Sunday, September 27, 2015

Fall is apple picking season

And thousands of city dwellers head out of the city in v formations, migrating to outlet malls and fields full of fruit trees. For most of Toronto that means a trip to Chudleighs, which is great if you like traffic, seas of humanity, expensive entry fees and apple pies, or you could go to one of the less well known orchards like those found in Brampton along Heritage Road.
The best time to go is on a weekday, but if you want to do a family outing you are usually stuck to going on a weekend. On weekends in Milton the traffic going north on Highway 25, coming off Highway 401 is stop and go as you head towards Chudleighs. Police at the entrance help guide people in and out of the popular orchard and while parking is free, the entrance is $12 each. We decide to go instead to Carl Laidlaw on Heritage Road where the entrance is only $4, their was no lineup getting in and the police didn't have to control traffic.
Fall is also bee and wasp season and the farm leaves some sweet things, like candy apples out in the open to draw the wasps away from people and other sweet treats
A lot of the farm orchards have many varieties of fruits, flowers and squash type things like pumpkins which are especially popular in fall as Halloween approaches. Laidlaw's has an extensive line of apples and pears and lots of sunflowers growing tall in the fields. Succulent apples with names like ambrosia, flemish beauty, empire, russet and tolman sweet make the mouth water and have bakers getting the pie pans ready to go into the oven.
At Carl Laidlaw Orchards you can "sample the varieties that are perfect for picking at our tasting wagon, pick fresh apples and pears, enjoy a wagon ride into the orchards, jump in a hay barn, make an apple pie with us, delight in the grainary, try the barn beam walk, stroll the farm, play with toy tractors , shop in our quaint barn market, peruse the pumpkin patch, roast a hot dog and indulge in a buttered cob of fresh corn (barbeque is available on weekends only)."






Related Posts by Categories



Widget by Hoctro | Jack Book

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the pointer to Laidlaw's Farms. I've been looking for Flemish Beauty pears in the Toronto area, and know it's a short window in the stores, when I can find them. I've missed the picking season this year, and have put a reminder in my calendar for next year.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the pointer to Laidlaw's Farms. I've been looking for Flemish Beauty pears in the Toronto area, and know it's a short window in the stores, when I can find them. I've missed the picking season this year, and have put a reminder in my calendar for next year.

Doors Open

Scarborough Bluffs

Pride

Redball

Beaches

Graffiti

Lake Ontario

Nathan Phillips Square

Transportation