U-Pick Apples

Our U-Pick Apple Orchard will open for the season on Sunday, September 13th!

When you plan your day out at the farm this fall, be sure to schedule some time to Pick-Your-Own apples!  From mid-September and well into October, VonThun Farms Pick-Your-Own orchard is open everyday, including weekends.  The apple varieties are planted in blocks so that they are easy to identify and find.  The dwarf trees are tied onto a wire trellis and kept short so all the apples are easy to pick from the ground.  No ladders or long poles are needed.

Our apples got plenty of water this year from Mother Nature’s rains, so rest assured that our apples are juicy, crisp and delicious–and plentiful too!!

All apples are great for eating and cooking. So pick lots–put the apples in your refrigerator at home to keep them crisp and juicy. Make pies and apple sauce–put an apple in each lunch box. Get in the habit of eating a crisp, delicious apple at three in the afternoon each day. It relieves stress and gives a lift to carry you through your day! It adds fiber to your diet and very few calories.

Pick-Your-Own apples at VonThun’s are sold by weight–you pay for what you pick.  Our employees can often be seen picking in the orchard, as we also sell our homegrown apples in our Farm Market.

VonThun Farm’s apples stay crisp and crunchy when stored properly at home

–Refrigerate in the cripser section….it’s that simple!

–Cool air maintains quality, juciness and crispness.  Apples stored at room temperature deteriorate ten times faster than refrigerated apples.

–Handle apples gently to prevent bruising.

–Don’t store apples with broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumbes, leafy greens, lettuce or spinach.  Apples give off ethylene gas that can damage these vegetables.  This same gas will speed the ripening of bananas, kiwis, peaches, plums and pears.  These fruits, placed in a paper bag with an apple will help them ripen much quicker.

Our Pick-Your-Own Apple Varieties:

Cameo…

What’s it like? Tart/sweet flavor; crispy.
Best Uses: Fresh eating, excellent for salads pies, sauce, baking.

Fuji…

What’s it like? Very sweet, very juicy, very hard and crisp; cream colored flesh.
Best Uses: Excellent for  eating and salads.
Special Hints: Fuji apples have a long storage life.

Gala…

What’s it like? Mildly sweet,  juicy; bright yellow-red color with creamy-yellow flesh.
Best Uses: Fresh eating and desserts.
Special Hints: Better eaten raw than cooked, a favorite in lunch boxes!

Golden Delicious…

What’s it like? Mild, sweet flavor,  juicy, crisp; light yellow flesh.
Best Uses: Excellent for  eating, sauce, and salads. Good for pies, baking, and freezing.
Special Hints: You can cut down the sugar in pies and sauces made from this variety because it is so sweet.

Mutsu…

What’s it like? Dense, firm, crispy, and very juicy; creamy- white coarse flesh.
Best Uses: Fresh eating.

Nittany…

What’s it like? Very sweet,  crisp taste; creamy yellow flesh.
Best Uses: Great for baking.
Special Hints: Developed by scientists at Penn State University.  Wegmans is the only retailer to carry them.

Stayman…

What’s it like? Tart, hard and crisp; white colored flesh.  Everyone’s favorite fall apple!
Best Uses: Excellent for  eating, sauce, baking and pies.
Special Hints: Long storage life.

Suncrisp…

What’s it like? Juicy, very crisp, tart/spicy taste; yellowish-white flesh.
Best Uses: Best for cooking.
Special Hints: The tart taste mellows with storage.