We went apple picking at Fishkill Farms this weekend. It was super crowded–there were cars lined up to get in and out of the farm. By the time we got around to picking pumpkins, there were no more left. The reason Fishkill Farms is so popular is because, according to the research I did, they are one of the only apple orchards to use Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and kaolin clay, which is completely non-toxic, to protect their apples, making this orchard as close to organic as I could find near New York City. The apples also happened to be out of this world. We picked Golden Delicious first. There weren’t very many to be found until we found one tree that was filled with juicy, crunchy apples, completely unrelated to the yellow golden delicious apples you find in the grocery store. Then we picked some Matsu, Empire and Macintosh apples. The tangy crisp Matsus were everyone’s favorite. We filled a large “you pick it” bag of apples for $20. The extra apples, which were by the pound, were $10.The large bag was definitely a better deal than the by the pound apples and next time I will make sure to get at least 2 bags if I make the pilgrimage from New York City to Fishkill, NY. By the way, my daughter is selling wrapping paper and we are giving everyone a FREE hand picked apple with each purchase–in case anyone needs some wrapping paper!
On our way out, we noticed there was a huge line for donuts–which were not gluten free. Next year, I will try to remember to pack some Kinnikinnick Gluten Free Donuts, which are, by the way, now free of artificial flavors and colors. I was happy to NOT stand in line for the donuts, but my kids were craving them when they saw the fifty or so people cued up for them. We spent so much time in the orchard picking apples, we didn’t even have a chance to visit the entire farm, but I look forward to my next visit to Fishkill Farms to see the farm store and cafe and pumpkin patch.