Many of our modern-day apple varieties come from university breeding programs. Such is the case with Honeycrisp, which was released in 1991 by the University of Minnesota, a leader in apple research and breeding since the 1800s. But mistakes were made when researchers recorded Honeycrisp’s parents as Macoun and Honeygold.
In 2004, advances in DNA testing tools led an astute graduate student named Nick Howard to discover that Honeycrisp’s parents were actually Keepsake, a crisp apple with a sweet and tart taste, and an apple simply known as “MN1627,” a variety the university never released and that no longer exists. But Howard was able to identify Honeycrisp’s grandparents on its MN1627 side as Golden Delicious and Duchess of Oldenburg, two apples that are still widely available.
While the season for Honeycrisp apples is waning here in Harvard, it’s just beginning for two Honeycrisp ancestors— Golden Delicious and Northern Spy (a grandparent on the Keepsake side). Grandma and grandpa might not have the cachet of their popular grandchild, but that means they’ll be less expensive. And maybe mixing them in a pie or sauce will simulate the taste that took researchers and nature years to create.
www.carlsonorchards.com
Pick-your-own McIntosh, Cortland, Gala, Macoun, Golden Delicious, Northern Spy, and Empire apples (check Facebook daily for other varieties); cut-your-own sunflowers and zinnias. Available in the store are McIntosh, Cortland, Empire, Ginger Gold, Gala, Gravenstein, Northern Spy, and Honeycrisp apples; cut flowers; locally grown corn, tomatoes, and winter squash, as well as pumpkins and chrysanthemums.
Store is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily; pick-your-own is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
www.doeorchards.com
Pick-your-own Honeycrisp, Macoun, McIntosh, Golden Supreme, Cortland, Ruby Mac, Fuji, Jonagold, and Empire apples. Many of those varieties are available on the stand, along with pumpkins, gourds, and cider.
Stand and pick-your-own hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
www.goodspiritsfarm.com
At the self-service farmstand this week: Organically grown raspberries, blackberries, zucchini, pattypan and crookneck squash, kale, collards, heirloom tomatoes, tomatillos, green beans, and butternut and honeynut squash. Also available at the stand are the farm’s own honey, berry jams (including raspberry, peach, blueberry, and blackberry), dahlia and zinnia bouquets, lavender hand cream, and eggs (in the refrigerator in the adjacent shed) from Harvard’s Goose and Hen farm and Chip-In Farm in Bedford.
Stand is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
www.oldfrogpondfarm.com
Pick-your-own fall raspberries are at their peak. At the self-service farmstand on the porch: certified organic fruit and vegetables, including bagged apples, raspberries, fresh-pressed unpasteurized apple cider, cherry tomatoes, leeks, garlic, flower bunches, and their own raspberry, raspberry rhubarb, and Shiro plum jams, herbal teas, and nettle salt. They are also selling mugs and small bowls made by East Fork, a pottery company in Asheville, N.C. founded by Alex Matisse, who grew up on the farm. All proceeds from the sale of pottery will go to help Asheville recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene.
Stand is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday; pick-your-own raspberries runs Wednesdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
www.westwardorchards.com
Pick-your-own McIntosh, Cortland, Macoun, Gala, Empire, Red Delicious, and Golden Delicious apples. Pick-your-own pumpkins with wagon rides to the pumpkin patch on weekends. Available in the store: Westward’s McIntosh, Cortland, Macoun, Honeycrisp, Gala, Ginger Gold, Golden Delicious, Jonaprince, Baldwin, Red Jonathan, and Roxbury Russet apples; mixed varieties of pears, mixed plums, quince; regular, heirloom, and cherry tomatoes; lettuce, cucumbers, cauliflower, corn, kale, broccoli, carrots, eggplant, winter squash, peppers, beets, collard greens, cabbage, leeks, potatoes, shallots, and mixed herbs. Pumpkins, gourds, and corn stalks are also available.
Store is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; pick-your-own apples from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily; pick-your-own pumpkins on weekends only, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
—Compiled by Joan Eliyesil