason they exist. Many come for apples to bake with, and others buy apples just to eat, picked fresh off the trees daily. The Burrers sell "seconds," apples which people buy for baking that are not perfectly round.
Laura said many customers are big bakers, making apple pies and more. Who doesn't love a hot apple turnover or baked apples, apple cobbler or freshly made applesauce right in your own kitchen?
"We're so blessed to have all our customers," Laura added.
"We have a lot of families and return customers. We still believe in customer service and greeting everyone with a smile. Employees return year after year," she said. Everyone is given a free apple to try when they leave.
"We just planted a new crisp variety called ludacrisp, which is called the 'juicy fruit apple,'" she said.
'10 to 14 days away from being in the thick of honeycrisp'
Everyone's favorite, honeycrisp apples, are plentiful along with golden delicious and gala, just to name a few, the Burrers said. "We should start picking galas at the end of the week," he added. "We're 10 to 14 days away from being in the thick of honeycrisp."
Jeff said 75% of the apples are sold on the farm with 20 to 25% shipped out on a big year.
Cider and cider slushies are also popular products at the orchard, which is open 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Customers can also pick their own apples here.
At Apple Hill, 1175 Lexington-Ontario Road, Mansfield, owner Ann Joudrey said it's been a good growing season.
"Everything right now is running about a week early but that normally levels out as the weather changes. Our peach crop and our apple crop look good," said Joudrey, who with her parents Russ and Barb Joudrey, operate Apple Hill Orchards on Lexington-Ontario Road and another site in Fredericktown.
Joudrey said the business has a full peach crop. It was a really good year for peaches and people have been out picking their own peaches, pears and apples already at the orchard.
Will have cider for almost the whole year
She said apple donuts and apple cider are selling well. There's always something new baking in the bakery.
"We just started pressing for the year so we we will have cider for almost the entire year except for about a month out of the year," she said.
A family tradition for many, the orchard hosts hayrides, barrel cart rides, and pony rides the last weekend in September and first weekend in October.
In Bucyrus, Coopers Mill at 1414 N. Sandusky St., deals with apples all day long, making homemade apple butter if anyone is looking for fresh apple butter, an employee said. The business does not operate its own orchard.
Ethan Stuckey, one of the partners at The Pickwick Place, 1875 N. Sandusky St., said you pick your own apples will begin Labor Day. The 2.5-acre apple orchard offers several varieties of apples.
"It's a good sized crop this year," he said. Apples are sold at the business. The Pickwick Place is getting ready for its annual Flannel Fest the weekends of Sept. 17 and 24, with pumpkins, a corn maize and apple picking. 419-562-0683.
Richland County, Bucyrus orchards
Apple Hill Orchards, 1175 Lexington-Ontario Road, Mansfield, 419-884-1500; and 16908-16970 Upper Fredericktown Amity Road, Fredericktown, 740-694-7688. Pick-your-own apples now through early November at either location during business hours. Visit www.applehillorchards.com for times.
Springhill Fruit Farm, 5646 Ganges Five Points Road, 419-896-2866.
The Pickwick Place, 1875 N. Sandusky St., Bucyrus, 419-562-0683.
lwhitmir@gannett.com
419-521-7223
Twitter: @LWhitmir
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Local apple crops are bountiful this year
