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Bryce and Jessee pressin for their winter shelves.

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I was just at the orchard earlier this morning - here is the video of my dog Star.  She was in heaven - when I eat honeycrisps at home, she sits about 8 inches away from my face and stares at me... drooling the entire time.  This trip made her month.  :-)  Let me know if you have any trouble viewing it.

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Paul and his son were out today to press for fermenting

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Howdy Apple Fans!    PHOTO BY: Kiesha Jean    A not so desirable October... we're over it!  it's gorgeous out and we still have Delicious apples in the orchard for you to pick for $5.00 a bag.  Big discounts on barn merchandise too.    To answer some frequently asked questions ... YES:  We Are Open except Monday We Are Picking Apples  We're pressing cider!  Come on out and help us make fresh apple cider using our 1896 antique cider press tomorrow (Sunday)!  For those of you who would like to fill up your home brew containers this is the weekend.  We've got the apples;  You press em...    U-PICK APPLES (also for sale pre-picked in the Apple Barn) Honeycrisp Haralson Keepsake Cortland  We'll see you out at the farm! Jay and Scott Schaper           OPEN DAILY Except Monday. (Rain, SNOW or Shine)  10am - 5pm

 

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  Hi Folks, We have Super Great Deals On all our Apples here at Minnetonka Orchards.  Did you know when apples are handled as gently as eggs and  properly stored around 34 to 38 degrees F they will keep til 2010!  Apples like Haralsons and Keepsake will keep til valentines Day!  Honeycrisp, Regent and Honeygold will keep til Christmas!  So come on out prices low even Mr. Scrooge might be here for the great deals!

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Last Dog Days of Fall Weekend Oct. 31st & Nov. 1st Come celebrate one of the most important members of the family but sometimes forgotten, your friend the dog.     Anyone who brings there dog on a leash will receive  1 FREE Honeycrisp apple.    Half price Hot dogs, Doggy hayrides, Adopt a Dog    SPECIAL GUESTS:  Snoopy & Adopt a Dog will be here Saturday Afternoon     CONTEST:  Saturday - Best Dog Costume Sunday - Best Dog Sweater (check in at the Apple Barn, winner receives Free Apple Pie)  U-PICK APPLES (also for sale pre-picked in the Apple Barn) Honeycrisp Haralson Macoun Regent Honeygold Keepsake Cortland     HAPPY HALLOWEEN  Bring your flashlights out with you and around 6pm explore the Corn Maze in the spooky dark!  We are open til 7pm and our hayrides through the dark woods are a spooky treat as well!  Free Admission if you arrive after 5:30pm!    See you at the farm! Jay & Scott Schaper

 

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Come in costume this week and taske a fun trip through the cornmaze.

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Hey all you Friends of the dog!        Come celebrate one of the most important members of the family but sometimes forgotten, your friend the dog. Oct. 31st and Nov.1st  Grab your leash and come out to Minnetonka Orchards for "Last Dog Days of Fall" Anyone who brings there dog on a leash will receive a free Honeycrisp apple.  We will have half price Hot dogs, Doggy hayrides, Disc Dog Demos, Adopt a Dog and Snoopy will be here mid day Saturday.   2008 Dog Costume Winners Bumble Bee & Lady Bug :) Best Dog costume on Saturday and Best Dog Sweater on Sunday.  (winner will receive a great prize) and much much more! Please see our web site's weekend events page for more info.   See you there!       SALE Starts TODAY!!! Pumpkins, Apple Barn & Apples! All your favorite gifts in the barn have been marked down!  Get your pumpkins before Halloween ONLY $0.30 a pound!  U-Pick Apples now only $10 a peck!!  A peck is a 10-12lb bag Due to all the rain we have lots of amazing apples left on the tree that we don't want to see go to waste.  So come out and get a bunch and do some baking with friends and family!.     U-PICK APPLES (also for sale pre-picked in the Apple Barn) Honeycrisp Haralson Macoun Regent Keepsake Cortland       *Be sure to forward your VIP Club emails to friends and family so they can come out and enjoy the farm!   OPEN DAILY(Rain, SNOW or Shine)  9am - 7pm  |  Aug. 20 - Nov. 8 or longer!

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Howdy Apple Fans!    PHOTO BY: Kiesha Jean   SATURDAY Oct. 24th WEATHER FORECAST - 51° & SUNNY!!!!!!      With all the fowl weather you may be wondering how the apples are doing, the good ones are FANTASTIC!  Some apples did receive frost damage, when you come out to pick we'll show you which apples to avoid, they are incredibly easy to spot.  We had one of our best crops ever this year and there are tons of apples on the trees ready to be picked this weekend!  The apples tend to be a little more scarce this late in the season, but with rain 5 days a week keeping everyone indoors we've got the majority of our crop left.  The  picture above (left) was taken on Tuesday of this week while picking some truly amazing Honeycrisp out of our 'C' orchard. It may not have been the best color fall in MN but we've still got some beautiful golds (above right) around the farm! Not to mention the see of orange in our Pumpkin Field!    PHOTOS BY: Kiesha Jean     Bonfires & Hayrides Weekend Oct. 24th & 25th Come on out this weekend for hayrides and bonfires around the orchard!  We'll have all the fixings for making your own yummy Apple S'mores Sat. & Sun. 11-6.     SPECIAL GUESTS:  Matt Muller  will be playing Saturday & Sunday!     PHOTO OF Kiesha Jean :) U-PICK APPLES (also for sale pre-picked in the Apple Barn) Honeycrisp Haralson Macoun Regent Honeygold Keepsake Cortland Snow Sweet (only available in the barn) PHOTOS BY: Kiesha Jean Be sure to stop by the barn and get all the gorgeous gourds you need for your table centerpieces.  A little bit of color can warm up the entire room!   Thanks to everyone who came out to Ciderfest last weekend!  We really enjoyed sharing the time honored tradition of hand cranked cider making and all the fun conversations about Hard Cider.    See you at the farm! Jay & Scott Schaper             *Be sure to forward your VIP Club emails to friends and family so they can come out and enjoy the farm!   OPEN DAILY(Rain, SNOW or Shine)  9am - 7pm  |  Aug. 20 - Nov. 8

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We'll be sure to educate you when you come out so you get the good apples.  Some of our apples were damaged by the cold weather but the damaged ones are easy to spot and avoid.  Only a couple weeks left of the apple harvest, so be sure to come out and stock up on your farm fresh apples for the holidays.  Good apples will last a few months in your fridge.

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No worries if your a newbie,, we've got experts here to help out.  We'll get you educated and Midwest Supplies will set up with a full kit to brew 5 gallons of your own hard cider just in time for the holidays!

See the full gallery on Posterous

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Howdy Apple Fans!    PHOTO BY: Kiesha Jean   The initial shock of snow falling in early October was entertaining, exciting and pretty.  Two weeks later ... we're soooo over it!  To say that we're all looking forward to actual FALL weather (high 40's low 50's) this weekend would be an understatement.  We have had some cold fun over the past couple of weeks though, here are some pictures from the October winter :)   To answer some frequently asked questions ... YES: We Are Open Every Day  We Are Picking Apples The Apples and Pumpkins Did Survive!    PHOTOS BY: Kiesha Jean   CiderFest Weekend Oct. 17th & 18th Come on out and help us make fresh apple cider using our 1896 antique cider press!  This year we are demonstrating how to make hard cider.  We are going to be pressing a lot of apples and getting you set up for making 'hard cider' at home.  We'll have the apples and equipment and you bring your zest for this fun hobby.  Be sure to bring your blanket for a fall picnic too.   SPECIAL GUESTS:  Minnesota Blue will be playing Saturday & Sunday! THE SUN - High 40's on Saturday & 50's on Sunday     U-PICK APPLES (also for sale pre-picked in the Apple Barn) Honeycrisp, Haralson Macoun Regent Honeygold Keepsake Cortland Snow Sweet (only available in the barn)   PHOTO BY: Kiesha Jean  Life is Good!  Carpe Diem ... you never know how many good weather weekends you're gonna get.  Be sure to enjoy the gorgeous Fall weather this weekend, just in case Winter October returns! We'll see you out at the farm! Jay and Scott Schaper        *Be sure to forward your VIP Club emails to friends and family so they can get a heads up on when their favorite apples are ready!   OPEN DAILY (Rain, SNOW or Shine)  9am - 7pm  |  Aug. 20 - Nov. 8

 

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The All Natural Homemade Pumpkin Bars with frosting are absolutely to die for!  They are the new staff favorite!

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The initial shock of snow falling in early October was entertaining, exciting, fashionable and pretty.  Two weeks later ... we're soooo over it!  I might just have to do a cartwheel when I finally see the sun tomorrow and when the thermometer goes into the 50's on Sunday I'll probably do another one!  To say that we're all looking forward to FALL weather this weekend would be an understatement.  We have had some cold fun over the past couple of weeks though, here are some pictures from the October winter :)

By the way ... YES:

If you've been out over the past couple of weeks and have some fun photos of the orchard to share you can email them to jayATminnetonkaorchardsDOTcom

photos by: Kiesha Jean

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