10/08/2025
Have a bushel of fun here at the farm this week! The pick your own apple orchard is open daily with 6 varieties to choose from, the market is stocked with a huge variety of pumpkins & mums, and Thunder Belly BBQ Food Truck returns Saturday, Oct. 11 from 11am-4pm (and for a few hours late Friday afternoon from 4pm until we close at 6pm).
Pick your own apples (also available fresh picked at the market) ready for harvest DAILY this week are:
- ALBERMARLE PIPPIN -- NOTE: This variety will only available starting FRIDAY (American heirloom apple first developed back in the 1800's with a rich, juicy, tangy crisp & complex flavor, great all purpose aromatic apple for eating fresh or baking, stores well, also known as "Newton Pippin")
- FUJI (distinctively sweet flavor, crisp & juicy with a floral aroma, great for eating fresh)
- LUDACRISP (tropical, juicy flavor with notes of strawberries, pineapple & grapes; often compared to the taste of Juicy Fruit gum)
- MUTSU (crisp with complex tangy/sweet flavor with hints of citrus, great for eating fresh or baking)
- ROSALEE -- Last call/while they last on this variety (Honeycrisp/Fuji cross, crisp, sweet & juicy, often described as having a "melt in your mouth" texture & floral notes)
- PINK LADY (crunchy & juicy, vibrant sweet/tart/tangy taste, with a hint of honey & citrus notes, a great all purpose apple for eating fresh or baking)
* NOTE: Pink Lady is a nice substitute for the Granny Smith apple variety. Granny Smiths are a very late season variety that doesn't ripen until mid/late November -- well past our main apple season, so we don't grow them. But if you like Granny Smith, we recommend you try the Pink Lady variety. They don't have that "sour" edge like Granny Smith, but do have a tangy, fizz-like burst of flavor. Their crisp white flesh is slow to oxidize, making them a perfect choice for salads and charcuterie boards. The Pink Lady variety was developed by horticulturist/apple breeder John Cripps in 1973. The variety's name was inspired by the name of a cocktail favored by the main character in one of his favorite novels. Pink Lady apples contain significant levels of antioxidants, particularly flavonoids, which offer protective health benefits, including supporting heart health and potentially reducing the risk of chronic diseases like cancer.
Thunder Belly BBQ Food Truck makes a pit stop on Friday, Oct. 10 from 4pm-6pm AND Saturday, Oct. 11 from 11am-4pm. Friday's menu is smoked cheeseburgers or pulled pork sandwiches and french fries. Saturday's food truck menu features your choice of brisket or a pulled pork sandwich, plus smoked mac n' cheese or smoked cowboy beans as sides. Yum! Stop in for meal or have a bite after apple picking. We also have tasty cider slushies at the market and ice cream treats to accompany your BBQ meal.
Pick your own apples are $8.50 peck or $16 per half bushel. Feel free to mix and match apple varieties into your picking container. A half-bushel of apples weigh approximately 22-25lbs. More u-pick apple dates & varieties coming up in October. Feel free to bring your own containers -- or we sell heavy duty plastic half-bushel bags for $1 each or .50 cent peck size bags for apple picking.
Please stop at the market for directions to the U-pick orchard and stop by afterwards to take pics at our photo opp cutouts, and to get a cider slushy, cookie, muffin or a delicious hand-cut donut.
A fresh batch of assorted pumpkins and beautiful garden mums & asters are in at the market for you to decorate your porch & home. AND just in: APPLE GOURDS -- fun apple-shaped gourds that you can leave on a shelf or hang with string and let them dry out over the winter after you've used them in your autumn decor. Once they've dried out, paint them bright red and to use in your apple themed decor or to make adorable apple shaped birdhouses. Or just leave them in their natural beige shade after they dry out, whatever best fits your decor. Stop in & stock up on jack o' lanterns, textured & novelty pumpkins, mini pumpkins and gourds, stacking pumpkins and cute mini straw bales to complete your autumn/harvest/Halloween themed decor.
Hope to see you soon at the market for fresh-picked apples, Amish Country Dairy milk, butter, ghee & heavy whipping cream, ice cold slushies, Jones Farm meat, fresh applesauce & freezer jam made with Hanulcik fruit, tomatoes, bread & baked goods, pie, garlic, onions, potatoes, Lost Fawn Winery wines, Michigan craft beer, Farm Country Cheese curds & cheese blocks, Ebel's meat sticks, Michigan-made Blake's craft hard cider, Engelsma's Apple Barn cider, local in-season produce, honey, maple syrup, ice cream treats, Scherger's Kettle "Taste the Fruit" jams, fruit/nut butters & salsa, candy, handy kitchen gadgets, cookbooks, pet treats/toys, fun tee shirts, and more.
It's going to be another FUN, wonderful fall weekend -- hope to see you soon!
Hanulcik Farm Market & Orchard
Family owned since 1936
Featuring fresh-picked and pick your own fruit.
47 Dildine Road, Ionia MI 48846.
(616) 527-3630
We're on the corner of M66/North State Road and Dildine Road, with two entrances (one on Dildine and one on M66), approximately a mile and a half north of M21.
FARM HOURS:
- 9-6 Monday-Saturday
- 10-6 Sunday
PICK YOUR OWN PATCH or ORCHARD: Please be aware and careful as you walk through the patches or orchards for branches and fallen fruit on the ground. Always use care when walking in the orchard & fields, recognizing that there may be debris on the ground or uneven surfaces (FYI: We do not assume responsibility for any injury arising out of a condition of the soil, trees, crops growing from it, and are not responsible for these conditions).
