I can’t remember what inspired my 11 year old self to spend that summer hoeing beets and pulling giant ragweed, but I definitely remember that watermelon. My sixth grade summer I decided that a garden was what I needed out of life. My family had always had a garden, but busy schedules and a lack of TLC had yielded lackluster results. Beets, carrots, lettuce, onions, sweet corn, squash and watermel
on was to be the harvest for summer 2002. “The two most important days in your life are the day you were born, and the day you find out why.” The day I bit into that watermelon turned out to be that day. This was what food could be. It was crisp, tangy and the flavor intensity was unlike any melon I had ever met. I was hooked. Blue butts for the 4-H show, Duroc-Berkshire crosses for the sausage patties, corn for ethanol, soybeans for china. My young life as a grower has been diverse and extremely rewarding. My passion for plants has taken me to Iowa state where I earned the title Agronomist, to rural Wisconsin where I have been committed to helping folks grow more with less, and now to Northwest Illinois where I am continuing my dreams of growing high quality food for high quality folks. Our orchard is located near Elizabeth, Illinois in the scenic driftless area of the midwest. Terrapin Orchards is close to Galena Illinois and is less than 10 miles east of the Galena Territories. Our orchard has 5500 dwarf apple trees in 6 different varieties (Zestar, Premier Honeycrisp, Gala, Honeycrisp, Fuji, and Evercrisp) and 4 acres of strawberries in 4 different varieties. Our strawberry season starts in Early June and runs through the beginning of July. We offer both pick your own and pre-picked berries that are dripping with flavor. We anticipate our first apples to be ready September of 2018. Check back here for updates along the way. Terrapin Orchards also works with Rolling Hills Progress Center on managing their orchard in Lanark Illinois. Rolling hills is a workplace for folks with disabilities that would otherwise make finding a job extremely tough. Rolling Hills Progress Center is funded by the Illinois Department of Human Services, Carroll County Mental Health tax (708), as well as the revenue they make through packaging products and other services they offer. We crop share the fruit grown in Lanark which allows us to sell an additional 25 plus varieties of apples as well as 2 varieties of pears! We are proud to work with the great people at Rolling hills progress center. Thanks for your interest in our farm and for helping put wind in the sails of my dreams. I look forward to seeing you at the orchard soon! Matt
Make sure to make Terrapin Orchards part of your trip to Galena, Apple River Canyon, Lake Carroll or the Galena Territories!
