St. Michael Hamblin Orchard Open for the Season

Ray and Irene Hamblin of St. Michael wanted to do something with their land for retirement. So in 1978, just six years after building their home on 11 acres of land south of St. Michael, the two planted apple trees.

“There used to be 1,000 trees but we’re down to 400 now,” Irene said. “We’re getting old though.”

The Hamblin Orchard, located between the cemetery and Schulte’s Nursery on County Road 19 is home to ten different varieties of apples and opened Saturday, September 17 for their short season.

“We’ll close up mid-November, but as long as we have apples we will sell them,” Irene said.

While the trees were planted back in 1978, the orchard itself opened in 1993.

“It takes a long time,” Irene said, “especially the Honeycrisps. So we planted, took care of our trees, and sprayed–and they were ready in 1993.”

Irene left her job as an administrative assistant and Ray retired as an engineer. The two, along with some friends who help with the picking and sorting, have been running their orchard since.

“We didn’t grow up on orchards or know how to do this at all. We’ve just learned from our mistakes,” Irene said.  As for advertising, they haven’t had to do much.

“We’ve become known in the area and spread by word of mouth,” Irene said, “Or some just drive by.”

“One of our primary objectives with the orchard was to become an integral part of the St. Michael community,” Ray said. “Many of our customers have confirmed that this objective has been achieved.”

The orchard used to have weekend activities, and even hosted school field trips, but Ray and Irene have had to downsize and cut back as time has gone on.

“We’re getting older and it’s a lot of work, hard to manage,” Irene said.

The pair no longer allows individuals to pick their apples, but they do sell pecks and bushels as well as squash, pumpkins and other items they grow. Some of their apples are also sold in local stores.

The pair isn’t sure how long they’ll stay open as they continue to age, but as of now they have no plans of selling or discontinuing their "retirement" job.

IF YOU GO:

Hamblin Orchard

 3072 Labeaux Avenue, St. Michael

Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.