One of the benefits of living in the Midwest is being able to go to one of the many farms to pick your own apples at the end of the summer. We are fortunate that there are apple orchards close by where we can spend the afternoon harvesting apples from the trees.
Normally our weather in late summer is hot during the day, so we always look at the upcoming weather forecast and try to choose a day that is cloudy or less hot.
A good way to find U-pick-it farms is to go to your local farmers market and ask another way is to watch your newspaper as there are sometimes ads. I recommend that you call the farm before you go. Find out if the apples are ready to be picked and if they prefer people coming on the weekdays or weekends. In the past, we drove an hour to a U-pick-it farm only to find out that they were out of apples.
Always dress properly for picking apples. I would recommend that you wear a comfortable long sleeve shirt and pants, hiking boots and socks are important and also a sun hat. Treat your clothing for an insect repellent that would include biting flies fleas and ticks.
Bring along bottled water and snacks. I like breakfast or protein bars, but if you are going to be out in the country you may want to bring along a fleece blanket for kids to use for an afternoon nap in the car or for putting down for a picnic lunch at the park or an open meadow.
Don’t forget your camera. Make happy memories with your family by spending the day in the country picking apples. These photos are great for scrapbooks and sharing on Facebook.
Here is a recipe for spiced apple chutney.
