Peaches are still available for a few more days but will soon end. Blueberries are done. Paula Red apples are in the market. U-Pick Paula's are done. W now have Golden Supreme, Gala, and Honeycrisp in the market. U-Pick Honeycrisp is NOT ready yet but probably soon. McIntosh (we pick) will be available this weekend..
Come and meet "Peaches," our Golden Retriever puppy. You will love "Peaches."
Sparta Festival
The Sparta "Harvest on the Ridge Apple Festival", was a great success in 2009 and 2010 will be even better. You can download the 2010 schedule of events and scarecrow contest rules at www.spartachamber.com . We will also have the contest rules available at the market.
Put Sept. 24-25 on your calendar and consider entering the scarecrow contest.
Steffens Orchards, LLC offers school tours that are approximately 1 ½ hours long. The tour includes the following:
School bus and/or cars arrive at the market. They can park in the parking lot. Buses can also park in front of the field by the smaller red farm building behind the barn. We will greet your group in the parking lot and give them instructions to follow us. If the group is large (40 children or more), we divide them into two groups. Usually there are a number of parents as well.
Group 1 will meet the storyteller in the barn in a prepared setting.They will learn about the life cycle of apples and also pumpkins. Group 2 will board the orchard shuttle and have a tour of the orchard and pumpkin area. During the orchard tour they will stop to pick an apple. Groups will be switched after return of the shuttle. Storytime and tour are about one hour.
The entire group then has cider and an applesauce cookie in the barn or outside depending on the weather. They will go into the market and see the many varieties of apples or we also have a play area. There are no nuts in the cookies or dairy products.
In late September and all of October, we have pumpkins and they can go into the patch and pick a small pumpkin. We have pull wagons that you take to the patch to bring them back. We ask you to bring plastic bags with their names on them to put the pumpkins in. This saves much time and helps us keep the cost down to you.
We don’t always do this in the same order. Sometimes weather conditions dictate that we get the pumpkins and then have the treat in the barn. Also some teachers want the treat at the beginning instead of later. Some groups have also brought their lunches and eaten those after the tour in the yard or the barn.
We try to give the parents and children an opportunity to visit the market so they can see all the varieties of apples.
Kindergartners are required to learn about apples and pumpkins in their course of study, so apple education is very important. Our presentation is very interactive. We want the children to remember what they learn.
For middle school, church groups, high school, adults, etc., we have a 15 minute movie of Steffens Orchards and the apple growing process and marketing. Seniors and Church groups should call 616-887-2404 for pricing and specific arrangements.
The charge is $5.00 per person (child or adult) which includes a small pumpkin to take home. Payment is made before you leave and a receipt will be provided. The teacher and two aides or two parents can participate in the tour for free. Credit or debit cards are accepted.
If you have questions, please call Sharon at 616-887-2404 or email us using the "Contact Us " link. If weather forces cancellation, we will try to reschedule the tour.
After making a reservation for a tour, we will email a confirmation to you. We ask that you complete it and send it back to us. That way we can make sure we accommodate your needs.
We try to give the parents and children an opportunity to visit the market so they can see all the varieties of apples.
