We would like to thank our customers for our best season ever! To show our gratitude, our remaining 8 varieties of apples are only $1.00 a lb. No minimum. Saturday, Nov. 7 will be the last day to pick apples. If you would like more apples after Nov. 7, windfall apples ($.50 a lb.) will be available from the store. Please call first and let us know when you'll be coming. 815-338-7443
SPECIAL Buy 1 peck---get one for free!
Be sure to drop by our Facebook page and our PHOTO GALLERY. Photos were taken 9-27-09 around the orchard.
U-Pick Orchard Hours: Monday-Saturday:. 10:00 am - 5:00 pm.
Sunday, Noon - 5:00 pm ..
Our Story
Homestead Orchard is a quiet place in the country to pick 20 varieties of apples, pie cherries, pears, and red raspberries. Come and sit under one of the oldest and largest maple trees in McHenry county. Relax and see and hear nature all around you. Come inside the 1880s horse barn, which is our store, and find hand crafted items, glassware, and maybe some antique furniture for sale. We also sell our own honey from our own bee hives along with beeswax candles made one at a time.
There is a separate room to honor WWII veterans with memorabilia like photos, books, maps, model WWII airplanes,magazines, and 3 dioramas of Omaha beach[with sand from Normandy] battle of the Bulge,and Iwo jima. There are over 200 books for sale of WWII plus airplane models and also many WWII Hollywood movies for sale.
The fragrance of dried perennial flowers permeate the store, many of which are hanging from 
the beams. Crunch some 'sweet anise' between your fingers and take in the aroma. These are for sale too. We dry our own birdhouse gourds then make them into birdhouses or carve them with a hole in the back, to illuminate for the holidays.
Also for sale are: Dried apple chips (containing no additives), dried hobby apples for hobbyists, and our very own chocolate mint TEA...the aroma and taste are great!
Keeping bees is a natural for pollinating the apple blossoms and starting in August we start selling our 'clover honey' and later in the summer we sell the wildflower honey. We use the 'cappings' that the bees use to seal each honey cell to make beautiful beeswax candles which are all made one at a time, by hand. These candles are for sale in the store in the natural color of light yellow or dyed many different colors. Beeswax candles burn very clean and very slow and do not drip unless they are in a draft.
We are in the process of grafting different
'heirloom' apples that most of you will not be
familiar with. Some will date back to colonial
times. A graft should produce apples in 2 seasons
but could produce the same year grafted.
'Spitzenburg' dates back to 1790 and is said to be
the favorite apple of Thomas Jefferson. It is a
yellow apple with red stripes and dots. It is a
very good eating apple.
'Baldwin' dates back to Massachutetts, 1740. It is
blush red on green and streaked with red. It is an
all purpose apple and wonderful for pie.
'Wolf River' is a Wisconsin apple from the 1860's.
It is dark red over yellow, and bears HUGE fruits.
It is famous for....."One apple will make a whole pie"
'Snow Apple' comes from Quebec and dates back to
the 1600's. It is red over white with pink tones.
Good for eating, pies, cider, and juice.
"Cox's Orange Pippen' is from England-circa 1830.
Yellow and red streaked with red. It is a very good
dessert apple .
'Gravenstein' was planted as early as 1850 in nothern
Calif. It is red striped, crisp, juicy, and sweetly tart.
The red stripes are on green skin. An all-purpose apple.
We are sorry, but for insurance reasons, no dogs are allowed in the Orchard.
Contact Don or Barb at: 815-338-7443 or E-Mail donburda@comcast.net
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