Big crop this year is a welcome change from last year with the May freeze. We saw lots of familiar faces this weekend.

We will have plenty of  Zestar, Ginger Gold, Macintosh and Gala for picking.  Zestars and Ginger Golds are the ripest – Macintosh and Gala are ripening earlier the usual.

Check out  our Hats , T-shirts and sweatshirts embroidered locally with the Mad Tom logo.

Weather looks ok for Saturday  morning and mid afternoon.  Looks like the rain will go thru before Sunday.

Come help get some good fruit and enjoy the view – look forward to seeing you

Photos show trees with lots of apples ready to pick.

Zestar

Ginger Gold

• Macintoshtt

Lots of great looking Zestars and Ginger Golds.  Cider & Maple  Syrup in good supply.

We have fired up the donut machine so there will be fresh donuts.

Weather looks good – you may have to dodge a shower later Saturday – come help us celebrate the start of our 2024 season!!

Three more weeks – we will open for the 2024 season on Saturday August 31.  Warm weather and plenty of water,  but not too much, are helping the apples grow.  More apples than we thought initially due to some losses from the late April frost.

First varieties ripe will be Zestars and Ginger Golds.  Macintosh will be very tart on opening weekend.  We make  a dozen Zestar  pies each year and freeze all but one of them to bake over the winter.

Plan to have donuts and cider on the weekends.  Check out our new hats, T-shirts and sweatshirts with our Mad Tom Logo.

Look forward to seeing you.

Photos show some young Ginger Gold Trees with nice fruit and  some Macintosh growing well.

The  month since my last post has been a good one for the orchard and for us.   Overall the weather has been way too hot –  we are glad to now be getting a little more rain,  but no hail or tornadoes.

The crop this year looks like a moderate one, but not our biggest.  24 degree temperature in late April thinned quite a lot of fruit, but there still are plenty  of apples – many more than last year.

The renovation project for the red farmhouse is winding down – exterior painting and site work still to be completed.  All our kids and most of our grandkids were here at various times over the last two weeks and helped move the furniture that has been in our basement for two years back over.  One grandson did have COVID, but he pretty much isolated and no one else got it.  It was a BUSY two weeks – Sylvia (with help from our daughters) has put on numerous meals for 12 to 15 extra people.

So we continue to celebrate our 25’th year back in Vermont and look forward to seeing you in September.

The photos show some Honeycrisp and Zestars with apples that have now grown to one inch size or more.

2024 season is off to a good start.  The pictures of some of the 84 year old Macintosh and newer Zestars tell the story and show a very good bloom.   Our bumblebees went out in the orchard on May 8 and they have been busy even when it was cold and wet.   Yesterday with full sun all day and temperatures close to 60 was perfect for good pollination.

Jilly passed away last year in February at age 15.  Janey our new Shih Tzu enjoys running in the orchard and trying to catch any passing cars.

We are celebrating our 25’th year back in Vermont.  The renovation work on the red farmhouse is almost complete.  Current weather forecasts do not show freezing temperatures.  I will post periodically as the season progresses.  Looking for a much improved crop over last year.