Tubby Fruits

05/29/2026

Fyi, as of just now, the reserve spots are all filled up for tomorrow, Saturday picking of tart cherries. Thanks.

Just as a reminder for those picking tomorrow. We've had a lot of rain on the orchard, so you'll want to wear appropriate footwear for the conditions. High heels are not recommended ;-)

05/29/2026

Howdy everyone,

So our bush tart cherries are ready to pick. Because cherries got hit so hard from frosts, unfortunately, we are going to have to limit picking to RSVP. We have only have about 100 to 150 lbs. of cherries on the bushes which survived the frosts (it's hard to estimate when they are still on the bushes, but that's my best guess). There were no tart cherry blooms which survived on the tart cherry trees. We just have tart cherries on the Juliet tart cherry bushes.

As a trial run, we had 3 families pick yesterday, and the cherries do look good. And one family commented that they tasted slightly sweeter than last year. But again only about 10% survived of what we had last year.

Tomorrow (Sat. May 30th) looks like it might not be raining after 12 noon. So, if you would like to pick tart cherries between noon and 3:00pm tomorrow afternoon, please text me. I'm thinking there is enough cherries for 10 to 15 cars (one car being an individual or a family). Please don't message me on the Facebook, because I can't check messages from the Facebook on my cell phone. But I can see texts on my phone. I'll confirm you for picking tomorrow (Sat. 5/30/26) by sending you a text back. I'll confirm the first 15 people who text. The gates will be open from noon to 3:00 tomorrow (Saturday) if you get a text confirmation back. My cell phone number to text is 913-851-7414

Sorry for the extra effort required to pick tart cherries, but they are much slimmer pickings this year.

Strangely, peaches actually have a bit more on the trees than last year. Still only a partial crop, but slightly more than last year. Thornless blackberries are really looking good so far this year. Likewise with tomatoes. We put in 500 tomato plants this year, which are looking very nice. Apples look a little less than last year, but still decent.

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04/30/2026

Hi Folks, Wanted to give an update on the fruit growing season.

It's been a cool season so far, and WET. Our tart cherries got hit by the frosts pretty hard so it will be much slimmer pickings for the tart cherries this year. They should start in June.

Peaches got hit too, but we do have some peaches again this year. Thornless blackberries look pretty good so far and are just starting to bloom. We plan to start planting tomatoes this weekend. Apples are progressing, and of course we plan to plant pumpkins this year too.

Hope to see everyone this summer!

03/26/2026

Hi Folks! Hope everyone is doing well.

A lot of customers have asked how the peach crop fared so far. The answer is that there was some crop loss, but still looks like quite a lot of peach blooms made it (so far).

We have a 30 degree morning coming up, so we'll have to see how that goes. The pics are from some peach trees yesterday. The bloom on those are pretty showy.

Lastly, if you know of someone who is looking for work, I could use some help at the orchard. Either part time or full time. Mostly pruning and some planting and general farm work. Individual must be self-motivated, as pruning large numbers of fruit trees can be monotonous, and most of the time the person will be working by themself. Wage is $16/hr.

11/11/2025

FYI, we still have some apples left which we picked before the freeze and brought inside. We have both number one and seconds on apples. We also have some tomatoes left, which again we picked before the last freeze.

I will be at the orchard tomorrow afternoon. If you would like to swing by and pick up some apples or tomatoes, please feel free to send me a text (913) 851-7414. Thanks!

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10/30/2025

Hi Folks,

Wanted to mention for anyone interested, we still have tomatoes. Both number ones and canners. Like the energizer bunny, they just keep going and going. If interested, feel free to text me so we can arrange a time convenient for you to swing by and pick some up. 913-851-7414

10/18/2025

Hi Folks,
We have lots of fruits left this season. We have loads of tomatoes we picked today. About 500 lbs. of tomatoes today. We have number one top grade field grown tomatoes, as well as second grade tomatoes. Our field grown tomatoes got a second wind.

Please feel free to text me if you would like tomatoes at the end of season.

We also have Upick apples and Upick pumpinks.

Please feel free to text me a time for picking which works for you! (913)851-7414 Thanks!

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10/11/2025

Hi Folks,

Just wanted to mention we still have lots of Upick pumpkins and Upick apples left. Upick apples are $1.50 per lb. Upick pumkins are $0.50 per lb. No picking fee. The weather looks to be good picking weather this weekend. Please feel free to shoot me a text for a day and time you would like to pick. Thanks! 913-851-7414

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10/07/2025

Hi Folks!

We've had lots of apple pickers so far, and some have picked a lot of apples, so I wanted to mention something about apple storage.

It's a bit of a long post, so I'll mention first, we still have lots of apples and pumpkins. If you would like to pick either, shoot me a text with a time and day which works for you and we will make that happen. (913) 851-7414. Upick apples are only $1.50 per lb. at the orchard. We also have pre-picked apple seconds for pies, etc for only $1 per lb. We have a minimum required for the apple seconds, and 24 hr notice please, but no minimum or notice on Upick apples. Pumpkins are $0.50 per lb. No picking fees at our orchard. Again text me to either pick up apples, or if you would like to pick your own. (913) 851-7414

Now, on to apple storage.

A customer mentioned yesterday, their apples they picked early this summer, shriveled in their refrigerator. This is because there is very low humidity in today's refrigerators.

Today's frost free combo freezer/refrigerators are designed to pull humidity out of the refrigerated air. Consequently, the low ambient humidity wants to pull moisture from the apples, which can result wrinkly apples after a fairly short amount of time. The crisper drawer of the refrigerator is designed to have higher humidity, which allows for a much longer storage for fruits and vegetables. However, many folks have picked more apples than their crisper drawer can hold.

But no worries, you can maintain good humidity with the refrigerated apples by placing them in a sealed plastic bag. That will hold the moisture around the apples. The bag doesn't have to be completely air tight. In fact, you want a small amount of ventilation in the bag to reduce the ethylene the apples naturally produce. A Walmart bag with a twisty tie is good choice. If you want to maximize storage, place a damp (emphasize damp, NOT SOAKING WET) paper towel inside the Walmart bag to maintain humidity. You should be able to get at least 2 months storage with fall apples properly refrigerated.

You can also leave them out on the counter, which should get you several weeks of storage, but for longer storage, properly refrigerated apples are the best way to go.

If you have an old manual defrost refrigerator/freezer combo, that's also a great way to store apples. Those have much higher humidity. You can tell those by all the ice which cakes up on the inside of the freezer portion of the refrigerator/freezer combo.

Anyway, with proper storage, you should be able to eat crispy juicy apples for months ahead.

Thanks!

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10/04/2025

Hi Folks,

We have Upick pumpkins available. If you would like to pick pumpkins, or pick apples, please text me (913-851-7414) and we can set up an appointment convenient for you to pick. Our apples are only $1.50 per lb. Our pumpkins are 50 cents per lb. Both with no picking fee.

We also have pre-picked fuji apples, with some advanced notice.

We also still have some second grade $1 per lb. apples for baking. The apples are really not bad, just not super pretty. The baking variety is Enterprise. There is a minimum quantity purchase required for our baking apples. And I need a bit of advance notice to pick those. Simply text me if interested.

Thanks!

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