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  • From: "marcy" <marcy AT aculink.net>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] U-pick apples
  • Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2004 19:13:36 -0600

Hi Tom,
Another response from a U-pick customer's view :-)

I think it'll depend a lot on your locale and market. The U-pick operation
we visit is a lot different than others who've responded on the list. We're
in a pretty rural location and they don't get tourist traffic. It's a
bare-bones sort of operation. They don't get the people looking for an
experience, they get people who are coming to get apples.

They have a large scale (state inspected) on the front porch of the house
and the rules are posted there. They sell by the pound ($.20 for apples and
$.50 for peaches in lucky years that we don't get frozen). They don't have
a release form. There are a few 5-gallon buckets if you need to borrow for
picking and grocery bags to dump into, but they encourage you to bring your
own along. They have a few tall 3-legged ladders along the orchard to use -
most of the trees are up to 15 feet tall. There are irrigation furrows
through the orchard, so it's up and down a lot. Some years he manages to
get things mowed later in the season, some years there are tall grass &
weeds to get through and usually lots of sandburrs which my little boys fuss
over but it's part of the deal. They have a permanently located
port-a-potty which has been handy for us.

Their customer base is mostly local folks that have seen their newspaper ad
or come for years. They have a simple sign by the road that has a green
tree and says Lusk. Then you follow the driveway down but I don't imagine
they get a lot of drive-by traffic from the highway. By the same token,
they also don't have to be there all the time because they'll tell you where
to leave your money if they're not there.
He told me a few years ago that one of their biggest customers is a local
Mennonite group that picks truckloads to make cider.

Another idea - they spray paint a spot on the tree trunks to color code the
various varieties since they ripen over a 3-month period. They have a color
code sign by the house - which would be nice to take with you or have
another sign(s) closer to the trees, but it does help to identify varieties.

They send out a newsletter in July or early August telling how the crop is
looking, and expected dates for maturity, may have hail marks, etc.

Have fun!
Marcy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom at Limerock" <limerock AT thirdplanet.net>
To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2004 5:25 AM
Subject: [Market-farming] U-pick apples


> Hello,
>
> We are considering going U-pick on apples this year. Our trees have
finally
> been brought down in height and narrowed in the rows, to accommodate
> U-pickers, and I intend to fill the couple of old groundhog holes. We
would
> appreciate some input from other folks doing U-pick.
>
> Questions/concerns:
>
> Our insurance agent has said that we may do this, without additional
> coverage/premiums as long as (1) no ladders, and (2) no tractor rides.
>
> Do you post rules and point them out to the people? Does anyone use a
> written/signed 'release' form? (Am I too paranoid?)
>
> What do you have them pick into?
>
> Are you selling by weight or volume?
>
> How do you set your pricing (U-pick compared to retail at your market)?
>
> Any other considerations?
>
> Thanks in advance for any feedback.
>
> Tom Anslow
> Limerock Orchards and Roadside Market
>
>
>
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