It seems like a no-brainer,. You want an apple, you just pick it from the tree.

Not so fast!

There is a method to apple picking. And, when you use this technique, you will know the apple is ripe. I learned this from Rick Julian who, with his wife, Sharon, owns and operates Lake Ida Apple Farm near Lake Park, MN.

Rick took me on a tour of the orchard and, as we picked and tasted several of the apple varieties, he gave me the tip:

“You don’t pull,” Rick said. “You roll the apple to the sky. If it’s ready (ripe), it will come off.”

There are plenty of apples to choose from at the Julian’s orchard. The varieties they have include:

• Ida - sweet juicy early apple. Medium to small in size. A kids favorite. Ready around Aug. 1.

• Red Duchess - Juicy, good eating, pies, cider and jelly. Ready around Aug. 15.

• Beacon - Wonderful for eating. Ready around Aug. 20.

• Hazen - Mild flavor, pleasant for eating, cooking and dessert apple. Ready around Sept. 1.

• Northern Lights - Slightly tart. Large apples good eating and cooking. Ready around Sept. 15.

• Red Baron - Crisp, juicy and pleasantly acid. Good eating, pies and sauce. Good keeper with refrigeration. Ready around Sept. 15.

• Sweet Sixteen - Yellow flesh. Very sweet, crisp, juicy with aromatic flavor. Excellent dessert apple. Ready around Sept. 20. Stores well under refrigeration.

• Haralred - Juicy, tart, firm and a good keeper. Redder and a little sweeter than Harrison. Ready end of Sept. Best after a light frost.

• Haralson - Tart, juicy, crisp fruit. Great pie and eating apple. Keeps well. Ready about Oct. 1. Best after a light frost.

• And over 40 varieties of crab apples from tart to sweet. Ready late Aug. til October

  And it’s not just apples. The Julian’s also raise asparagus which is available in spring.

…About the farm…It’s a family thing…

Sharon’s aunt purchased 40 acres with a farm on the “other side of the pond.” She lived there for six to seven years until she moved into assisted living. Rick and Sharon purchased the farm in 1992. That was 1992.

..And the vision…

Rick had an idea…a vision for the property. If the couple could plant apple trees, it could be a retirement project for them, he thought.

The plan was to operate a “U-Pick” orchard.

The location seemed a good one. There were few, if any, apple orchards west of Detroit Lakes, MN.

It wasn’t such a wild idea, really. When the two lived in Michigan, known for it’s apple production, they planted a few apple trees at their home there. And, when they moved to the Minneapolis-St.Paul area, they planted more at that home.

It was a training ground for them. When they would visit other orchards, the two would learn from other apple growers. They gained knowledge in what was involved in growing fruit trees and selling the produce from the farm.

Once they purchased the land, the two started planting apple trees in the mid-1990s. He recalls how, in 1994 as they developed the orchard, the land was a hay field. They drilled holes for the trees and had flags spaced about 25 feet apart.

“Bambi” came along and ate the young delicious trees. His next step was to install a solar powered fence.

Once they overcame the initial planting phase and challenges, the trees grew.

The Julians wanted to be organic and, as apples fell off, they took the time to pick them all up and remove them from the orchard. This kept pests and disease from the orchard. It was a lot of work, but the trees grew and go to be about 15 feet tall, he said. .

Below-zero temperatures during the winter of 2007-2008 proved to be a tough one for the orchard. Over half of their trees were killed below ground, he said. About 550 made it. Today they have around 200 trees in the orchard.

Regular maintenance. . .

Regular maintenance is a must to keep the orchard healthy. That involves a fair amount of pruning. They don’t want one branch to rub against the other, he said. And, to keep pests at bay, he hangs red sticky traps to catch maggot flies and also hornet traps.

They water the trees as much as they can. This was a regular activity last year due to drought in the area.

There are weather challenges to deal with, he said. One year they hail damaged the apple crop. There was a 52 MPH wind gust with hail.

“It took everything off the trees in July or August,” he said.

They mow paths through the orchard making it easy for customers to pick their own apples. And they have ladders to get the apples that are beyond normal reach.

The store…

The apple season starts around August 15th. The orchard store is open form 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekly and orchard hours from 9 a.m. to 6 on Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. U Pick by appointment during the week.

And it is a U-Pick operation.

The store itself is an interesting stop. Rick has, over the years, collected a number of interesting birds’ nests and hornets nests. (Yes there are no hornets in them anymore. But the nests are interesting to look at with their fine papery walls).

Check out Lake Ida Apple Farm’s Facebook page for picking information during the season and look up their webpage at lakeidaapplefarm.com for more of the story, recipes and details about the farm.

Recipes….

My son is celiac so I look for gluten free options whenever I can and I found a recipe for a stove top apple crisp that could also serve as a great ice cream topper. Okay, most would put the ice cream on top of the crisp, but whether it’s on the bottom or the top, it’s a great dessert.

It’s also an easy dessert. Here goes…

Stove Top Apple Crisp

2 Tbsp butter

2 packed Tbsp brown sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

-Add this all to a medium-sized skilled and stir until melted and bubbly

Add a scant 3/4 c. gluten-free old fashioned oats plus a 1/4 c of sliced almonds, stirring often until topping is fragrant and slightly toasted. This should take 4 to 5 minutes. Scrape the topping onto a piece of parchment paper and set aside to cool.

The Apples!

To the same skillet, add:

2 Tbsp butter

1 packed Tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

-stir until melted and bubbly

Add 2 medium sized peeled and cut into bite sized pieces of apples (about 2 c.)

Turn the heat down and cook for two minutes with little stirrlng. Cook until the apples are tender, but still have a little bite. This may take 3 to 5 minutes.

To serve put a scoop of apples in bowl, top with crunchy topping and….ice cream or whipped cream.

And, from my Aunt Adeline…

Our dear Aunt Adeline, or Addie as she was affectionally called by many, passed away a few days before Christmas. She was 92.

She never married, but loved children and she took great care of her 10 nieces and one nephew.

Addie was dedicated to her career. She was a nurse and, coupled with a Masters of Education degree from the University of Minnesota, focused on nursing education. Whether it was in the classroom or continuing education for nurses, she was, again, dedicated to nurturing others.

And she was quite a cook. At her funeral, our cousin Linda brought several of her items for all of us share. There was jewelry and pictures and…COOKBOOKS!

I was fortunate enough to receive her recipe box and found a treasure trove of goodies! (Addie was quite a cook as well.)

Here’s one that’s quite tasty!

Apple Walnut Squares

4 c. course chopped peeled apples

2 c. sugar

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 c. vegetable oil

2 c. flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c or so of chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine apples and sugar and let stand 45 minutes.

Beat together all dry ingredients.

Then alternate flour mixture, then apples putting into egg/oil mixture. fold in walnuts.

Grease 9 x 13 pan and bake 45 to 60 minutes.

Enjoy!