Visiting Our Orchards: Harvest 2023
Check In
When you come in the farm road from Route 9H, where you see the yellow Philip Orchards sign, and drive to the barn yard, please check in with one of our staff members. We will give you information about where the best picking is that day. We will also give you an orchard map and half-bushel bags for your fruit. (Free of charge.)
♦♦♦
Into the Orchards
Our orchards are far away from the barn yard. They are spacious and interspaced with meadows and woods, so you may drive right into them and park near where you will be picking. When driving in the orchards, go slowly and be mindful of rocks, ditches and woodchuck holes.
Do enjoy the land. Admire the foliage. Stroll with your family group.
♦♦♦
Picnic
We are happy for you to stay in the orchards to have small picnics. Please mind that there are other customers who might want to enjoy the same area, so we ask you to keep it simple, small, and be considerate. It is our number one priority that *everyone* who comes to our orchards stays happy while visiting us.
If you have traveled here from a great distance and would like to have a nice meal before heading home, there are lots of fine restaurants nearby that we can recommend. Please ask us at the barn and consult with the community page here.
♦♦♦
Picking Apples
Picking apples and pears is easy. But if you do not do it right, the fruit can be damaged. So it is worth learning how to pick properly. When you want to pick an apple or pear, hold it firmly and, slowly twisting, raise it up so that it snaps off at the stem. Do not pull or yank the fruit off the branch. If it doesn’t come off easily, it’s not ready to be picked. When you have picked an apple or pear, gently place it in the bag. If you throw or drop it, it will bruise.
♦♦♦
Sorting Apples
At the end of the harvest, we need to report to the New York State Department of Agriculture how many bushels we have sold of each variety. For this reason, even though most of our apples and pears are the same price, we ask you to kindly keep track of the number of bags of the different types that you pick. Thank you for your cooperation.
♦♦♦
Fellow Visitors
We have such wonderful customers at Philip Orchards. Some have kept on coming back for four decades, since 1973, when we became 100% pick-your-own. They bring the next generation, who brings the next, and so on. Quite a few families claim that it is an autumn tradition to visit us. Others seek a quiet, rustic setting, to get away from their busy daily routine.
Many of our customers say that they have unforgettable memories about our orchards; school trips, church trips, family/class reunions, photo and film shoots (one with a famous actress), even a marriage proposal has happened here! We thank our loyal customers who choose our orchards to create those wonderful memories. The customers come from many states in the area: New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Pennsylvania. Some find their way here from Florida, Minnesota, California, and even France and Germany.
♦♦♦
Chickens
We keep some chickens. Because they range freely all over the place, they are vulnerable to attacks by hawks, coyotes, and other predators, so the size of the flock changes. But there are always some around the barns and nearby fields. So please drive slowly.
♦♦♦
Check Out
On the way out, please stop at the barn yard again. We will tally up what you have picked, and you can pay. We accept either cash or checks. (But no credit cards; sorry!)
If you are a first-timer, don’t forget to leave us your mailing address, so that we can send you our harvest flyer the following summer.
♦♦♦
Restrooms
We have a portable restroom booth.