Attracted 2 Apples.com
U-Pick Apples
20 min. east of Edmonton
fresh eating apples, come pick your own
Updated: September 16, 2023
All the apples in the orchard have been picked by our U-pick customers. There are no apples left. The crop ripened a week earlier than normal and we had a good response from new and old customers and the crop was quickly picked. Thank-you to all that visited this year and look forward to meeting everyone again next year.
Although we have 800 apple trees, the demand for U-Pick apples tends to exceed the supply, we typically sell two thirds or more of the apples on the opening weekend. Some customers appreciate being notified once opening day is determined. Email Notification
Answers to most common questions. Q&A
No Admission Fee
Bring cloth bags or buckets to bring the apples home if you can.
September is the fun time of year at the orchard. The apples turn a nice red color and lots of new and old customers show up to pick them. 2023 proved to be the most successful year ever for the orchard from a sales perspective but only by a small amount. As usual, three quarters of the apples sold on the first weekend. If was handy that we had better supply of later season apples to sell this year so we could run for 3 weekends before shutting it down for the year.
The morning sales were brisk with lots of customers showing up to buy lots of apples. By about 1:30pm the orchard was looking rather empty.
Just open for two hours to sell the small number of remaining ripe apples. It was cold, slightly damp and smokey but that did not seem to slow the kids down. Lots of people wanted to pick the Autumn Delight although they were still on the tart side.
We decided all the varieties except Autumn Delight and Festive Treat were ripe so visitors had lots of different apple varieties to choose from. Wonderful weather so lots of families came out.
Relatively quiet day. More customers came out on Tues afternoon than Thurs morning.
Many loyal customers dropped by, busy but good day, weather was fabulous. Customers were picking all the varieties except Autumn Delight and Festive Treat.
Today was the earliest day in August that we have ever opened the orchard, 10 days earlier than last year. We waffled back and forth between opening on Saturday or waiting to Sunday. We wanted to have 3 different varieties ripe for opening day. Norkent and Orange Pumpkin (this is an apple variety) were definitely ripe, Prairie Sensation is at the perfect stage for putting into longer storage but could be a bit sweeter for immediate eating. So we opened today, it was interesting getting feedback from people with different likes and tastes. As expected Norkent, (a sweet good for eating out of hand apple) was popular, many customer have bought orange pumpkin before and headed for those trees. The people that wanted apples to store bought Prairie Sensation and were happy to get their apples early in the season. The most interesting reaction was from customers tasting 5 of Diamonds, People either thought it was the best apple in the orchard or were looking for somewhere to spit out the apple (the apple is a bit tart with lots of flavor).
Once again we conclude the end of a successful season. We are starting to adapt to the increased popularity of the orchard. Most of the apples were sold on opening day and once again we were sold out of apples by the second weekend we were open.
Although we have been running this orchard for 18 years we are still learning new things on the production side. It should be possible to significantly increase production without added more trees. The last few years we have been putting more effort into irrigating the trees. We started our irrigation earlier this year and the average size of the apples was up from last year. We are also experimenting with tilling the soil around select trees.
We thank all the new customers that showed up this year and it was fun once again to reconnect with the returning customers.
Lots of people showed up to pick the last few apples we had on the trees. It seemed to be mostly people new to orchard that wanted to get out in the country and enjoy the open spaces.
Last day of the long weekend and opening day of the orchard. Apples were several days late this year due to the cool spring.
The busiest day we have ever had selling apples. Sold over 4,000 lbs of apples in one day. About 85% of the apples were sold today, our opening day.
It was fun connecting with old customers, new customers, friends neighbors and family. We had a very good day.
Our success today makes it tricky to decide what to tell customers for next weekend. Not only were the advertised varieties picked out but many of the apples not considered ripe were also picked. There are enough apples to open again but we would like Lucky Jack and Fall Red to be ripe. Quantities will be limited.
Today was the end of a successful season. A steady stream of families showed up to pick the remaining aplees. We had our second best year since we started the orchard. We were a bit late starting our irrigation this year so the apples were smaller than normal but there was a good supply. We thank all the customers that showed up this year and appreciate all positive comments.
Down to the last 8% to 10% of the apples originally in the orchard, enough to open for a day or two. Just small sized apples are left. Autumn Delight is the variety we have most of left, it is a later seasoned apple.
Families will enjoy coming out and picking some apples. Although apples are on the small side, they are full of flavor. Great for fresh eating, apple sauce or juicing.
Busier then expected, mostly families with kids visiting the orchard for first time.
Available apples are now limited. Most of the larger sized apples have been picked. Expecting to be close to being picked out by the end of Sunday. We are down to about 3 varieties that we have any quantity remaining, Minnie the Mac, Prairie Sensation and Autumn Delight.
One more fun day at the orchard, lots of families. About 2/3 of the apples in the orchard were picked during the coarse of the day.
We have a good quantity of apples. Lots of nice apples to choose from.
Norkent, a sweet fresh eating apple was the most popular on opening day. Still a small quantity left. Lots of Orange Pumpkins sold as well.
It was a great family day with nice weather, lots of families were out, many stayed 3 or more hours.
We are trying to decide on opening day. Orange Pumpkin is the ripest apple at this time. Some of the more red apples on the south side of the tree taste ripe but still want more apples to be ripe to open. We will not open on Friday(tomorrow) or Saturday. Going to check again tomorrow then decide on Sunday.
Overall we think we have a slightly larger crop then last year. The distribution between varieties is different. There is a large crop of Orange Pumpkin apples. This apple is good for fresh eating or baking (has a thin skin so peeling is not necessary), it does not store as well as other varieties. We also have a large crop of Norkent apples. This is a good fresh eating apple that stores well. We have fewer Prairie Sensation apples this year and the size of the apples are small this year. The size of the Autumn Delight apples are also small.
It has been a dry summer, we have been been busy irrigating the crop of apples. The larger trees have received 320 gallons each of water so far this year. With the water the apples are nice and juicy.
The 2021 apple crop is progressing well at this point. It looks like a larger crop then last year. The timing of the crop is normal or slightly ahead for some varieties.
We hope to open with apples ripe and ready to pick on the first weekend in September, but it all depends on Mother Nature.
News 2020
Today was the last picking day for the season. It was delightful to hear the young children shriek with excitment everytime they found a new apple. Thank-you to the Moms and Dads who brought their families out to hunt around for the few remaining small but tasty apples. Thanks to the everyone's thorough harvesting, tidying up the orchard for year end will be a quicker job.
During the last 2 or 3 years we have roughly doubled our customer base, consequently we sell out in about 1/2 amount of time, this year we were open less than 3 days worth of time and sold all the apples.
We were concerned, prior to opening the orchard, about how we were going to adapt to the new covid situation. The measures we adopted required considerable cooperation from our customers. I am happy to report that everyone that came to the orchard was considerate of others and careful to observe the precautions.
Just a few apples left, mostly Five of Diamond and Autumn Delight. We will be open from 12 noon to 2 pm on either Saturday or Sunday. Waiting until Wednesday to see which day has the best weather. Apples will be 1/2 price.
Families with young children will have fun hunting around for apples. Most of the apples left are on the small side or are imperfect.
We were open for 1/2 a day just on Saturday, Sunday was canceled. Lots of young children running around having fun, we did sell 350 lbs of apples so the young people did well finding apples.
About 85% to 90% of the apples have been picked. Families with young children will have fun hunting around for apples. Most of the apples left are on the small side.
Today we opened up the orchard to anyone that wanted to come, it was very busy. I went out to pick Prairie Sensation for my own long term storage at 2:00 pm and it took a while since most of the trees were bare and the trees with apples just had small ones in awkward places to reach. The customer base seems to be shifting away from families buying lunch apples and towards customers who like to buy lots for processing.
Today was invitation only day. Our long time customers were invited out to test our new covid system. It all worked really smoothly, lots of people showed up with buckets, the map on their smart phone and many had watched the picking video. Many people climbed out of their cars with their masks on. We tried to comunicate that masks were only expected when in line to pay for apples but we did not communicate this very well.
Orange Pumpkin was picked out today. They were the most popular today. Also sold lots of Prairie Sensation. Our customers alerted us to Lucky Jack being ripe enough taste very good. We did not expect it to be good for another week.
Orange Pumpkin is ripe and is very tasty. Prairie Sensation at the time of writing is just a bit too tart to call ripe but should be good by Monday. If you want to store a few apples for later, picking Prairie Sensation now is a good choice. Many of the 5 of Diamond apples show a pink flesh once again this year, a great addition to your baking, they add color and flavor, the downside is most of them are small (I encourage you to try leaving the peels on like I always do). They are on the tart side. The other varieties will require a wait.
The summer weather has been good for the trees. We are happy with the crop of apples coming. The west half of the orchard is much better then past years. The east half is patchy, in some areas, the trees are productive, in other areas not as good.
In two weeks we will start sampling the apples every 2 days trying to guess when we should open the orchard. We are still thinking they will be ripe close to the Labour Day long weekend in September.
Last winter was another winter that was tough one on trees. The temperature dipped pretty low which the trees do not like. Luckily most all of the trees came though fine.
The trees have just finished blooming and the apples are starting to form on a few varieties. Looks like a decent crop so far but it still pretty early to know for sure.
News 2019
Yesterday I closed the door to the orchard for the last time this year. We did well selling apples, sold just under 4000 lbs, minimal waste which was good. Our customer base continues to expand even though we do not do any advertising. Opening day was very busy, the orchard notification list is working really well.
Most years we seem to have some sort of growing challenge, this year it was lack of sun and heat. The apples were smaller than other years.
Once again we thank all the wonderfull customers who keep coming back every year with a big smile on their face.
Both Saturday and Sunday had highs of 4 to 5 degrees. Some customers showed up but not many. Festive Treat seemed to be the more popular variety. Received thanks from numerous people for keeping the orchard open.
We are on the tail end of our apple selling season, We just had two varieties that were left in any quantity, Autumn Delight and Festive Treat. About 2/3 of these apples were sold today. We will be open on Wednesday, likely there will be just a few left for next weekend.
Good sized crowd out today, the ripe apples we had disapeared as the day progressed.
Most of the apples in the orchard have been sold. We are down to just Autumn Delight and Festive Treat. Neither are ripe at the moment. There is a good chance that Autumn Delight might be ripe by next weekend. We will update the website by Friday at 6 pm letting everyone know the situation for the weekend.
Pressing apples today was lots of fun, will bring the press out tomorrow as well. Good sized crowd out today.
About 2/3 of the apples in the orchard have been sold. Selection for Sunday will be more limited. Family groups will have fun and should be able to find enough apples to be happy, those picking for serious baking or processed will not do as well.
Update on Apples Available:
Planning to setup an apple press today. Might be able to press some picked apples, no promises but you might want to bring a jug for juice just in case.
Update on Apples Available:
Apples listed as reasonable quantity are likely to go to limited quantity after one busy day like last Saturday.
Good quantities of apples available, size is smaller then other years. We still have Orange Pumpkin, Minnie the Mac and Prairie Sensation which was popular on the weekend. Lucky Jack and Fall Red expected to be ripe by mid week.
Record attendance at the orchard today, 15-20 cars around pretty much all day. Lots of familiar faces from previous years as well as many new faces.
Still have decent quantities of apples available. Orange Pumpkin was the most popular today, followed by Minnie the Mac. People were buying Prairie Sensation for storage.
Every crop year is different. This year there are more apples then last year but the size is smaller. The smaller size is believed to be mainly due to fewer hot sunny days this summer.
We have lots of Orange Pumpkin this year. They are now ripe and taste very good.
Prairie Sensation is just on the verge of being ripe as of Wednesday, Prairie Sensation stores really well if picked at this stage. Customers report that they are able store this variety for 3 or 4 months when refrigerated.
Misty Rose, one of the sweetest apples in the orchard is usually ripe about the same time as Orange Pumpkin but I think it still needs another week. It seems tart at the moment.
The later season apples such as Lucky Jack, Fall Red, Festive Treat, Autumn Delight (very small apples this year) will be a week or two yet.
Not sure about Minnie the Mac, I am guessing it should be close to being ready?Blossoms were late showing up this spring but they are pretty.
News 2018
The orchard is now closed for the year. The year was a challenging one from a growing perspective, mother nature did not cooperate. Early spring weather appeared to be too cool to allow the flower buds to develop properly. There were only a small number of blossoms on the trees. Dry weather limited the size of the apples. We only cut the grass once during the summer at the orchard.
We did have apples and most of them were eagerly picked by the orchard faithful on the long weekend in September. Myself, Frank and my wife Lynn, thank our customers for their continued support and look forward to what next year brings.
Lots of families showed up to pick apples and enjoy the fresh country air. The variety, 5 of Diamonds suddenly ripened up overnight and we were pretty much cleaned out of that variety today much to our surprise.
Most of the apples have been picked, we will likely open for a few hours either on the weekend of Sept 7/8 or Sept 15/16. I am not sure which at this point, as it depends on whether we get a frost to speed up how fast the apples ripen. Autumn Delight and Festive Treat are the two later season varieties left, we only have a small quantity of both varieties.
My loyal repeat customers braved the rain this morning to come and pick out a large part of the orchard. Orange Pumpkin, Fall Red and Minnie-Macs are all gone. We still have a small quantity of Prairie Sensation and some Lucky Jack. A good quantity of 5 of Diamonds is available but they are on the tart side right now.
Tomorrow we will be open for reduced hours, towards the end of the day families with kids were having lots of fun running around the orchard and seemed happy with the apples they were finding. With this in mind we decided to open for reduced hours tomorrow.
We will keep sampling the apples in the orchard and monitor what is getting ripe. If we still have reasonable quantities of 5 of Diamonds and they get sweeter during the week, we may open for part or all of one day next weekend. The later season apples, which is mostly Festive Treat for this year might be ripe for Sept 15, when it does ripen we will likely be open for a day or two for that variety. The majority of apples in the orchard have now been sold.
Come and pick apples, we still have all the different varieties we started with. Orange Pumpkin was the most popular on Friday, Prairie Sensation, Fall Red and Minnie-Macs were also favorites.
It was a fun day today at the orchard, there was about 3 or 4 car in the parking lots for most of the day. All my family was there so none of us had to work too hard.
We have much fewer apples this year than last year. Orange Pumpkin is the variety we have most of and it is ripe and tastes very good. Most people use the apple for fresh eating but it also makes a great pie or apple crisp. The variety we have the second largest quantity of is Prairie Sensation, it is just coming ripe, the variety stores well, now is a good time to pick for storage. The ones with lots of sun I would call ripe for fresh eating. Minnie-Macs and 5 of Diamonds, will taste much better in a week but can be picked. Almost no Misty Rose in the orchard.
I expect we will run out of the early season apples in a few days. We will likely close the orchard down until more apples are ripe. Since we have most of the early season apples I suggest coming sooner than later.
News 2017
It is with mixed emotions that I say that the orchard is now closed for 2017. We had a great year for producing lots of high quality apples. The trees were well rested from last year (blossoms froze so the trees took a rest) and the spring weather was perfect for an apple tree. I think trees produced 4 or 5 times as much fruit as in 2015.
We received great publicity this year. Liane Faulder from the Edmonton Journal wrote a really nice article for the Journal, CBC Radio AM did an interview. Numerous photographer and bloggers wrote some really nice pieces about the fun they had at the orchard with their young children. The many referrals on facebook were also much appreciated. I am looking forward to seeing what 2018 brings and am hoping to see some of my new friends once again next fall. Thank-you everyone for your strong support.
Autumn Delight is good, people were still picking Minnie Macs and others. If you are looking for something to do on a fall day, come and pick apples. Final day, Saturday, apples 1/2 price.
Apples still taste about the same as before the cold weather. We have received enough frost that they will not store as well as before. All apples will be 1/2 price from now on.
If anyone wants apples for cider, let me know.
Cool and windy day, enough people came to make it worthwhile.
Lots of Autumn Delight still in the orchard, excellent apple. There are other apples in the orchard but many of them are getting soft.
At the moment, a crew is planning to come in late in the week to pick apples for cider, they want as much as they can, we will most likely be closed next weekend.
Wonderful autumn day, not as busy as last weekend, but real steady, a fun day for me.
Apple situation is still about the same, supply of Autumn Delight is good and it is a tasty apple that appeals to most everyone. Minnie the Mac has been ripe for a while but is still popular. Still some Festive Treat available, a good quality apple. Most of the others are not available or are over ripe to recommend.
My son wants to help out tommorrow even if it is cold and rainy so we will be open tomorrow, Sunday, Oct 1. After that I am not sure, we have apples and the weather looks promising for Wednesday.
Fun day at the orchard, busy enough that there was always someone to talk to but not crazy busy. Although we are out with a number of varieties, everyone was happy with what they were able to pick.
Supply of Autumn Delight is very good yet, very tangy flavor (sweet and sour at the same time). Still good supply of Minnie the Mac and Fall Red. High losses of Festive Treat falling to the ground so we will be out fairly soon. We are out of Prairie Sensation, Misty Rose and Five of Diamonds. Lucky Jack and Orange Pumpkin is too soft.
Orchard will most likely close this coming Sunday night but that depends on how many customers show up. It is a guess at this point.
Received lots of thanks in the last 3 days from visitors for opening the orchard, everyone seemed extra nice. I am thankful that so many people came out to pick the remaining apples before they fall to the ground.
Lots of some varieties of apples remaining and much fewer of other varieties, still enough variety to please pretty much anyone. Lots of Festive Treat, Autumn Delight, Minnie the Mac, Fall Red and Autumn Delight. Still have Prairie Sensation, we have 1/2 of a row in the far corner, people get distracted picking other stuff before they get there. Some Lucky Jack. Only a few Misty Rose and Five of Diamonds. Orange Pumpkin is too soft.
The orchard was three times busier then any other time before but it was fun meeting so many new people. I am not used to talking so much.
Still lots of apples. Festive Treat and Minnie the Mac was popular today, lots of these two varieties left. Also lots of Fall Red and Autumn Delight. Still likely enough Prairie Sensation for one more day. Lots of Lucky Jack. Limited supply of Misty Rose and Five of Diamonds. I tell people that Orange Pumpkin is too soft but people still want to buy them for some reason.
Praire Sensation was popular today. I expect it to be gone sometime tomorrow. Still lots of apples. Festive Treat was more popular then expected today, much sweeter then a week ago.
If you are coming out this coming weekend, please be patient with us. The orchard has received lots of publicity over the past week with the Journal and also CBC. We could be busy and we are not used to handling large crowds but we will do the best we can to assist everyone that comes.
Today was very busy, busiest day yet ever. Thanks to everyone that tweeted and facebooked about the fun they had at the orchard yesterday and last weekend.
Apple SupplyOverall suppy of apples is still good. Should be open for at least a couple of more weekends. Autumn Delight and Festive Treat are now ripe. Lots of Fall Red, lower availability of Prairie Sensation likely good for another weekend, lots of Minnie-the-Mac, some Lucky Jack, limited 5 of Diamonds, limited Misty Rose, limited Norkent. Orange Pumpkin is done
Check out these pictures taken this past weekend at the orchard Amazing Kids Pics. I found out tonight that a professional photographer, Kelsy Nielson happened to drop by over the weekend and took some pictures of her kids. In my opinion, her work is better than professional. Kelsy's Website
Busy Weekend, Saturday was expecially busy. Our customers from last weekend seem to be doing our advertising for us which is nice and very appreciated.
Apple Supply
Lots of Fall Red, lots of Prairie Sensation, lots of Minnie-the-Mac, some Lucky Jack, some 5 of Diamonds, limited Misty Rose, limited Norkent. Autumn Delight and Festive Treat will be ripe soon, maybe next weekend? Orange Pumpkin is getting soft.
Planning to press some apples this coming Saturday, 10:30 am. Free samples.
Long weekend has come and gone. Very different crowds out each day. Saturday was women looking to buy lots of apples to process. Sunday was old friends. Today was lots of families. I was suprised how many people were asking for a tart apple for fresh eating, this seemed unusual.
Overall supply of apples is still good. We have about 4 times more apples then the last year we were open. Norkent supply is mostly gone however. Lots of Prairie Sensation. Lots of 5 of Diamonds, Fall Red, Minnie-the-Mac. Autumn Delight and Festive Treat will be ripe soon. The two earliest apples, Orange Pumpkin and Misty Rose might be too ripe to recommend next weekend.
Yesterday was opening day for the orchard. Lots of people came by, so I think I will continue with Wednesdays as long as the weather is good.
We have lots of apples this year, good quantities of all the main varieties of apples. Misty rose is ripe, Orange Pumpkin is ripe, Prairie Sensation(the ones on O3 rootstock ripe, the ones one Renetka variable if lots of sun ripe, still good time for long term storage). There are a few I really like the taste but the calendar says they should not be ripe, Fall Red, Mini-Macs. Norkents should be ripe now, some are good, some slightly starchy. 5 of Diamonds, normally ripe when Orange Pumpkin ripe, seem a bit later this year.
I have been eating a great many apples in the last week trying to decide when to open the orchard. Most people seem to have a sweeter tooth than I have so I have to take that into consideration. Misty Rose is definitly ripe. Some rows of Prairie Sensation are ripe and others almost. Orange Pumpkin was very tasty today. Time to open the orchard.
The apples should be ripe in about 2 weeks. If you want to be notified of the opening day, Email_Notification_List
The apple crop is coming along nicely. We have been busy thinning the apples for the past month. Pollination was excellent this year and we are trying to remove about 85% of the apples by hand to allow the remaining apples to size up.
The Apple crop as of May 26, 2017 is looking very promising. I am guessing we have double the crop from 2 years ago. The trees were loaded with blossoms and there are lots of young apples forming.
The orchard will open either Saturday, September 2, 2017 or Saturday, September 9, 2017 depending on what is ripe. A notice will be sent out to those of the email list in late August as soon a decision is made.
News 2016
The Apple crop will be limited this year. The trees woke up 3 weeks earlier then normal this spring and the trees blossomed too early. A frost in early May has killed most of the blossoms.
We regret to say that we do not expect to be open to the general public for picking in September. Any available apples will be saved for customers who are on the Orchard email list.
I had a close look around the orchard over the weekend and there is maybe 15 lbs of apples total for this year. Just a few Orange Pumpkin and Fall Red apples. We will not be open at all this year. Hope to see everyone next year.
Orchard is now Closed for 2015:
The number of apples we had for sale this year was up about 50%, the trees at high elevation produced well, the trees down the hill had their blossoms frozen in the spring and did not produce apples.
The marketing went well this year. Some unplanned good fortune occurred. The Sherwood Park News did a feature on the orchard which seemed to be well read. Our new friends at www.localcounty.ca also helped spread the word. The apples sold out after 4.5 days of being open. This year was a challenge since the apples ripened two weeks earlier than normal. The window of picking the apples at peak flavor is only about two to three weeks long. The first day we opened, we relied on our customers on our email list to show up since our advertising did not come out to later. We are hoping more customers join the email list. To get on the email list, send a quick email to frank@attracted2apples.com. You will get just one email per year, in late August, to announce the opening day of the orchard.
Thank-you to everyone that supported the orchard, it is great being part of the local community.
2015: Saturday, September 12 News
Today was our busiest day yet since we opened last year. In retrospect there were a few more apples in the orchard then we thought but that was a good thing, the weather was favorable and lots of families showed up. We were supprised to get a number of families from Quebec, they were familiar with the orchard apple picking experience. We also saw a large number of return families from last year.
2015: Thursday, September 10 News
I did a scan of the orchard yesterday to see what was available. Overall it looks like about 1/4 of the orchard is left. The selection is good right now but we expect a number of varieties will be sold out by the end of Saturday.
2015: Monday, September 7 News
Things were soggy wet and cold at 10:00 am but Moms with eager kids showed up right away in their rubber boots. By the end of the day we had a look at the orchard and it appears that we are getting to be about 2/3 picked out. Will check things out a little more do a more detailed update for the weekend.
2015: Saturday, September 5 News
Pat and Andrew from North of Josephburg were the first customers in the gate this morning. Andrew is our most enthusiastic guy picker who likes to shows up regularly. Annie McKitrick, the MLA for Sherwood Park also dropped by to pick lots of apples. Annie is doing her best to support local community agriculture. Even though the weather has been mediocre today and yesterday, the number of customers is up sharply this year.
We still have reasonable quantities of most varieties. The variety, 5 of Diamonds is limited, Orange Pumpin is not available.
2015: Friday, September 4 News
A steady stream of customers came by this morning. This was surprising since it was about 8 degrees and raining in Sherwood Park, only one slight dizzle at the orchard. The variety, 5 of Diamonds is almost gone, Orange Pumpin is not available. Good quantities of all the other varieties, lots to choose from.
2015: Wednesday, September 2 News
An article was printed in the Sherwood Parks News yesterday that highlights the orchard. Due to the increased interest in the orchard a new picking time has been added. We will be open this Friday between 9:30am and noon.
2015: Sunday, August 30 News
The first customer this morning was Donna, Donna wanted to pick apples last year but the orchard was picked clean before she had a chance to come. There were lots of apples to choose from, Misty Rose, Orange Pumpkin, Prarie Sensation and 5 of Diamonds were all ripe. It was great to hear the orchard alive with voices as people trundled up and down the rows looking for their favorite variety from the sampling table. There was no concensus on the best tasting variety, however, the kids did seem to gravite to Orange Pumpkin(the big ones).
Opening today was a last minute decision, most of the customers that came today were customers on my orchard opening email list. If you would like to join the email list, email me at frank@attracted2apples.com. We send out one email per year to announce the opening of the orchard.
2015: August 22 News
Misty Rose, one of the sweeter varieties seems to be suddenly ripe now. This is about 2 weeks earlier then last year. If at least one other variety is ripe I might open next weekend. Info will be up by next Friday. A small supply is available down the road at Northline Farms.
Laura, John and family from www.localcounty.ca dropped by for a visit. See their website for listings of U-picks in the Edmonton area.
2015: June 19 News
Spring is the busy time at the orchard. The activities of tree moving, pruning, grass mowing and rototilling quickly follow one another. We are just about getting caught up.
The trees finished flowering several weeks ago and the apples are now forming. I have been doing some initial thining of the apples and inspecting the potential crop. The early spring and a late frost has had an impact on the orchard. Flowers on some varieties at the lower elevation of the orchard have died. The good news is that the variety Autumn Delight bothered by a frost last year was minimally touched this year. It is also good that we will have less work to do thinning apples this year. I think that overall we will have a crop similar to last year in size.
Important: Orchard is Now Closed for 2014
2014 was our first year open to the public. The orchard sold out after being open for 2.5 weekends. We placed one add in the Fort Saskchewan Record and one add in the Sherwood Park News. Most of the people that came were from Fort Saskatchewan or the local rural area. Lynn, Kye and myself enjoyed meeting all the people from our local community, everyone was really great! I am also grateful for the encouragement provided by so many of the visitors. It has been a long ten years planting trees, moving trees, grafting trees, pruning trees, mowing grass, rototilling etc.
If you would like to get on an email anouncing our opening day next year, please email me at frank@attracted2apples.com (you will get a single email in late August each year as long as you stay subscribed)
News. Sunday, September 21, 2014
The apple selling is now completed. It seems like a weight off my shoulders to have the orchard picked clean. Four families came out today to help with the picking clean task. The last family that came out had a son and daughter and they raced up and down the rows looking for apples. After an hour of searching and picking they declared the trees apple free.
News. Saturday, September 20, 2014
There seemed to be lots of apples this morning but by 3:00pm today the orchard was cleaned out pretty well. There is maybe 30 to 50lbs of apples scattered about. Not nearly enough to officially open for another day. Families are welcome to come out tomorrow Sunday, September 21 between noon and 2:00 pm for an apple hunt with the kids. The kids can wander about searching for apples to fill their 5 lb bag. Proceeds will go to A Safe Place the Womens Shelter in Sherwood Park. (suggested donation $1/lb)
News. Friday, September 19, 2014
Gail Hall inspects some of the apples she picked at attracted2apples. She will cook with them on CTV Noon New today and tomorrow Gobal Morning at 8:20am, 8:50am and 9:20am. Gail is a chef/educator/writer with Seasoned Solutions, many of us know Gail from her past work as weekly food columnist with CBC radio. Her culinary tours and cooking classes are highly regarded.
News. Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Quantity Status of some of the different varieties:
News. Sunday, September 14, 2014: Part Two
It was family afternoon at the orchard once again. I got a kick out of listening to the kids talk as they hunted down the perfect apple, they made me feel young again for a brief few minutes. Lots of new and old friends to chat with today.
We still have about 1/3 of the apples in the orchard left yet to pick.
News. Sunday, September 14, 2014
Looking like a great day to be out in the country. This weekend and next are the best in terms of the selection apples available to pick. We sell a fresh eating apple ripened to perfection on the tree but is also wonderful for baking. Average sale so far this year is close to 20 lbs per customer.
News. Saturday, September 13, 2014
Thank-you Natasha from Fort Sask. for bringing your family and friends, also to Jenelle, family and friends from Edmonton. We had a critical mass of kids and had a great time playing croquet and roasting apples. The odd apple was also picked.
News. Friday, September 12, 2014
The entire orchard is now open for picking. There are lots of varieties that are ripe and ready to be picked. We will have a tasting table setup so visitors can sample the different apple varieties then decide where they want to pick in the orchard.
News. Thursday, September 11, 2014
I will open the orchard tomorrow (which is Friday). We still have Prairie Sensation, Misty Rose and Orange Pumpin which will be ripe. 5 of Diamonds seemed to be a bit tarter then the others and may continue to be so. Some of the other varieties maybe ripe but I cannot say at this point, there should be lots of time tomorrow to check out the other varieties and I will post a report late Friday evening for the weekend pickers.
News. Sunday, September 7, 2014
Today was a much more relaxing day, with drizzling rain for the latter part of the day, we had 1/3 the number of customers. It was ok since I had the chance to harvest some apples and vegetables for myself.
Prairie Sensation was popular with the high volume pickers, we will likely be picked out by the end of the weekend. Orange Pumpkin and Misty Rose were popular with the low volume pickers.
Overall the weekend went very smoothly. Everyone that came by bought apples. The people that left with the biggest grins were those that bought 40 lbs or more.
News. Saturday, September 6, 2014
Today seemed like a long day. We were pleased that lots of customers showed up and picked lots of apples. It was busy until about 3:00pm when things started to slow down. A reporter from the Fort Saskatchewan Record dropped by which was fun.
We had a table setup so that customers could sample the different varieties. Prairie Sensation seemed to be the most popular, followed closely by Misty Rose. A significant amount of 5 of Diamonds and Orange Pumpkin sold as well today.
Tomorrow I will be picking lots of Prairie Sensation and smaller amounts of 5 of Diamonds, Orange Pumpkin and Misty Rose for long term storage. Last year we were eating our own apples to the end of November at which time my refrigerator in the garage started to freeze.
News. Friday, September 5, 2014
We just completed a family apple tasting to judge which apples are ripe. The three us have decided that Misty Rose is just perfect, juicy, tangy and sweet, different from any store bought variety. Orange pumpkin is really close, I would advise pickers to pick the ones that have seen lots of sun. The 5 of diamonds could use 3 or 4 days yet.
Although most of our varieties are not yet ripe, I think it is worth the trip to get some of the Misty Rose, it is very good. We will be open tomorrow as planned. Hope to see you there!
News. Thursday, September 4, 2014
Will check the apples tomorrow morning for ripeness and report back by tomorrow evening. Frank
News. Sept 1, 2014
I was out tasting apples with my son, Kyle yesterday. I still find it exciting to go around testing all the different varieties. It is heaven to catch an apple has been allowed to slowly ripen on the tree to its peak flavor point. The different flavours in apple seem so much more intense. As an apple becomes ripe, one of the things that happen is that the starches convert to sugar and the apple tastes sweeter. My son likes apples with the least sugar, my wife likes the sweet ones like Gala, and I am somewhere in the middle.
The four varieties that ripen first at our orchard are Misty Rose, Orange Pumpkin, Norkent and 5 of Diamonds. Misty Rose was getting close but still not quite ripe, I expect it to be good by next weekend. The 5 of Diamonds on Renetka rootstock (full size tree) was definitely not ripe. The 5 of Diamonds on Ottawa 3 (semi-dwarf) rootstock was much riper. The Orange Pumpkin really caught me by surprise, the flavours were intense with just a hint of sweetness. My wife tried a different Orange Pumpkin apple I brought home, took 3 bites and declared it was too sour to finish. Go figure? The one I had was the best apple I have eaten since consuming Courtland apples obtained from Nova Scotia last fall. I am a little apprehensive about opening the orchard with the apples on the cusp of being ripe. We will check on the apples later on in the week and report back. Frank
News. August 24, 2014
The apples are looking great so far. We have been fortunate to have had good moisture this year, warm days and no hail. Some varieties should be ripe just after the long weekend in September.