Pine Crest Orchard will complete the 2017/18 harvest of deciduous fruit with the last apples being picked on Anzac day – April 25. We will then be closed until the first stone fruit ripen in the summer of 2018 – November or December. We thank you all for your support and bearing with the ups and downs of the last season. We look forward to welcoming you to our orchard again for the 2018/19  season and sharing with you again the vagaries of another unpredictable fruit season.

John, Erica and all our great Pine Crest orchard team

It is mid March and mid season for apples with the Fuji apples great at the moment and Jonathan, Jonagold and Golden Delicious still available. Granny Smith start in 2 weeks (March 23) and Pink Lady 2 weeks later again, around April 6 God willing. We also have limited quantities of blood plums and Chinese pears for picking.

Birds, bats and black cockatoos have inflicted heavy losses on our non-netted areas so visitors will note extra netting and curtains you need to push aside to enter the netted areas for picking.

We have the first chestnuts for the year and they are terrific. Enjoy them in a variety of ways. Roast them, micro-wave them, boil them or add them to a casserole. They taste great.

Lastly, advance notice that we will be closed on Good Friday. If you among the massive crowd that visited us last Good Friday you will understand why. God willing we will open Easter Saturday and Sunday but not Easter Monday

Apple season is in full swing. We have the biggest crop of early Fuji ever and they are now ripe and ready.  The Jonathans are great now, and despite losing heaps to fruit bats because they are not under net we have plenty for you this weekend. Many Golden Delicious have also been lost to the bats but those under the net are now ready together with Jonagold and a few Red delicious. This weekend – Feb 23, will be the last for Gala which we have been picking since Australia day.

The pears have also suffered greatly from bats and apart from a few Chinese pears will finish this weekend.

Advance notice that we will be closed on Good Friday and on Easter Monday but God willing we will open on Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday.

Hope to see you soon and keep eating apples.

The very hot weather in January and the abundance of fruit bats has finished off the peaches early this year. Now the good news. The Gala apples are ripe and ready in great abundance and as they are under the netting you can pick them without having to compete with the fruit bats.  We also have new very sweet apple ready right now which is very appropiately called “Sweetie”. Williams pears are also ready and by mid February the Red Williams and Packham pears will be ready. Remember that these pears only ripen after picking and need a period of chilling in your fridge to induce ripening. For Williams 24 hours is long enough but Packhams require 7 days. We have a big crop of excellent apples this year so expect God willing to be open each Friday, Saturday and Sunday until the end of April.

First apples are now available for picking together with blood plums and peaches. We plan to open each Fri, Sat and Sunday until late April. Note we will be closed on New Year’s day (Jan 1). Gala apples are expected to be ready for Australia day (Jan 26).

We will be open from 10 am – 4 pm for peach and nectarine picking. This is a change brought about because the fruit are ripening faster than anticipated. There are both white and yellow fleshed peaches as well as a few plums and apricots. Apricots are $5/kg and other fruit $4/kg. Sorry for the short notice. Follow us on face book.

As anticipated the cherries were picked out by midday (Dec 2) but we have heaps of peaches and plums to pick before Christmas. Because all the peaches are ripening early this year we plan God willing to open on Dec 16 and 17 and again on Dec 22, 23, 24 so you can enjoy our peaches for Christmas. The apple crop is looking great and we are busy thinning them out so that they size up. The first apples may even be ready for new years day.

We will be open on this Saturday 2nd December. There will be Cherries for early birds $12/kg, apricots $5/kg, peaches, plums and nectarines and plums $4/kg. Hours are 10am – 4pm. All pick your own.

We have a few cherries and Apricots for picking when they ripen. This is expected to be Saturday November 18 when we will open God willing from 10am until sold out which is likely to be before midday. We can supply picking buckets for $2 each or you can bring your own. Cherries will be $12/kg and apricots $5/kg. Please check this web site for confirmation before coming on Nov. 18 as the weather always makes crops and their maturity time a bit unpredictable. Our main season when peaches, plums and then apples and pears will be available commences on December 26. From then until April we plan God willing to open each Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9 – 5.