What to Expect

Here is what one satisfied customer wrote about us after her group visited!  Visit her at san-diego-travels.com.

There are 4 or 5 U-pick apple orchards in Julian, but the one we like best is "Apples and Art Orchards" at 1052 Julian Orchards Drive (applesandart@sbcglobal.net).

"Apples and Art Orchards" is more than just apple picking.  The owner, gives you a 20 minute talk about how to pick apples and a good hunk of apple information.

For example, did you know that an average American eats 45 pounds of apple per year?  Of an entire apple, a quarter of it is air (that is why it floats in water).  After you've had your fill of apple-lore, it’s time to get your fill of apple picking!

The owner will escort you around the orchard and give you hints and tips on apple picking. As well, she will tell you the variety of apple which you are picking.  Some of the trees at the "Apples and Art Orchards" are 50 years old (they need to be 5 years of age to bear fruit). You may find: Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Jonathan, Gala, Arkansan Black, Fuji, Jonagold and new strains like Fiesta, Greensleeves, Queen Cox, and Liberty plus vintage airloom apples.

After you have filled your bag, go back to the house and get ready for apple cider making!  The owner prepares the hand-crank apple press and supplies the apples for pressing.  About 50 apples are washed and then loaded into the top of the apple press.  Turn the wheel to coarsely chop the apples.  Once that is done, the turn the crank to apply pressure and manually press the juice out of the apple chunks.  Then comes the even more fun part: drink freshly squeezed apple cider!  It’s sweet, refreshing, and contains flavors from different types of apples.

What do you do with all that apple pulp after extracting the juice?  Feed them to the chickens, of course!  Not exactly part of “apple picking”, but certainly a part of the fun.  The owner will feed the chickens and, while they are busily pecking at the apple pulp, the owner may sneak into the chicken coop and bring out newly laid eggs.