It’s crunch time

By Sarah True

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It’s literally crunch time at local orchards. The apple season is in full swing and will be until about mid-October, local orchard owners say. Several varieties are in peaking right now and others will come on strong in the next couple of weeks, said the owners of Anderson Orchards, The Apple Works, Adrian Orchards and Whiteland Orchard. [ad#single-post]In Trafalgar, the apple harvest could reach record levels. “It’s a very good crop. It could be a record crop. We’ll be picking furiously through the end of October,” said Sarah Brown, owner of The Apple Works. Glenn Haveman, owner of Whiteland Orchard, said, “It’s a good season. This year is great compared to last year’s wipeout." This year’s June floods didn’t have much impact on local orchards, except maybe to reduce the pest population. “There’s been a remarkable lack of pests. We think a lot of them died in the spring with the floods. At least, that’s what we assume. There aren’t nearly the number of yellow jackets as in past years,” said Monika Adrian of Adrian Orchards. The familiar varieties like Red Delicious, Jonathan, McIntosh, Gala, Golden Delicious, Mutsu, Ida Red and Winesap are available now for picking and buying, orchard owners said. Still to come in the next few weeks are Fuji, Braeburn, and Granny Smith. Apple orchard visitors are overwhelmingly repeat customers. Orchard operators estimated 85 to 90 percent of visitors were repeats, and they age from the very young to people in their 80s. Apples aren’t the only products going home with customers. Local orchards also have pears for sale and several have pumpkin patches to visit. Most also have other apple products, like cider or caramel-covered apples. Caramel-covered apples with nuts are Liz Bodle’s favorite. She had three bites left on the stick as she and her sister, Emily, and their friends, Jared and Jordan Holtane, strolled down the gravel drive of Anderson Orchard in Mooresville. The four “Mooresvillians” usually visit the orchard two or three times each fall. “It’s just the whole mood of the place,” enthused Jordan Holtane.

Anderson Orchard

150 acres owned by Paul and Carolyn Anderson, in business at the same site since 1969. U-pick or already picked Location: Two miles west of Mooresville on Main St. Also for sale: Caramel apples, gourds, pumpkins, mums, mini pumpkins, squashes, pears, cider, cider slush, candy; on weekends, concessions offer homemade apple cobbler, elephant ears, biscuits with apple butter Also at the orchard: Straw pile for kids, pumpkin patches between apple trees Hours: 8 a.m. to dark, seven days a week For more information, call 831-4181 or visit www.andersonorchard.com.

Anderson Orchard Pleasant View

40 acres owned by Gloria Hopkins (she bought the orchard from the Andersons 15 years ago and didn’t change the name) Address: 10721 N. 850 W., Fairland U-pick or bagged in the store Also at the orchard: Pick-your-own pumpkin with wagon rides to the patch on the weekends; corn maze for $4 per person; apple products, weekend concessions Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily For more information, call 861-4025 or visit www.andersonorchardpv.com.

Adrian Orchards

Adrian is in its 83rd season, is still owned by the original family, and has five acres in Marion County and 65 acres in Morgan County and grows about 50 varieties of apple. The orchard stand opens to the public in July and operates through till January 2009, closing only for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. The apples are not U-pick, but are hand-picked, washed and ready-to-eat. Location: 500 W. Epler, between Meridian Street and Bluff Road, Indianapolis Also for sale: Pumpkins, mums, corn stalks, hay bales and fresh, unpasteurized, unsweetened cider. Hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays For more information, call 784-7783.

Whiteland Orchard

30 acres owned by Glenn Haveman, in his 33rd year. “The love of growing things is what I like best. I’m always ready to start and ready to end and every year is different,” Haveman said. Operator-picked. “Our trees aren’t made for pick-your-own,” Haveman said. Location: 5559 N. Graham Rd., Whiteland, about halfway between U.S. 31 and I-65, take Exit 95 off the interstate. Also at the orchard: Pumpkins, pears, vegetables through the summer, unpasteurized cider Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, closed Sunday For more information, call 535-8495.

The Apple Works

55 acres, owned by Sarah Brown since 1989 Strictly operator-picked. “We have so many (trees) we don’t want people to get confused and pick the wrong tree,” Brown said. Location: County Road 250 W, Trafalgar Also at the orchard: Pick-your-own pumpkins, drive or walk to the patch during the week, wagon rides to the patch on the weekends; applewood-smoked sandwiches and this weekend, smoked pork chops; cider, slushes, ice cream, fudge, baked goods For the kids: Bamboo maze, animal farm, straw mountain, rope barn Hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week Call 878-9317 or visit www.apple-works.com for more information or directions.

One Response to “It’s crunch time”

1. Susan says:
   1October 2nd, 2008 at 1:48 pm

   I just wanted to know why you didn’t list Gregory Orchard in your article. It is a great family owned orchard and a added bonus is the Country Store that is right next door. I think if you are going to do an article like this, you should list all of the orchards in the area.

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