Local Apple Orchard Welcomes In Fall

(KNSI) – Collegeville Orchards will welcome thousands of visitors between now and the weekend after Halloween.

Owner Todd Beumer tells KNSI News that he does hire workers to help pick the 25 varieties of apples, plus pumpkins, squash and other gourds, but mostly it is him and his father, who is now 87 years old. As trees die and are replaced, Beumer has turned to dwarf trees rather than standard ones. It is beneficial economically, as well.

“You can actually plant the trees closer together, the rows can be closer together. So in the long run, if you’re starting with a bare plot of ground, you can get more production per acre with dwarf trees than you can with standard trees.”

Standard trees get to be about 25 feet tall, so pruning, spraying, and picking are difficult. Dwarf trees typically reach between eight and 12 feet high.

The orchard produces roughly 100,000 apples a year. Beumer says output is down a touch due to lingering effects from the drought the past two years and heavy rain during the spring blooming season.

Beumer began his career in landscaping, which he says he has mostly wound down now. He bought the orchards in 1999, and a lot of his knowledge is self-taught. KNSI News decided to ask him what types he finds most delicious.

“My favorite is actually probably the Sweet 16 or the Connell red. I like a sweet apple. Obviously, the Honeycrisp and Sweet Tango and stuff like that are also great apples. But it all depends on everybody’s taste buds.”

In addition to apples, the orchard offers hay rides, pumpkin picking, and a chance for children to paint a small apprentice gourd.

There is also a retail store with fall-themed items, plus tea and coffee for when the air gets some bite to it. Beumer grew up on a hobby farm and has incorporated a petting zoo into the facility.