Fall 2015: 8 Places To Pick Your Own Apples In Montgomery County

How bout them apples?

Fall is upon us, and it’s time to cash in on the winning lottery ticket that is beautiful autumn weather and get out to the apple orchards.

Here are eight locations from around the Montgomery County area.

Patch recommends you call the orchard before heading out on your picking pilgrimage to be sure the apples you’re hoping to enjoy are ready for the picking.

1. Merrymead Farm, 2222 S Valley Forge Rd, Lansdale
2. Longview Center for Agriculture, 3215 Stump Hall Road, Collegeville
3. Linvilla Orchards, 137 W Knowlton Rd, Media
4. Peace Valley Winery, 300 Old Limekiln Rd, Chalfont
5. Solebury Orchards, 3325 Creamery Rd, New Hope
6. Tabora Farm & Orchard, 1104 Upper Stump Rd, Chalfont
7. Shady Brook Farm, 931 Stony Hill Road, Yardley
8. Snipes Farm, 890 W. Bridge Street, Morrisville

What kind of apple should you pick? It might depend on what’s available at the orchard you visit, but here’s a little information on different apple varieties, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture:

• Fuji are the best apples if you’ve got limited refrigerator space because you can store Fujis in your basement or your garage. They are slow to ripen so are best picked mid to late October.
• On the other end of the apple spectrum are the Gala apples. Great for pies, sauces, eating and baking, they will only last a few weeks and need to be refrigerated. Because they ripen so early, they are at their prime from mid August to early September.
• If you’re looking for good September apple picking, your best bets are: Macintosh, Honeycrisp, Jonathan, Golden Delicious, Jonalicious, Cortland and Red Delicious.
• Want to make a superb apple pie? Go for the hard York apples because they’ll keep their shape in pies.

Know another great spot for apple picking? Send your info to justin.heinze@patch.com