Peaches
At Gundersen Orchards we are known for our ripe, juicy peaches. Over the years, we love trying new varieties and currently grow over twenty varieties. All of these peaches has slightly different looks and flavors but all of them are delicious. The earliest variety to ripen is called Earlystar and is ready for harvest towards the beginning to middle of July. The latest variety is a new one called Victoria. It ripens almost two months later than Earlystar at the end of September. Growing so many varieties ensures that we have fresh peaches to pick throughout the majority of the market season.
The secret to the fresh, juicy taste of our peaches is the fact that we are a small farm. This allows us to keep close track of our various varieties and wait to pick them until they are perfectly ripe but still able to bring them to you without bruising. We never store our peaches in the cooler after picking for more than a couple of days.
Apples
Since we grow so many different varieties of apples we have a flavor for everyone. Our apples range from the sweet and crunchy honerisp to the bold and tart braeburn. We also sell a pie mix which is a combination of varieties that are ripe which make excellent pies and baked goods that my grandmother absolutely loves.
Apple Cider
Another one of our customer favorites is our apple cider. A few fun facts about our cider is that we try to blend as many apple varieties that we are picking to create a deep balanced flavor that people keep coming back for week after week. We love to mix tart apples, sweet apples, yellow apples, and red apples all together with creates a nice dark color and great taste that you cannot achieve using one or two varieties. The apples for our cider are all from the trees and never off the ground. It is also UV treated not pasteurized, which keeps its excellent flavor. The best part is that the only ingredient is Gundersen Orchard apples from Michigan, no added sugar or preservatives!
Grapes
Grapes are a relatively new endeavor for our farm and has grown to over 100 vines on our farm. We grow two different varieties called Jupiter and Marquis. Both grapes are meant for fresh eating and deliver bold and unique flavors that you cannot find in grapes at the store. Make sure to check them out in late summer and early fall!
Berries
Berries are another fruit we enjoy growing on our farm. We have Blueberries, Raspberries, and Blackberries. Our specialty would have to be blackberries. We only grow the varieties that produce the biggest berries with the best flavor. Some of my personal favorites are Apache, Natchez and Ouachita. We try to only pick the blackberries that have turned fully black so that they have developed the best flavor.