About Us

We are a small commercial orchard established in 1995 in the gently rolling hills of Licking County, Ohio. We are a pick-your-own orchard with ten varieties of crisp and tasty disease resistant apples and red raspberries. We sell unpasteurized sweet cider in season and  a cider syrup made from GoldRush sweet cider.  We have hard (fermented) cider that is made using just the native yeast in a slow and lengthy fermentation yielding a smooth and somewhat dry wine-like drink with a slight effervescence.

Since the beginning of our orchard, we have been committed to producing high quality apples practicing low input sustainable agriculture. That has meant we use no fungicides, herbicides or other chemicals used by conventional growers. We are now managing the orchard without synthetic insecticides following the practices for organic production.  Even though we are not certified, you can be assured that the apples and everything made from them are free of chemicals and synthetic pesticides. 

We are personally committed to wholesome foods grown in an ecologically healthy environment.  The challenge of economically growing a crisp tasty apple without synthetic chemicals or pesticides, in Central Ohio, is an on-going self-funded research project.   Organic apples in a supermarket come from western USA where the weather is not as humid and the insect presence is less.  Also, they have been sorted so the customers see only the perfect ones -- and the price has been adjusted to cover the losses.  However, the flavor does not compare to the flavor of an Ohio apple. 

The challenge is daunting.  That is why we are the only commercial orchard in Ohio following organic practices.

Progress so far says we can grow crisp and tasty apples with these practices but the scale of production needs to be adjusted to be economically viable. Additionally, in a pick-your-own orchard, hiding a heavy infestation of a particular insect such as codling moth is not possible.  While most of our customers accept blemishes, they should know that the frequency of "bad spots" and an occasional worm depends greatly on factors that vary from season to season.  Thus, this orchard requires a special kind of customer that accepts the fact we are in the midst of a learning process and we are committed to learning from bad experiences.  We welcome customers who appreciate what we are trying to do.  While perfect looking apples are left to the supermarket, we hope you will be happy with the taste and eating quality of our wholesomely grown apples.