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A Tradition Of Pick Your Own, From Our Home To Your Table Over The Generations We were greatly honored this winter past to be asked to contribute a page for a fiftieth wedding anniversary book for a family in Batavia who have made a tradition of an annual pick your own apple day for four generations. We look forward to their arrival each year - now in several vehicles. It is also traditional that everyone in the family has a glass of our freshly pressed cider, chooses a huge cookie from our collection , and picks a very special pumpkin to take home. Many families come several times a year, remembering picking sweet cherries in 'Aunt Julia's orchard', or peaches and apples at our 'home farm' where my father, Amy's grandfather, offered tastes of huge ripe peaches and explained to our friends how to recognize and pick ripe fruit. My mother, Amy's grandmother, loved to give tours to guests to see newly hatched chickens, or to meet Rascal, our pony who did tricks, or to see a new hybrid tea rose in her collection and peek into our playhouse. The people who have been coming to our farm for these many years have witnessed our changes. Nearly all have identified their own special tress, or spots perfect for reading reflecting or playing a game... What has never changed over the years is our excitement as a family about sharing our beloved farm with you. We invite you to come and see for yourself!
Our Unique Collection of Varieties Our idea in each orchard or field is to have available for your enjoyment fruits ripening early in the season, mid season as well as late season, so we have several varieties of each fruit. The color and character of each season and each fruit crop is just as interesting as apple season, but as an example of how much fun we have with any given crop take a look at our apple program at Hurd Orchards... As an example we offer 50 +/- apple varieties ranging from heirloom Yellow Transparents ripening about August 1st to new era Gold Rush at Halloween. Each variety has not only a unique flavor, but individual characteristics making it best suited for an appetizer tray, for apple sauce, or apple pie, or for lunch boxes. We offer apple tastings at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays in September and October. We also offer chicken pie, honey oatmeal bread with apple butter, apple pie ... Somehow the apples taste best when you've picked them yourself right off the tree.
Pick Your Own Incentive Program We are re-introducing our pick your own incentive program, a fun way to fill your baskets, spend time in the fresh country air, and take home two delicious jars of our handmade farm preserves! This is our way of saying thank you to the devoted and growing group of pick your own enthusiasts who are a part of our pick your own family. Over the course of the growing
season - from mid May through mid October - if you pick at least
four quarts of each of eight different fruits and vegetables on our
farm we will let you choose two jars of your favorite jams, jellies or
vinegars!
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