Allenberg Orchards, Quality Fruits in Season

Allenberg’s Orchard 2004

The Fruit Stand will open full time from July 2nd to October 30th. The hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday – Saturday. We’re closed on Sunday. From November 1 until November 22 we will be open on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 to 4.

Our phone numbers are: 301-824-6671 (daytime) or 301-824-7409 (evenings)

We’ve been growing fruit here since 1957. We started with apples, then added peaches, nectarines, cherries and pears during the 70’s and 80’s. We have recently added small plantings of Red Raspberries, Blueberries and Plums to our production mix.

We raise everything we sell at the fruit stand. We do detail pruning of every tree (all 12,614!) every year to increase fruit size and quality. We work hard to pick our fruit at the optimum stage of maturity – so you get good tasting fruit that keeps well.

PEACHES

Peaches will be available from July 2 to late September. Early peaches are good and juicy for eating fresh, but do not come off the seed easily or withstand the rigors of canning or freezing as well as the later varieties. Freestone peaches for canning and freezing will be at their best from August 1 to September 20.
Our peaches are picked firm ripe to try to keep bruising at a minimum. They need to be kept at room temperature for one or two days to finish ripening. Then refrigerate them to keep them at their peak. Be very careful handling ripe peaches – they are very tender and easily bruised. For best flavor and juiciness you should buy peaches once a week and not try to store them too long.

VARIETIES

Estimated Picking Dates

Garnet Beauty – July 10
Red Haven – July 22
White peaches – July 28
Belaire – July 31
Glohaven – August 4
Sunhi – August 4
Loring – August 11
Cresthaven – August 20
Redskin – August 30
Jerseyglo – September 6
Encore – September 13

QUANTITIES

These quantities are estimates for - Large or small fruit size will change the number in a given volume.

1/2 peck = approx. 16 peaches or apples
1 peck = approx. 32 peaches or apples
1/2 bushel = approx. 60 peaches or apples
1 bushel = approx. 120 peaches or apples
1 bushel = 42 to 48 pounds of fruit
1 bushel = approx. 18 - 20 quarts
canned peaches
1 bushel = approx. 25 quarts applesauce

APPLES

Recommendations:

Apples will be available from the middle of August until we close in November
- For those who like the sweetest possible apples, we recommend Gala and Fuji.
-Moderately sweet apples with slightly acid flavor are Ginger Gold, Mutsu, and Golden Delicious.
- For tart, juicy flavor, try Jonathan, Stayman, or Granny Smith.
- Apples for cooking can be broken down into several groups.
- For sauce, try Lodi, Summer Rambo, Smokehouse, or Golden Delicious.
- For pies with firm slices, try Gala, Mutsu or Fuji.
- For excellent flavor with a softer texture when baked, try Stayman or Golden Delicious.
-Our picks as the absolute best apples we sell are:
Late August & Sept. – Gala
Late Sept. & Oct. – Golden Delicious
Mid Oct. – Mutsu, Stayman, Jonagold, & Empire
November – Fuji

VARIETIES

Estimated Picking Dates

Lodi (applesauce) – July 7
Ginger Gold – August 9
Gala – August 16
Jonathan – September 10
Red Delicious – September 19
Golden Delicious – Sept. 19
Mutsu – October 3
Jonagold – October 3
Stayman – October 13
York – October 17
Fuji – October 24
Granny Smith – October 31

OUR FAVORITE PICKS:

As The absolute best apples we sell are:
Late August & Sept. - Gala
Late Sept. & Oct. - Golden Delicious
Mid Oct. - Mutsu, Stayman, Jonagold
November - Fuji

Storage – Apples keep best at cooler temperatures. Refrigeration will make it possible to keep apples for several months. If refrigerated, keep the apples in a plastic bag to prevent moisture loss and shriveling. If apples are kept at warmer temperatures, remove them from plastic bags to prevent rots from spreading, and use as soon as possible. Don’t try to keep apples more than 10 days without refrigeration. The best apples to store for long periods are Granny Smith (tart) and Fuji (sweet).

RASPBERRIES

We have Red Raspberries available starting July 1st and ending July 15th.

BLUEBERRIES

Blueberries will be available from late July 1 through early August.

NECTARINES

We have several varieties of nectarines. They start ripening about July 20th through early September.