Martin's Hillside Orchard

Explore the Orchard

Upick Fun

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On tap for picking this weekend:

  • Apples – Pink Lady and Evercrisp
  • Pumpkins – all sizes
  • Flowers – Yay! Yes, we still have beautiful flowers available. There were threats of frost this week but our flowers escaped the threat of a freeze. Lots of zinnias and cosmos for you to choose from
  • Cider – lots of fresh pressed cider available (for those wanting cider after our season closes, just give us a call to schedule a pickup)

October 30th will be the last day of our 2025 season

Looking for unique holiday gifts? Check out our Apple Barn – jams, jellies, craft items, and candles, including the Black Raspberry Harvest candle. It’s our new favorite this year and given its lush purple color we are betting it will pair well with your Halloween decor

Want to work at the orchard next year? – If you are interested, please reach out. We need team members who can cover retail sales as well as tractor drivers for our wagon rides and all-around orchard help, e.g. picking apples/pumpkins, making cider and donuts, etc.

Apple Crumble

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All it takes is some apples and a few pantry ingredients and you can whip up this bit of tastiness in no time. Recipe courtesy P. Allen Smith.

We can’t decide whether it makes a better dessert or a sweet breakfast item. So, we’ve just decided to go with both! Start your day with this crumble and if there is any left you can enjoy some as your last course in the evening.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

 

Apple Fritters

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YUM!

Look at this fried scrumptiousness!  Another recipe from The Pioneer Woman. Yes, a theme here, but we are finding that she puts together recipes that no only taste great but are easy. Simple + Yummy = Awesome!

Ice cream scoop

You don’t need special equipment but I used a cookie scoop/ice cream scoop like she suggested and agree that is totally the way to go. My scoop was a bit too large but I only filled it halfway and the results make me think of footballs. A plate of delicious fried football fritters. What’s not to love?

The Pumpkin Haus Rules!

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How did this bit of silliness come about?

pumpkin hausThe inspiration: Simple. P Allen Smith’s Pumpkin House It’s awesome. We tried to find the frame he used but it had been discontinued 🙁

No worries, we are Nebraska Strong! In the midst of the coldest winter in quite some time (last February) Barb suggested: “Why don’t we use the gazebo out front?” That’s the one we built back when we grew strawberries? Booyah! Lightning in a bottle, etc, etc

Flowerpot rings

The build: So, September 17th Jen and Christy (Martin kids/adults) got together to do a bit of decorating. Armed with a power drill, 70 flower pot rings, lots of straw bales, and a boatload of heirloom pumpkins, they got to work. Not exactly following a blueprint, but that was half the fun.

Photo Ops: We had a family approach us halfway through our build asking if they could take a pic. We cleared out the supplies and stepped aside. We figured we must be onto something good. We hope you enjoy!

Candied Apples

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Straight from our favorite food personality, The Pioneer Woman herself, comes another tasty apple offering – candied apples.

These things are simply stunning. Tasty as well as evidenced by Alex making multiple references to them: “Boy, those candy apples you made last week were really good.”

Guess we might have to prep another batch for his late September birthday. Shhh! Don’t tell. Don’t want to ruin the surprise.

 

Tip: We found that if you store the candy apples in the refrigerator they will retain their glorious shine. Leave them out on the kitchen counter that shine will dim. But, they’ll still taste good.