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Get Your Granny Smiths (and Staymans and Braeburns)

A late autumn guide to the orchards.

By Sara Levine ,   Erin Zimmer   Published Thursday, November 02, 2006

Picking apples and pumpkins is an autumnal rite of passage. Though most farms pack up their hayrides come the end of October, a few stay open through early November. You'll find apple varieties such as Gala, Jonathan, Braeburn, Cameo, and Pink Lady (great for eating raw); and Stayman, Rome Beauty, and Granny Smith (great for baking). Here's where you can still haul a few bushels, plus get treats such as homemade ice cream and cider doughnuts.


Virginia Orchards
:

Cows-N-Corn (5225 Catlett Road, Midland; 540-439-4806; cows-n-corn.com)
Best picking: Pumpkins.
Best snacking: Rotating ice cream flavors including Apple Pie, Pumpkin and Oatmeal Raisin.

Great Country Farms (18780 Foggy Bottom Road, Bluemont; 540-554-2073; greatcountryfarms.com)
Best picking: Pumpkins.
Best snacking: Cider slushies and homemade kettle corn.

Marker-Miller Orchards:(3035 Cedar Creek Grade, Winchester; 540-662-1980; markermillerorchards.com)        Best picking: Pumpkins, Fuji, Granny Smith, and Cameo apples, and winter squash.
Best snacking: All things apple— turnovers, cider donuts, apple muffins, and apple dumplings. They've also got pumpkin rolls, pumpkin-carrot cake, and devils food cake with peanut butter icing.

Maryland Orchards:

Butler's Orchard: (22200 Davis Mill Rd., Germantown; 301-972-3299; butlersorchard.com)
Best picking: Apples (including Red Delicious, Jonathan, and Stayman), pumpkins, and raspberries until the first frost. In December, you can cut your own Christmas trees.
Best snacking: Fresh-baked apple and apple-walnut pies, apple spice bread, and cider doughnuts on the weekends.

Cherry Hill Farm: (12300 Gallahan Rd., Clinton; 301-292-4642; cherryhillfarm.net)
Best picking: Apples.
Best snacking: Fresh-baked doughnuts—cake on weekdays and both cake and yeast on the weekends, in flavors such as carrot cake, apple cider, and strawberry—as well as pies, muffins, turnovers and breads. 


Comments


Cherry Hill Farm was great...but it closed down in '05. See: http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=25&sid=597322

Posted by: Mike,

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