Apple Orchards & Farms
The spring and early summer have been a welcome after the winter months. The wildlife has awakened, the grass has turned green, the trees have sprouted leaves and the flowers have bloomed into glorious shades of vibrant colors. The kind spring and early summer have been kind to the local apple orchards and farms around Hendersonville. The trees bloomed as nature provided the cool mornings and warm afternoons that turned the blooms into many delicious varieties of apples. A visit to the orchards is a great way to enjoy the picking apples, enjoying nature at its finest, and perhaps seeing some of the wildlife wandering through the trees. The kids will love picking apples, learning about farming, and enjoying the fun.
The area around Hendersonville is known for its apple orchards and the season-ending Apple Festival traditionally held on Labor Day weekend. But why wait for the festival as you can visit the orchards now! Below are some of the areas better know orchards that the family can enjoy during the summer.
A working just south of Hendersonville, McConnell’s grows a wide range of fresh vegetables in addition to their apples. Known for their apples, they also offer blackberries, corn, strawberries, potatoes, blueberries, squash, peaches, green beans, tomatoes, and a host of other favorites. Pears, cherries, ginger, cabbage, and cucumbers are available as well as melons during the summer months.
At the end of summer and early autumn, apples, peaches, and pears are plentiful. Fresh cider from the orchard is available. McConnell’s Farm has a unique No Fruit Left Behind program in which some of each fruit in set aside for the production of dried fruits, preserves, and spreads, fresh cider, and farm-fresh ice cream are available in the market.
Lyda Farms is a working farm just north of Hendersonville. The farm grows a wide variety of apples that include Gala, Macintosh, Honeycrisp, and Granny Smith’s to name a few. In addition to the orchards, the farm grows a wide variety of fresh vegetables that includes beets, collard greens, corn, three kinds of green beans, red and Vidalia onions, peaches, and four different kinds of potatoes.
The peppers are now grown and ready. There are over a dozen different types of peppers available with the traditional red, green, yellow, orange, & purple varieties, and a variety of medium to hot peppers. All the fresh and grown on the farm. They also offer several different types of hot sauces made from the fresh hot peppers. Peach cider and preserves are available.
Around Labor Day and in the early autumn and fall, the pumpkins ripen in time for Holloween and Thanksgiving. With ten different types of pumpkins available, there is a perfect type for your every kid’s jack-o-lantern and for your cooking needs.
The apples and produce of Lyda Farms are available at the market located on the farm.
A small 12-acre orchard outside of Hendersonville offers over a dozen different types of apples, including Pink Lady, Arkansas Black, and Matsu. Along with the traditional favorites Granny Smith, Jonathan, and others. The apples are freshly pre-picked and available at the country store located on the orchard. The store also cabbage, sweet potatoes, locally grown tomatoes, and potatoes. The bakery offers some of the finest apple pies and dumplings, turnovers, tarts and fritters, pumpkin and apple bread, cookies, and cider around The store offers some “canned goods” such as apple butter, jellies, and preserves. A variety of apple, pumpkin and peach butter, sourwood, and wildflower honey.
There is a train that takes the kids and family around the orchard and farm. Train rides are available on weekends with weather permitting.
Make your plans now to visit Grandad’s as they open on July 24th! The orchard is a 100-acre family farm that grows 20 different types of apples. The orchard has a combination of pre-picked bags of apples or you can venture out to the different parts of the orchards and pick your own. There is a Country Store and Bakery where you can sample fresh apple cider, try their doughnuts, pickup pies, cookies, and other treats. In the early fall, the pumpkins will be ripe just in time for Halloween and Thanksgiving. You will need to make a return trip to grab one and pick more apples for pies.
The kids will love the family activities around the farm. They will have a corn maze as quick as the corn gets high, a cow train that cruises around the orchard, apple cannons, the barnyard petting, and feeding corral, and the ever famous goat.
A visit to Grandad’s will quickly become a family favorite!
