Well, this season was terrific for apple picking at Ridgefield Farm. So good, in fact, you picked us out. Good thing we picked plenty ahead of you, because at the store we now have lots of Jonathan, Mutsu, Fuji, Stayman and Honeycrisp.
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All Picked Out!
September 24th, 2011 by alan
It’ll be literally Raining Cats and Dogs on Saturday!
October 22nd, 2010 by alanWe are so please to host a second annual Rescued Pet Adoptathon to take place during PumpkinFest at the farm this Saturday, October 23, from 11 am – 3 pm.
My mom, Barbara Gibson, with Archie, our newest adopted dog.
The Animal Welfare Society returns this Saturday with lots of rescued cats and dogs for immediate adoption to qualifying families. Stop by their tent on Ridgefield Farm next to the Pumpkin Patch and browse the selection of adorable dogs and cats that will shower affection on their new owners.
“At the Animal Welfare Society Adoptathon last year Scott Beard and I adopted Archie, a Corgi/Lab mix, and he instantly became a valued member of the family. We can’t imagine the day without Archie. He immediately fell in with our other two rescued dogs, Kelly (16) and Popcorn (12), and they all get along famously together,” said Alan Gibson, Ridgefield Farm co-owner with Beard.
“It is our hope that families looking to add a new pet to their families will consider a rescued dog. Between us we have a lot of experience with rescued animals, and the amount of love and affection they bring to the family is very powerful. So when you come by this Saturday to pick pumpkins, why not pick a pet, too?”
The Animal Welfare Society was formed to provide care and protection for suffering homeless and unwanted animals, to educate the public in respect to humane treatment of animals and to encourage and assist in the enforcement of laws against mistreatment of and cruelty to animals.
The Animal Welfare Society of Jefferson County, WV was incorporated in West Virginia on February 7, 1952 as a non-profit corporation.
Ridgefield Farm and Orchard, in Harpers Ferry, WV, has been open to the public for over 22 years providing a farm experience for every season and is pleased to host the pet Adoptathon for a second year.
The Real Housewives of Jefferson County at Ridgefield Farm
September 21st, 2010 by alanEvery year we try to outdo ourselves with our PumpkinFest Hayride and pumpkin people, and this year we present the Reality Hayride Hall of Fame, featuring “The Biggest Loser,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “The Bachelor,” “Bridezilla,” “America’s Dirtiest Jobs” and of course, “The Real Housewives of Jefferson County.”
Please join us on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am – 5 pm for PumpkinFest. The Hayride is only $3 per person, and the Kids’ Corn Maze is only $3 per person. Get them both for $5!
PumpkinFest Details – click here.
16 Varieties of fresh apples starting now!
August 26th, 2010 by alanIt’s time to make that transition from peaches to apples. I know, I know. A lot of you think “it’s too hot for apples,” or “I’m just not finished with peaches yet.” But here we are at the end of August, and at least 3 varieties of apples have already matured!
Ginger Gold, Gala and Honeycrisp.
So speaking as a grower, don’t put off enjoying fresh apples too long, because the “just picked” taste is best savored, well, when they are just picked.
Right now enjoy America’s #1 apple, Honeycrisp, where exceptional crunch, taste and juiciness all come together in very sophisticated layers of flavor. Dozens of customers from all over the area reserve their Honeycrisp months in advance, and others constantly email us to see when they will be ready.
Gala and Honeycrisp are now available at our farm store (open Fri-Sun 10a-5p) and at the Shepherdstown Farmer’s Market (Sun. 9a-1p).
Blackberries, Plums and Peaches, Oh my!
July 16th, 2010 by alanJoin us this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, join us for our incredibly large and juicy blackberries. Also, local sweetcorn, peaches, Shirot plums (those amazing little yellow ones we’ve had for years), and, of course, yellow and green squash.
Don’t forget our new summer hours at the farm: Friday, Saturday and Sundays from 10 am – 5 pm, and at the Shepherdstown Farmers’ Market Sundays from 9 – 1.
Ridgefield Farm opens for the season with perfection.
July 3rd, 2010 by alanWe’re opening the season with about the most perfect food found on our planet! BLUEBERRIES! And here’s why.
We’ve got lots of blueberries and yellow and green squash. Also, we’ve gotten some outstanding Eastern Shore sweetcorn that you always hope your friends will bring you back from the beach.
In the coming weeks we’ll have our usual abundance of peaches and blackberries, as well as the fresh farm produce people have come to expect from Ridgefield Farm.
Please make a note that our hours have changed. Until the fall, we will be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 5 pm.
Also visit us at the Shepherdstown Farmers’ Market from 9 am to 1 pm on Sundays, in Shepherdstown, WV.
Farmers start every year 3 weeks behind.
April 8th, 2010 by alanThanks to Old Man Winter hanging on to every day he could, everyone around here has been working double time to get the farm ready for planting. The cold, the rain, the cold again, then the floods from the melted snow, then the wind…finally, we can do something outside. And, we’re already 3 weeks behind.
Apple trees are pruned, the flower and vegetable gardens are now prepared, and we’ve begun to plant what we can. Another 1200 Christmas trees just arrived, and they have to be planted right away, so that means finding a spot for them and preparing the soil.
The huge snow before Christmas crushed our high tunnel and everything in it, so we’re now erecting new one. It’s crucial to get it up again, because of course, it holds Ridgefield Farm’s Halloween International House of Panic. We were making a lot of progress until we discovered that we were missing parts, and that much of what we got was wrong. So we shifted gears again and went back to fertilizing and weeding.
Manuel has a couple of newcomers working with him in the fields this year, George and Ovi, and we’re delighted to have them on board.
The pick your own strawberries look to be fantastic this year. I can’t imagine how they survived the winter with several tons of snow piled on them for 3 months.
A freshly cut Christmas tree will last forever (sort of).
November 18th, 2009 by alanPeople who cut their own Christmas trees each year do so because they appreciate the freshness, the color and the unparalleled fragrance the tree brings to your home at the holidays. Equally important, though, is the fact that fresh trees hold their needles far longer than store-bought trees.
True story: in late May this year, a gentleman and his family had just finished picking strawberries at Ridgefield Farm, and as he was checking out, he made a point of telling me he had just thrown out the Christmas tree they’d cut from our farm last year. Naturally, I had to tell him I hoped it hadn’t been in their living room the whole time, and thankfully, it hadn’t. Nevertheless, he said that all the needles were still on the tree when they threw it out in May.
Now that’s a testimonial!
You really thought Christmas trees grew that way?
November 13th, 2009 by alanJudging from a random sampling of our customers, I’d have to say most people assume fir trees just grow naturally into lovely, conical Christmas trees. Truth be told, we spend much of the summer shearing West Virginia Balsam, Douglas, and Concolor Firs, so they’ll be perfect for the holidays. They can be pretty wild looking. Here are before and after shots of one such West Virginia Balsam, the hands down favorite at Ridgefield Farm.
Beautifully shorn Balsam Fir ready to be chosen and cut by a lucky family.
West Virginia Balsam Fir in need of a trim.
Our Pumpkin Butter is served at the North Pole!
November 4th, 2009 by alanWe ship lots of our apples and preserves all over the US, but today we filled an order that sent Pumpkin Butter to North Pole, Alaska!
Barb is going to have fun telling her grandchildren about that package.