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Entry bubble Apple of my Eye

By: Jake | October 08, 2007 | Category: Home and Family

Happy Columbus Day!

A basket of apples sitting by an apple treeEven though the temperature doesn't feel like it's dropping and the leaves haven't quite changed color, it's autumn. However the fruits of fall, apples and pumpkins, are ripe. I know this because after spending the weekend in the Shenandoah Valley for a wedding I made a quick detour to an apple orchard on the way home. It was very relaxing to pick fresh fruit and I would recommend it if you are looking for a fun weekend get away this month.

If you want to find an orchard near you, your best resource is your local United States Department of Agriculture Cooperative Extension office. These offices can tell you where to find any agricultural product in your area and tell you what farms are certified organic. If you don't have time to go pick your own apples, USDA can help you find your closest Farmer's Market.

The University of Illinois Cooperative Extension office has created a thorough apple resource with nutritional information and fun facts. Though I haven't tried any, the Washington State Apple Commission has a great number of apple recipes. That apple strudel looks pretty tasty to me.

| Comments [4] | envelope Email This Entry | Tags: agriculture   apples   cooperative   extension   fall   farmer's   markets   usda  

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Jake is right, go pick apples!
Here in Northern Michigan, it's a bountiful year in the old abandoned orchards, trees so lush and full of perfect fruit that the boughs are breaking. I have to admit to tasting a few here and there!
If you love apples the way I do, you'll enjoy the USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection online at the National Agricultural Library. http://www.nal.usda.gov/speccoll/. The 300 images of fruit are part of a larger collection produced between 1886 and 1900. If you can't pick apples, you can enjoy them here.

Posted by Eunice on October 09, 2007 at 11:18 AM EDT #

This is a great time of year. Another government web site the Rural Information Center form USDA has a new web page, "I want to Celebrate Autumn in Rural America." It has a listing of items including Scenic ByWays and where to find Pick Your Own Farms (by state.)

Check it out from their home page: http://ric.nal.usda.gov and the right hand navigation - "I Want To..." box.

Posted by RIC on October 09, 2007 at 01:12 PM EDT #

Thanks for the great resources Eunice and RIC. I actually used the "Pick your own" website that's on the Celebrate Autumn cite to find the orchard I went to. I had to call around and do a little bit of work on my own to make sure the orchards were still open, but between the "Pick Your Own" site and the USDA you can find somewhere to pick fruit.

Posted by Jake on October 10, 2007 at 08:58 AM EDT #

Fall must be in the air! Check out more on u-pick farms and other autumnal activities at InfoFarm, the blog at the National Agricultural Library [http://weblogs.nal.usda.gov/infofarm/archives/agritourism]. You can also get the scoop there on what farmers and ranchers can do to promote this kind of agritourism.

Posted by Mary Ann at NAL's InfoFarm on October 11, 2007 at 02:56 PM EDT #

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