Ricker Hill Orchards

Apples and Climate Change

WHEN IT COMES TO APPLES and climate change, people tend to think of major weather events. Three significant events combined to…

Apple Windfall

BY MID-OCTOBER every year our house is brimming with apples and flowing with cider. The apples run the gamut from early…

Apples Good As Gold

MOST PEOPLE think “red” when they think apple. The vast majority of apples feature the color, after all, and popular cultural…

Peach Perfect

FEW DESSERTS or snacks are as sweet, juicy, and tender as a ripe peach from close to where it was grown…

Hot on the Orchard Trail (Macouns are in!)

THIS WEEKEND many orchards will begin harvesting Macoun, one of the most highly anticipated apples of the New England harvest. …

Flowers in the Orchard

APPLE GROWERS are great gardeners. It stands to reason, as they have the skills and passion for growing things on…

Suncrisp apples, Tougas Family Farm, Northborough, Massachusetts (Russell Steven Powell photo)
Good Now, Better Later: Idared and Suncrisp

SOME APPLES, like fine wines, improve with age. Two relatively new varieties, Suncrisp and Idared — are examples. Their flavor…

Fall Foliage in New England Orchards

THE ORCHARD is a beautiful place in all seasons. October is an especially good time to visit — there are…

Gingerbread Easy as Applesauce

A GREAT USE for our fall bounty of New England apples is also among the easiest to make: applesauce. All…