Sweetland Orchard 

Many of you have been asking where Bob's Bluebird Orchard is this year.  Well, Bob wanted to retire but needed to find new owners to care for his beloved 1,000 tree, 20 acre orchard.  Luckily, Gretchen and Mike Perbix were up for the challenge and bought the orchard which has been re-named Sweetland Orchard.

Falling in love with the beautiful countryside which includes wooded areas and ponds, Gretchen and Mike knew this was the orchard for them.  After many years of research and weekly visits to a family friend's orchard, the couple was ready to start their own.  With Mike's background in chemistry and Gretchen's background in technical communications they have put their skills to good use.  Mike is great at keeping up on research regarding pests and record keeping while Gretchen is finding new ways to get people to come and visit their U-pick orchard.

Only 30 minutes from Bloomington, Webster MN is just North East of New Prague.  Gretchen and Mike are looking forward to people enjoying the more natural experience while apple picking.  The peaceful setting is home to rolling hills and a freshly painted barn in which you can sample the different apples and take advantage of some great educational seminars to learn more about all the varieties of apples and how to use them.   The Perbix's have more than 55 varieties of apples as well as plums and pears.

It is very expensive to get into agriculture and the whole process has taken over a year.  Mike has spent the last year as an apprentice to Bob to see firsthand how to take care of the orchard.  It is a year round job which begins in January with pruning the trees and continues into the early spring with thinning the trees.  Now comes the August market season which brings with it a whole new energy!  The warm spring was great but the early May frost took a toll on some of the early season apples.  Both the chestnut crabs and zestar varieties were hit by the frost but the later season varieties such as the honeycrisp are coming along just fine.

As new homeowners and business owners Gretchen and Mike rely on their families to help with all of the work involved.  "It is definitely a labor of love" Gretchen states.  "We love the lifestyle and it is so much fun having the dogs run around the orchard with us, but it is also a ton of work and thankfully we have family nearby who are happy to help."  When asked what her favorite variety of apple is Gretchen exclaimed, "It changes every week!  So many of the flavors change from week to week but this week it is Sweet 16."

Sweetland Orchard is currently at 7 markets.  Mike's mom Linda is working at the Bloomington Market.  Linda is having a great time getting to know the customers.  She has been a huge help and often takes time off of her full time job to help out at the orchard!

You will find Sweetland Orchard in a new spot on the South East corner of the Market.  Their new spot accommodates electricity so they can bring their fresh pressed apple cider.  Gretchen is also making jam, currently raspberry but will soon have crab apple jam and apple butter.  They also have the apple cider donuts.  You can find out more at www.sweetlandorchard.com   Be sure to stop by and say hello!

We are looking forward to seeing you on Saturday!

Best regards,

Keri Lahl
Market Coordinator