While the origin of many apple names is obvious, like Golden Delicious or Honeycrisp, others are more obscure. So it is with Northern Spy. Herman Chaplin is credited with planting the first tree of this variety in East Bloomfield, New York, in the early 1800s. The tree didn’t survive though (it was reportedly killed by rabbits), and Roswell Humphrey, who planted sprouts from the tree, produced the first actual crop of apples around 1830.
That same year, a popular “dime-store” novel, “The Northern Spy; or, the Fatal Papers” by J. Thomas Warren, was published. The story is about an abolitionist who set up safe houses to help slaves escape to Canada. He then went south and, masquerading as a slave catcher, talked plantation owners into letting him interview slaves, supposedly to gather information on how escapes were being carried out. Instead, he provided his interviewees with routes to his safe houses.
No one knows for sure if the apple was named after the book, but no other explanation has presented itself. It’s a versatile apple, good for eating, baking, and sauces, a good keeper, and it’s got a good story to boot!
Carlson Orchards, 115 Oak Hill Road, 978-456-3916
Pick-your-own apples, check the Facebook page for daily updates on varieties. In the store, Paula Red, Honeycrisp, Gala, Cortland, Northern Spy, Empire, Golden Delicious, and McIntosh apples, as well as utility apples (including Honeycrisp). Outside the store, Brookdale Fruit Farm’s corn, tomatoes (including organic cherry tomatoes), green peppers, yellow and green string beans, zucchini, summer squash, Delicata, acorn, Fiesta acorn, buttercup, butternut, and spaghetti winter squash; pumpkins, mini-pumpkins, gourds, and Indian corn. Store is open daily 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pick-your-own hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Online ordering with curbside pickup is available; see the website for details. Masks are required in the store and the orchard. Handwashing stations available.
Doe Orchards, 327 Ayer Road, 978-772-4139
Pick-your-own Macoun, McIntosh, Ruby Mac, Empire, Golden Supreme, and Cortland apples; check online for the latest picking information. At the stand, Honeycrisp, Gala, Macoun, McIntosh, Ruby Mac, Empire, Golden Supreme, and Cortland apples.
Open every day 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Masks are required at the stand and in the orchard; handwashing stations available.
Old Frog Pond Farm, 38 Eldridge Road
www.oldfrogpondfarm.com
Pick-your-own fall raspberries Thursday to Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Check the website to make sure patches are open; they may close temporarily when picked out. No pick-your-own apples this year. At the self-serve farmstand on the porch: certified organic produce, including apples, Bumble Bee and heirloom tomatoes, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, kohlrabi, sweet peppers, and garlic. Also at the stand, the farm’s own raspberry and blueberry jam and flowers. Masks required at the stand and while picking fruit; children need to stay close to their accompanying adult while in PYO areas; disinfectant available at the stand. The farm’s outdoor sculpture exhibit is open Tuesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; see the website for details.
Westward Orchards, 178 Massachusetts Avenue, 978-456-8363
Pick-your-own Macoun, McIntosh, and Cortland apples. At the store (open only for online ordering with porch or curbside pickup): Honeycrisp, Cortland, Macoun, McIntosh, Ginger Gold, Gala, Red Jonathan, Empire, and Gala apples, mixed varieties of pears, plums, nectarines, and watermelon. Tomatoes (regular, heirloom, and cherry), kale, collard greens, romaine and red leaf lettuce, regular and Japanese eggplant, broccoli, cabbage, bell peppers, hot and specialty peppers, summer squash, zucchini, cauliflower, beets, regular and fingerling potatoes, mixed herbs, winter squash, pumpkins, gourds, and cornstalks. Pickup is available (masks required) 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Pick-your-own hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Restrictions in the orchard due to COVID-19 are in place, see the website for details..
Willard Farm, 218 Still River Road, 978-456-8291
At the self-serve farmstand: white corn, peppers, pumpkins (including Polar Bear), mini-pumpkins, gourds, and winter squash, including Red Kuri, Delicata, Carnival, acorn, buttercup, spaghetti, and butternut. Masks are required; one person per family only at the stand. Handwashing station available.
Masks and social distancing are requested at all sites.
All produce listed is Harvard-grown unless otherwise noted.
Brookdale Fruit Farm is in Hollis, New Hampshire.
—Compiled by Joan Eliyesil
