Custom Grafting!

Now taking custom grafting orders for Spring 2010.

Would you like to have a tree just like Grandma’s or maybe your favorite apple variety fresh from your own tree? We can custom graft one for you!

Do you need help with where to plant your family orchard? We’d be happy to help you choose the right site and tree spacing. We also will be available to consult or personally train you in tree training and maintenance.

We prefer to graft onto MM111 semi-dwarf rootstock. MM111 produces a strong tree that can really take the high winds of Kansas well. It is a long lived tree that will produce a mature tree in the 15-18 foot tall range and produces fruit much sooner than standard trees. Because of personal testing and customer feedback this is our rootstock of choice and is what we graft 80% of our trees on.

We take orders for spring grafting until the end of February. Because we are dealing with Mother Nature we cannot guarantee that we will get 100% of our grafts to take successfully so we ask that you give us possible alternates in your order. All trees will be grown in reused or recycled containers with a mix of potting and native soil for a balance of vigor and reduced transplant shock. We prefer to offer trees in pots as this allows you as much time as you need to get your site ready. You can plant your tree at any point up until first snowfall.

We charge $15 for a custom grafted potted tree with a $5 deposit per tree upon order. We also have access to thousands of other apple varieties not listed on our website so please email us your request and we’ll do our best to find your variety. Please note that we will not graft patented varieties.

Other orchards to visit...

We have been picked out for the season. We are still offering tours for school groups & organizations and & our very popular bonfire bonanzas. Call us for more information.


If you would still like to experience picking your own apples, please visit these orchards. We may very well see you there!


Fieldstone Enterprises
This is an amazing orchard about 40 minutes from here with large trees & lots of varieties!
Contact Info:
http://www.fieldstonee.com/
kenkrause@embarqmail.com
7049 E 149th St, Overbrook, KS 66524
785-665-7643
Hours:
Tuesday-Saturday 10:00am-6:00pm
Closed Monday
Sunday 1:00pm-6:00pm
Directions from WWO:
Take Edgerton Rd S. Turn R onto US-56. Turn R. Travel about 34 miles to S Stubbs Rd. If you reach the town of Overbrook, you went too far. Turn R. Go about 1 mile to E 149th St. Turn L. Orchard is on the L & well-marked.
Directions from US-56:
Take US-56 West past Baldwin City about 19 miles to S Stubbs Rd. If you reach the town of Overbrrok, you went too far. Turn R. Go about 1 mile to E 149th St. Turn L. Orchard is on the L & well-marked.

Vertacnik Orchard
A great little orchard just 18 minutes from here between Eudora & Lawrence off of K-10. They have pick your own, & picked varieties of Red & Golden Delicious, Jonathan, Jonagold, Gala, Gold Blush & Granny Smith.
Contact Info:
1403 E 1850 Rd, Lawrence, KS 66045
785-842-4428
Hours:
Saturday 9:00am-6:00pm
Sunday 12:00noon-6:00pm
Directions from WWO:
Take Edgerton Rd North. Turn L onto W 143rd St which becomes N 900th Rd/CR-458. Turn R onto E 2200th Rd/CR-1061/CR-458. Turn L onto N 100th Rd/CR-458. Turn R onto E 1900th Rd/CR-1057. Turn L onto N 1400 Rd/CR-442. Turn R onto E 1850 Rd (portions unpaved). Orchard is on L.
Directions from K-10:
Take K-10 W towards Lawrence. Take the E 1900 Rd/CR-1057 exit. Turn R onto E 1900 Rd/CR-1057. Turn L onto N 1400 Rd/CR-442. Turn R onto E 1850 Rd (portions unpaved). Orchard is on L.


Pome on the Range Orchard & Winery
A 25-year old family owned & planted orchard with 25 acres of apples just 30 minutes from here off of I-35.
Contact Info:
2050 Idaho Rd, Williamsburg, KS 66095
http://www.pomeontherange.com/
info@pomeontherange.com
785-746-5492
Hours:
Monday - Saturday 10:00pm-6:00pm
Sunday 12:00noon-5:00pm
Directions from WWO:
Take Edgerton Rd South. Turn L onto US-56. Turn R onto E 4th St. Turn L onto E Nelson St which becomes Sunflower Rd. Take I-35 S. Exit 176. Turn L onto Idaho Rd (portions unpaved). Orchard is on R.
Directions:
6 miles southwest of Ottawa, KS on I-35 at Homewood Exit 176. Turn L onto Idaho Rd (portions unpaved). Orchard is on R.

Apple of the Month - Granny Smith

Our featured apple this month is Granny Smith, an Australian apple with a great story.

Maria Ann “Granny” Sherwood-Smith was born in Peasmarsh, Sussex, England in 1800 and emigrated to Australia with her husband Thomas Smith when she was 38 years old. Late in her life Maria had a compost pile stacked up with the pulpy remnants of some French Crab apples. The French crab tree had been pollinated by an unknown tree in the area. From the seeds in this compost sprang the now famous “Granny Smith” apple. Maria did not live to see how popular her tree would become. She passed away two years before people started grafting the tree in earnest. By the end of the century the apple was winning awards and being cultivated all over the world. The apple is famous for its tangy refreshing taste and firm coarse texture. Granny Smith apples are recognizable the world over. Because of the trees adaptability to various climates and the fruits ability to withstand lengthy time in storage it has become one of the world’s greatest commercial varieties. To this day a festival is held in Eastwood, New South Wales, Australia to commemorate the life and achievements of Maria Smith drawing in 100,000 people. We grow this heritage apple at Wagon Wheel Orchard not just because of its hardy nature but because it has a rich story with an incredible legacy.

Family Farm Fun Day Was a Hit!

Our first Family Farm Fun (FFF) Day was a huge hit! We aren't really sure who had more fun - the adults or the kiddos!

If you haven't read the prior posts, a FFF Day does not involve picking fruit. When you have picked all of the fruit that is currently ripe and we are in a waiting period for the next varieties to ripen, we will have a FFF Day filled with activites like field corn lawn darts, spinning gourds, biting for apples, hedge apple heads, apple naming contest, hay rack rides, maze, slushies, BBQ, feeding the goats, chickens, ducks, catfish and more!
At your request, we are now planning on remaining open after we get picked out for the day so you and your family can still enjoy these activites down on the farm! We will update the Picking Report to the right that we have been picked out for the day and will remain open during the hours posted. We will place a sawhorse at the entrance to our drive stating "No Fruit Picking" and "Family Farm Fun Day".

Join us for our next FFF Day - tomorrow, Saturday 9/19 after we are picked out until 4:00pm!

Family Farm Fun Days? Poll results say ABSOLUTELY!

Are you just looking for something fun to do with the kids? Looking to get out of the house & away from the city? Want to breathe some crisp fall air & experience some good old-fashioned fun? How bout some home-cooked BBQ, slushies, feeding some farm animals & trained catfish, hay-rack rides, a maze, & more down on the farm - a real working orchard?

With the recent unexpected press & amazing word of mouth advertising, we have nearly been picked out for the year! We only have a couple of days of picking left in the season. But we aren't done having fun yet! We love hearing the stories from our visitors about how they had the best time on our orchard & that the delicious fresh fruit was just a bonus! So the thought occurred to us...what if we opened up & just didn't pick fruit? You said you would come! So we are going to give it a try this Saturday September 12 from 12noon - 4pm! If it is as successful as you say you want it to be, we will consider doing more of these! Come hungry & for some good old-fashioned fun!

Reserve your pawpaws today!

We've started harvesting our pawpaw patch! As we continue harvesting the pawpaws, we will sell them out of our Trading Post shop during our open hours. Because the fresh fruit is so rare and very difficult to get, we will be taking pawpaw "reservations"! Simply email WagonWheelMail@aol.com with your name, phone number and quantity of pawpaws desired. They are $3 per pound (approximately 3-6 fruit per pound). We will fill the reservations in the order in which they are received. If your reservation is unable to be filled, we will call you to let you know!

Check out this video of Rick harvesting our pawpaws! http://video.kansascity.videos.vmixcore.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=2211570&item_index=126&genre_id=844&sort=NULL)

Fresh and local, a pawpaw is a genus of eight or nine species of small trees with large leaves and large fruit - a large edible berry with a flavor somewhat similar to both banana and mango and with more protein than most other fruit. It is native to eastern North America and includes the largest edible fruit indigenous to the continent! They are typically understory trees found in deep fertile bottomland and hilly upland habitat. And did you know that the Common Pawpaw is the only larval host of the Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly! Pawpaw pulp is used primarily in baked dessert recipes - pies, cheesecakes & breads, as well as for brewing pawpaw beer. Pawpaw can be used in place of bananas in many recipes! Check out these sites for some fantastic recipes:

http://www.pawpaw.kysu.edu/pawpaw/recipes.htm http://www.pawpaw.kysu.edu/pawpaw/cooking.htm http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/pawpaw.asp

Parking Opens When the Orchard Opens!

We are excited to open today for apples and pears! And Prairie Fire BBQ will be here with their pulled pork!

We open our parking when the orchard opens. So, today, parking and the orchard both open at noon!

So please plan your drive accordingly and arrive sometime after noon when we remove the barricade from the drive and hang the open sign. Please remember that there is only one drive into and out of the orchard - the gravel drive just south of the Wagon Wheel Orchard sign. Do not pull into any other drive in the area - they are all private drives.

We made this decision based on feedback from customers of other pick your own establishments which indicated that when parking opens early, guests come early and wait. What tends to happen is the "day after Thanksgiving shopping rush" where people anxiously wait for the doors to open so they can rush and get what they came for. Early arrivers don't wait in their car for opening, they get out, unload, get ready and when we hang "open" they grab their bag and go, often picking much of the available fruit. Those arriving at opening still have to park, get out, unload and get ready before they can begin picking.

We appreciate your understanding and look forward to seeing you this afternoon!