Hours

Weekend of 9/4

taproom

3-8 Thursday

3-8 Friday

12-5 Saturday

12-6 Sunday

Farmstand / PYO

3-7 Thursday

3-7 Friday

9-5 Saturday

9-5 Sunday

*Please refer to Events Calendar or Google listings (Farm / Cidery) for private event closures or special holiday openings which may occasionally affect these hours.

What’s Pickin’?

Weekend of 9/4

Blueberries

One variety (Elliott) is still available for pick-your-own. The time to stock up for winter is upon us. This will be our last week and weekend of blueberry picking for the season.

Plums

Limited quantities of five varieties of plums will be available pre-picked in the farm stand beginning Thursday at 3 pm:

● Long John: An exceptionally beautiful blue plum. Large and oblong, firm sweet flesh. Magenta color created when cooked with the skin. Bred at Cornell by John P. Watson at the NYS Agricultural Research Station in Geneva, NY, and released to the public in 1993. This is a very versatile plum—great for fresh eating, dehydrating, cooking, jams, sauces, etc. 

● Rosy Gage: One of the richest and sweetest plums around. It is a real mind blow! This plum came through some unique breeding work done by three plum gurus up in Geneva, NY in the 1980s using an open pollinated seedling of Imperial Epineuse (another fantastic gage-type plum). Oblong in shape, rich and sweet if left on the tree to ripen.

● Fortune: A classic California plum. Large firm fruit, dark red skin, and yellow flesh. A nice balance of sweet and tart flavor. This plum was developed by the USDA in Fresno, California and introduced in 1988. Great for fresh eating, salads, and jams. I have not dehydrated this one yet, but I suspect it could be a good candidate.

● Elephant Heart: A heart-shaped plum with reddish-bronze skin. Freestone, red-fleshed, juicy, and very sweet with tropical flavors. Developed by Luther Burbank in the early 1900s in California. Extremely limited quantity.

● Jefferson: As U.P. Hedrick wrote in his large edition of The Plums of New York, published in 1910, Jefferson is one of the most "handsomest" and "choicest" plums, as well as "one of the best dessert plums". It had quite a history in New York, but fell out of favor because it wasn't a great market plum, meaning that it didn't travel so well, and would end up at its destination bruised up. Jefferson was originally raised by Judge Buel, Albany, NY around 1825. Anyways, it is a larger, oval, oblong shaped yellow skin, yellow fleshed, clingstone plum. Flavor is sweet and mild. A rare and very special plum indeed.

Apples

Three varieties of apples are now available for pick-your-own:

● Fulford Gala: The most widely planted variety across the globe. This is a solid blushed strain of Gala that was noticed in New Zealand by W. Fulford in 1983. Most Gala strains are identified by their stripes, while this one has a pretty, bold, and solid blush. This strain in particular is exceptionally beautiful—red with lovely lenticels. A true sweet apple. A friend of mine calls them "monotonal", and for those that love a properly sweet apple, this is a nice and simple pleasure. Great for fresh eating and dessert making. This variety is located in the Pump Pond Block and can be found on the westernmost row. We will also have plenty of these pre-picked and available at the farm stand.

● Jonamac: Introduced in 1944 at the NYS Agricultural Experiment Station. A cross between Jonathan and McIntosh. Acidic and slightly tart now, and in the next couple of weeks as the fruit hangs, they develop some sweetness and more balanced flavor. It turns out, these trees are some of the oldest on the farm here, planted in 1978 and 1979. For this week, look for the darkest fruits as they will be the ripest and have the fullest flavor. This variety is located up the main orchard road, Center Hill Block, on the righthand side of the road. There are four rows, situated between the Empire.

● Honeycrisp: The legend itself is back! The highly sought-after Honeycrisp was released in 1991 by the University of Minnesota. This is a beautiful apple with mostly red streaking over a greenish background. The patterns and designs on the skin are quite incredible. It is pretty singular in its sweet cruchiness—a one trick pony, so to speak. The texture is rather rare in that the cells of the flesh are large and break away very cleanly, allowing the sweet juice to almost explode in one's mouth. Note: Honeycrisp is best spot-picked. The fruits that are currently mostly green will be better in the coming days as they mature and color up more. This variety is also located up the main orchard road on the righthand side after the Empire and Early Fuji. There are four rows that extend all the way to the Pines. We will also have plenty of these pre-picked and available at the farm stand.

We will have five more varieties of apples pre-picked at the farm stand:

● Pipsqueak: This is a seedling of Frostbite (a uniquely flavored apples) that was raised by the apple legend John Bunker in Maine around 2005. After genetic testing, it turns out that the pollinating parent is Chestnut Crab. Makes sense. Sweet, with tropical notes. They are super cute with the large lenticels that give them great character. Great for fresh eating or making whole baked apples. 

● Kerr: A truly special fruit. This variety was created by crossing Dolgo and Haralson done by W.L. Kerr at the Canada Experimental Farm in Manitoba and was introduced in 1952. Striking garnet red turning to deep purple skin, small, roughly 1-1.5" in diameter. A very condensed and robust flavor - sweet, tart, and heavy on the rose flavor. Great for eating if you are into a little more complex and intense flavors. Makes phenomenal jams/jellies. 

● Chestnut Crab: (Melba x open-pollinated) This gem of a fruit was released by the University of Minnesota in 1946. Larger than your typical crab apple, averaging 1.5"-2" in diameter. Mostly sweet, well-balanced acidity, and a unique nutty flavor. Great for fresh eating (the kids go wild for these treats), sauce, and pickles. 

● Paula Red: The apple that stole my heart and brought me into the game. Some call it a mediocre apple, they may be right. But for mid-August this apple really shines. Discovered in 1960 in Sparta, Michigan, and introduced in 1967. White flesh, firm, crisp, juicy, and nice subacid flavor. 

● Ginger Gold: A seedling apple variety that appeared in the orchard of Clyde and Ginger Harvey in Nelson County, Virginia in 1980. It is a medium to large apple (there are some real whoppers hanging out there now!), round to oblate, with green to yellow colored skin. When the skin turns yellowish, it is ripe, crisp, and juicy with a pleasantly sweet flavor. The cream-colored flesh is slow to oxidize making it great for salads and desserts as it holds its shape when cooked.

Flowers

We planted a small field of zinnias again this year and they are really popping up and blooming now! They are located in the Center Hill and Pines Blocks. If going up the main orchard road, take a right as soon as you cross over the culvert pipe before you get to the first row of apple trees. Continue walking towards the right and look left. If going from the blueberries, walk up the secondary orchard road and they will be on your left and right after you've passed a few rows of apples trees.

Our sunflower field is now open for picking as well! They are located up the main orchard road, directly on the left after passing the Farm Stand Block. 

On the Radar

More plums and apples on the horizon!

Join us in the taproom Thursday through Sunday through the harvest season for locally-crafted drinks and food pop-ups. Keep an eye on our events calendar for upcoming live music, featured ferments (tastings by other NYS makers), classes, festivals, ticketed dinners, and more. See you soon!

Browse our Food Vendor and Events Calendar.

See Rajiv Surendra’s recent visit to the farm for HGTV Handmade!

Follow Our Adventures:

Find Out More:

Address:  14 Rose Hill Farm, Red Hook, NY 12571

Conveniently accessible from I-87 and the TSP yet peacefully tucked away off the beaten track.

Directions from NYC: Take Taconic State Parkway N to exit 67 (toward Pine Plains/Red Hook). Turn left at NY-199 W. Enter Village of Red Hook, NY-199 becomes Market St. Turn right onto Route 9. Turn right at Fraleigh Lane. Make left into Rose Hill Farm.