Apple picking in New Hampshire is more than just a way to way to spend an autumn afternoon- it’s a rite of passage. Every year children travel to Moose Hill Orchards to find the largest, juiciest fruits and pumpkins they can reach before handing them off to mom and dad for the carrying.
Mack’s Apples is the oldest family run farm in New Hampshire with a long and fascinating history. Since 1732, the Mack family has been operating things along with a dedicated team of pickers and staff. Nowadays, the orchard has become one of the spots in the area for picking apples. It may have to do with the nearly 100 acres of apple trees on the property. Or, it could be that families have been coming here with their children and grandchildren for generations.
Family is a theme at Mack’s Apples. Mike Cross is the farm manager and he has seen the farm grow and develop over the years. He’s been a part of the family since he was a young man. His own father worked for Mack’s before him. Cross said he and some of the other staff have been there nearly 40 years. One of their pickers is the daughter of two pickers who met and fell in love at the orchard. The Store Manager, Rose Searles, is also a second-generation Mack’s Apples worker. Her father, like Cross, worked at the farm for most of his life. “She’s like the energizer bunny,” Cross said. “Runs all day!”
Cross proudly explained that Mack’s Apples is one of the only farms he knows of in the area that uses an “American Harvest crew” to pick the apples. Other farms may use migrant workers that only work a few seasons, but the pickers at Mack’s have a lot of returning faces. “We get a lot of the same people every year,” said Cross. They in turn help to recruit others to join. “It works out pretty well,” chuckled Cross.
But professional pickers are not the only ones who get to handle the goods. The main draw for Mack’s Apples is the “Pick-Your-Own” orchards. Mack’s has been allowing guests to come and get their own apples since the 1968. “We were one of the first ones around here to do pick-your-own,” said Cross. They keep things simple for the thousands or so people that show up to pick their apples. “We don’t do the corn mazes and hayrides and stuff like that,” that other farms and orchards do, according to Cross. People come and pick their fruit and maybe buy something from the farm stand on their way home.
With the season in full swing, the “PYO,” as it’s labeled, is open every day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Guests can stop at the kiosks for a bag and pile in as many as they can. There are also PYO peaches and pumpkins. Last year’s weather made for a terrible season across the state. Cross explained how no one had any peaches due to the harsh conditions. “They got frozen out.”
This year looks to be better. The drought of last summer is gone and this year had enough rain to make the apple trees burst with fruit. “Everyone has a good crop this year,” said Cross. “Apple trees always come back with a big crop off a small crop.” He even went on to call it a “100 percent difference” in how much fruit there is available.
Everyone has a favorite type of apple. Some like Macintosh for its juiciness. Others like Cortland for how well it holds up in pies. Cross said the top two sellers so far are the Honey Crips and the Macouns. There are five types available to pick right now in the orchard, and 10 available at the farm stand on Mammoth Road. There’s a type for everyone, regardless of if you’re using them for baking, making apple sauce like Cross, or just, good old-fashion eating.