In places other than Florida, the arrival of fall means more than just pumpkin spice lattes. It also means leaves changing color, temperatures dropping, and being only a short drive away from apple picking.
Alyson’s Apple Orchard in Walpole, New Hampshire is one of dozens of orchards that can be found scattered around New England. Every fall, thousands of visitors roam the orchard filling bags with handpicked apples. The orchard is part of the 500-acre Connecticut River Valley farm and offers 50 varieties of apples to pick, including Honey Crisp, McIntosh, Cortland, Gala, Mutsu and Fuji. Depending on the season, berries, peaches, grapes, pears and plums can also be found growing on the property.
Though only the crabapple is native to North America, there are now more than 2,500 varieties of apples grown in the United States – 100 of which are grown commercially. In 2005, the average U.S. citizen ate 46 pounds of fresh apples and processed apple products.
Though most of the apples found in stores are grown using pesticides and are coated in a commercial grade wax, the apples grown on Alyson’s Orchard are pesticide free and ready to eat right off of the tree. At the farm stand you can also buy apple cider, wine and fresh baked pies.