Sometimes I joke that we really moved back to Oregon for the fresh, local produce. This summer we picked our fair share of berries, and now that autumn’s here it’s apple season! Coming from Montana where gardening is HARD and a bag of organic apples costs more than a family pack of steaks, it’s a bit of a novelty I no longer take for granted.

When my newlywed great-grandparents moved to the fertile Willamette Valley from the arid dustbowl of the 1930’s, they immediately went to work picking apples side by side in the prolific orchards.

Nearly ninety years later, my much older sister seems to have inherited the apple gene… lending a hand each harvest on her friend’s century farm, she’s become a veritable apple aficionado. One of the many perks of living next door to her is sharing in her apple bounty and our ongoing apple-education. Did you know that some apple varieties are better for pies or applesauce than others, and some can keep all winter long if stored properly? Whatever you do, don’t say your favorite is Fuji. We recently enjoyed a sunny field trip to Beilke Family Farm to tour orchard operations and U-pick a bucket.
As apples are synonymous with autumn and schoolin’, this was a perfect fall field trip. Let’s hope an apple a day does keep the doctor away!
4 comments On Fallish Things: Apple Pickin’
We love apple picking! We found a cute orchard just down the road from us and they have a SweeTango…this apple is so juicy!! We wait all year for this apple 🙂
So fun, whereabouts in the country are you? I love how regional the varieties can be– I’ve never heard of a SweeTango. 🙂
We went apple picking yesterday. It’s the third time we’ve been so far this year and I just can not seem to keep apples in the house. Our favorites are Honey Crisps and Cortlands.
Awesome! Isn’t it just a delight? I think my sister would approve of your favorites 😉 Our fruit bowl seems to refill automatically this time of year, thanks to her!
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From adoption to home-education, urban homesteading to social responsibility, this blog is focused on areas in life which inspire me to live a more intentional, God-honoring existence.
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