When the leaves start turning and sweatshirts start making a scene on campus, a few things come to mind. Pumpkins, Halloween, scary stories and subtle hints of Christmas. However, one of the most underrated activities of fall is trekking out into rows of trees and grabbing Nature’s sweet fruit: apples.
If you ever need a break from schoolwork and get off campus, apple picking is a cheap and easy activity to spend the afternoon.
Right now, the Masonic Village Farm Market is open for apple and peach picking until Oct. 24. Currently, a variety of apples, including Gala, Honeycrisp, Fuji and Red and Golden Delicious are ready to be harvested.
Of course, Mother Nature decides when and how much these bad boys are ready to be picked. That being said, I would go as soon as possible in the season to get the best selections.
On their website, the Farm Market has a list of their varieties of apples and when they are expected to be ripe. They also ask customers to call ahead to get the exact variety of apples available as their dates are only an estimate.
The orchard is open throughout the week. The Farm Market asks that customers stop in during weekday hours to come to the store to pick up supplies, but if you’re looking to go out on the weekend, the supplies are out in the field already so you can jump right into the apple-picking fun.
After you harvest your own apples, you might run into the problem of what to do with all of them. A quick simple solution is an American classic: apple pie.
Giant Foodstore has pre-made pie crusts for a few bucks. Just throw in some butter, cinnamon and nutmeg on top of a pile of thin-sliced apples. After 45 minutes of torture from the apple pie smell, you got a sweet fall dessert to end the day.
Obviously, no fall is complete without a pumpkin. The Farm Market expects pumpkins to be ready to be plucked on Sept. 18 (again with nature in mind). However, because pumpkins are very popular, the Market is only allowing specific weekends to go pumpkin picking. The last day to pick up your pumpkin is Oct. 24, which gives you plenty of time to carve out a scary face before Halloween.
Anyways, apple picking is a great way to kick off fall as you enjoy the cool, fresh air and the changing leaves. Grab a few friends and you’ve got yourself an apple-picking adventure!
