Thanks everyone. Very good tips and advice. We owned a retail garden shop in Los Angeles for 7 years, so I'm so of prepared for the worst people. Hot varieties, roping off areas, ripe fruit, running out of lottery money all very good tips. The last one a little scary...
On Fri, Sep 14, 2012 at 8:54 PM, Tommy and Sandy <[email protected]> wrote: > ** > Just a few comments on pick your own. > Make sure you are in an area that people don't have to drive too far to > the orchard. Be real sure you want to deal with the public who knows > nothing about picking an apple and of course the first thing they want to > do is climb a tree. This is not just limited to kids either. Be prepared > to work seven days a week. > Plant what you can grow well and of course plant some of the new popular > varieties, like Honey crisp, Fuji, Pink Lady to name a few. > > We at Dickie Bros. Orchard in west central Va. offer pick your own all > season long, but are really too far from high population centers. People > really have to drive 2 plus hours to get to us. Our biggest draw is pick > your own Fuji and we get lots of Asians, a whole different set of problems > here. > And finally make sure your price is high enough to offset the fruit losses > from drops and culling fruit, but not to high to discourage people from > coming. > And remember if you have won the lottery and want to spend your money on > an apple orchard, you will find out that your lottery winnings will soon > run out. > > Tommy Bruguiere > Dickie Bros. Orchard > Roseland, Va. > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Kurt W. Alstede <[email protected]> > *To:* 'Apple-crop discussion list' <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Friday, September 14, 2012 7:32 AM > *Subject:* Re: [apple-crop] Rotten to the Core: What pick-your-own > appleorchards tell us about the American economy. > > Hugh,**** > > ** ** > > Choose the business model that works best for you where you are located > and consider your temperament. Not everyone is meant to be a retailer. > It takes both savvy and patience….plus plenty of logistical strength. The > bottom line is what type of farming enterprise will you enjoy the most and > what will provide you the best net income. Retailing and PYO are not for > everyone…but they work great for others.**** > > ** ** > > Good Luck,**** > > ** ** > > *Kurt W. Alstede* > > General Manager,**** > > Alstede Farms, LLC**** > > P.O. Box 278**** > > 84 County Route 513 S. (Old Rt. 24)**** > > Chester, New Jersey 07930**** > > United States of America**** > > ** ** > > Tel: 908-879-7189**** > > Fax: 908-879-7815**** > > www.alstedefarms.com**** > > ** ** > > ** ** > > *From:* [email protected] [mailto: > [email protected]] *On Behalf Of *Hugh Thomas > *Sent:* Friday, September 14, 2012 6:27 AM > *To:* Apple-crop discussion list > *Subject:* Re: [apple-crop] Rotten to the Core: What pick-your-own apple > orchards tell us about the American economy.**** > > ** ** > > I'm going to reply to this, mainly to see if it works, as I'm new on here. > **** > > ** ** > > I have a question for anyone with a u-pick orchard. Do the kids do a lot > damage to the trees and fruit, making heavy supervision necessary? I just > planted a small high density orchard of about an acre and a half. Would a > small u-pick operation be worth the hassles? Thanks for any input,**** > > Hugh**** > > On Fri, Sep 14, 2012 at 1:38 AM, Con.Traas <[email protected]> wrote:**** > > Hi Jon and friends, > I get the feeling the article or author is a bit mixed up, and does not > know exactly what point is the main one. However, there is no doubt that > all things American make their way across to this side of the pond > sooner or later, and demand for U-pick apples (or Pick Your Own as we > call it here) is much greater than ever before, so in that way we are > following in your footsteps. > Not everyone that comes to pick is a yuppy though, and mostly it is just > nice innocent entertainment for families with younger children. > Personally I think that if we as growers engage with the children, these > people will have happy memories of apples when they grow older, and > hopefully better eating habits than they would otherwise have. > On the issue of cost, I think it is probably more expensive to organise > for people to come and do U-pick than simply to go out with your orchard > crew and pick the apples yourself. > Con Traas**** > > > _______________________________________________ > apple-crop mailing list > [email protected] > http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop**** > > ** ** > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > apple-crop mailing list > [email protected] > http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop > > > _______________________________________________ > apple-crop mailing list > [email protected] > http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop > >
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