Orchard Fruit

Expect fresh experiences when you walk the fields at Kimmel Orchard. From lush apple and tart cherry trees to colorful rows of pears, peaches, plums, and berries—the opportunity to step in and be a part of a working orchard is a unique experience to share with your family or your students.

Add a little curriculum to your orchard adventure by downloading the Happy Orchard app via your iPhone or iPad App Store for free. Happy Orchard is an innovative series of educational products all designed to help youth and adults better understand the important role of pollinators in food production.

blushing gold apple
Blushing Gold
Harvest:
October

This popular Kimmel pick is sweet, balanced, and similar in flavor to the Golden Delicious, with a slightly tangy flavor commonly found in later season varieties. Bred for disease resistance, Blushing Golden keeps well and tastes wonderful fresh or even baked.

braeburn apple
Braeburn
Harvest:
October

Great for fresh eating and often described as ideally flavorful, this apple offers a well-balanced mix of firm, sweet, and crisp. Its greenish overlay with reddish highlights adds to its appeal, and this variety makes excellent applesauce that requires little to no added sugar. Braeburn trees bear fruit relatively quickly after planting but also require a high level of care.

cameo apple
Cameo
Harvest:
October

The lush yellow skin of the Cameo is covered in red stripes that develop just prior to when the apple is ready for harvest. Its dense flesh ranges from creamy white to yellow with a crisp and juicy texture. Overall, it’s the perfect balance of sweet and tart with hints of honey and citrus.

empire apple
Empire
Harvest:
October

This medium-sized fruit is a cross between Red Delicious and McIntosh with sweet, yet acidic and firm characteristics. The trees that bear this fruit are heavy bloomers and are considered reliably productive by growers.

enterprise apple
Enterprise
Harvest:
October

This variety boasts a long storage life of approximately three to six months when stored in the fridge. With a glossy, dark, red skin, its firm and crisp texture offers a mild tartness that makes it tasty for eating or baking.

fuji apple
Fuji
Harvest:
October

A Japanese cross between Ralls Genet and Red Delicious, Fuji is an excellent and refreshingly complex snacking apple—large, sweet, and juicy with a crisp, fine texture. Its tree requires a very long harvest season and may not ripen before frost in some areas.

gala apple
Gala
Harvest:
September

A very sweet and juicy summer apple, Gala is a cross between Kidd’s Orange Red and Golden Delicious. This small and fragrant fruit showcases yellow undertones with red strains. Its well-balanced, fresh flavor makes this choice a popular one at most supermarkets.

ginger gold apple
Ginger Gold
Harvest:
August

This mildly flavored apple offers a tart finish and has a soft yellow coloring. Ginger Gold offers good quality and lasting freshness for both baking and eating raw.

golden delicious apple
Golden Delicious
Harvest:
September

This juicy, sweet, honey-flavored apple is medium in size and clear yellow in color with occasional reddish highlights. Many apple lovers believe this is what a well-balanced apple should taste like. Its tree is highly productive, bearing on spurs, laterals, and tips.

granny smith apple
Granny Smith
Harvest:
October

With its distinctive bright green-yellow coloring, this apple is one of the most instantly recognizable varieties. Granny Smiths are hard and crisp with a very sharp taste and offer great qualities for both fresh eating and baking.

honey crisp apple
Honeycrisp
Harvest:
September

This cross between a Macoun and Honeygold is crisp and juicy. The sugar to acid ratio is well balanced, and the tree itself is bred specifically for winter hardiness. Its perfumed flavor is somewhat similar to McIntosh.

idared apple
Idared
Harvest:
October

This large, yellow to bright red fruit is firm, crisp and best suited for baking. A cross between Jonathan and Wagener, its flesh is white and tastes mildly acidic, which mellows over time in storage.

jonagold apple
Jonagold
Harvest:
September

Part Jonathan and Golden Delicious, this large fruit is striped red over yellow and tastes juicy and sweet. A very good apple for eating raw, it has a well-balanced flavor and is fine-textured with a bit more acidity than Golden Delicious. Jonagolds are consistently rated as one of the finest culinary apples.

jonathan apple
Jonathan
Harvest:
September

A Kimmel Orchard favorite, this medium-sized apple has a thin, cherry red-blushed skin and a crisp, juicy taste. The yellowish-white flesh has a sprightly flavor that keeps well, dries well, and stores well on the tree. The flavor is aromatic and considered one of the best in the crisp American class. The trees are vigorous growers but remain fairly small at maturity.

pink lady apple
Pink Lady
Harvest:
October

This attractive pink to red fruit has a long growing season that extends well into October. Native to Australia, it requires a very long season and matures several weeks after Granny Smith, so it is not suited to areas that experience early fall frosts.

pinova apple
Pinova
Harvest:
September

Pinovas are crisp with intermediate levels of both sweetness and tartness. The tree produces a heavy yielder, and the apples have an excellent storage life. Yellow in color with an orange-pink flush, it is a good apple for fresh eating.

red delicious apple
Red Delicious
Harvest:
September

Coarse-textured and tough-skinned, this juicy apple is known for its large to medium, tapered shape and pointed bottom. It’s well-adapted to temperate areas and does less well in warm climates, and offers a sweet flesh that bears little acidity.

shizuka apple
Shizuka
Harvest:
September

Shizuka is a large, yellow apple with a red-orange blush. Sweeter with less acid than Mutsu with excellent flavor, this apple has the same origin as Mutsu (Crispin).

suncrisp apple
Suncrisp
Harvest:
October

A cross between a Golden Delicious and Cox’s Orange Pippin, Suncrisps are medium-large, yellow with an orange blush. The fruit is good for cooking or fresh eating and offers a firm, crisp texture and a subacid flavor.

winesap apple
Winesap
Harvest:
October

A popular favorite at Kimmel, this late-season variety is medium-to-large in size with glossy bright red and yellow highlights. It’s tough-skinned with coarse flesh and a tart, subacid flavor, and an aromatic, crisp, juicy flavor. The tree is vigorous, and the fruit stores well.

zestar apple
Zestar
Harvest:
August

The Zestar apple packs a rather tart taste with just a hint of brown sugar. It can produce a delightful fresh apple cider with a bit more zip than other varieties. With an early blooming season and a two-and-a-half-month storage life, Zestar is also great for cooking. This apple has cold hardiness that makes it perfect for colder climates.

Hosui pear
Hosui
Harvest:
Late August – September

With a snappy, tangy taste, this variety of Asian pear is the perfect summer snack with slightly higher acid content.

niitaka pear
Niitaka
Harvest:
Late August – September

Niitaka is one of the larger Asian pear varieties. It’s sweet and juicy while offering more texture than others.

olympic pear
Olympic
Harvest:
Late August – September

Olympic is one of the sweetest in our mix with a crisp, juicy flesh. It’s also one of the best Asian pears for long-term storage.

shinseiki pear
Shinseiki
Harvest:
Late August – September

This pear features a white flesh and sweet flavor, ideal for salads and fresh eating.

apache blackberry
Apache
Harvest:
Mid July - Mid August

This variety produces high yields of top-quality sweet and delicious fruit. Great for out of hand snacking.

cherokee blackberry
Cherokee
Harvest:
Mid July - Mid August

The Cherokee variety is an upright blackberry plant that is grown to be very vigorous, producing large, sweet, firm fruits.

navajo blackberry
Navaho
Harvest:
Mid July - Mid August

This early-bearing blackberry ripens two weeks before other varieties. It is a thornless variety that is easy to pick and a heavy yielder.

balaton cherries
Balaton
Harvest:
Mid June

Superb for homemade pies or freshly processed juice, the fruit from this cherry is much like a Montmorency; however, it’s somewhat larger and firmer and ripens over a more extended time period.

montmorency cherries
Montmorency
Harvest:
Mid June

Meet the most popular tart cherry in the U.S. Its compact tree bears armloads of ripe, tangy, red cherries to make mouthwatering, succulent pies and cobblers.

flaming fury peach
Flaming Fury Series
Harvest:
July - August

There are ten different Flaming Fury varieties grown at Kimmel Orchard, all of which offer juicy, sweet flavor. All of our Flaming Fury varieties are freestone and produce large-sized fruits perfect for baking and fresh eating.

klondike peach
Klondike
Harvest:
July - August

The Klondike variety is a white-fleshed peach that provides a memorable low-acidic flavor. Its large size and lively coloring make this variety a favorite for fresh eating.

red haven peach
Red Haven
Harvest:
July - August

Red Havens were the first developed freestone peach. With a juicy, succulent flavor, this variety is a tasty snack and fantastic for canning and baking.

wings
Autumn Wings Medium
Harvest:
October

A unique gourd of many colors with the fruit shape of a spoon but with wings. Its bulb size is 2 1/2 or 3" in diameter with a neck up to 6" long—a grand addition to our other fancy ornamental selections for the ornamental trade.

bellatrix
Bellatrix
Harvest:
October

Bellatrix is a large, round, attractive orange pumpkin with a strong, dark green handle. It can be 25 lbs or bigger and is an excellent carving pumpkin. 

big apple
Big Apple
Harvest:
October

These apple-shaped gourds have a mottled green color and measure 6 to 8" in diameter. A variety of sizes are produced, and the shape can vary from round to an upright Delicious apple shape. Big Apples are a novel fall crafting item that is a sure hit during our fall pumpkin festivals.

birdhouse
Birdhouse
Harvest:
October

This gourd is a large pear-shaped 10-inch fruit that has smooth skin and can be dried and used as birdhouses for Purple Martins, Bluebirds, or Wrens. 

blue doll
Blue Doll
Harvest:
October

Blue Doll pumpkin has an exotic blue color to its blocky, deeply ribbed shape. Large vines produce excellent yields of 15-20 lbs of fruit that has a blue-colored rind and sweet, deep orange flesh. 

bus stop
Bus Stop
Harvest:
October

This is a medium-sized pumpkin that is great for carving and painting. The Bus Stop is a classic pumpkin through and through! The fruit can weigh 12-15 lbs.

Cronus
Cronus
Harvest:
October

Cronus pumpkins are produced on a large, vigorous vine that has exceptional yield potential. Its fruit can weigh anywhere from 25 to 60 lbs and have an attractive dark orange color, well-defined ribs, and a consistent blocky/round shape. 

giant
Dill's Atlantic Giant
Harvest:
October

This variety of pumpkins is known for producing some of the largest fruit. They can weigh up to 600 lbs, and even the smaller ones are 100 lbs at least. 

early king
Early King
Harvest:
October

Full vines produce good yields of 22 to 28 lbs pumpkins that have medium ribs and a medium-dark orange color. The pumpkins are round to tall in shape and have strong, dark green stems.

gold metal
Gold Metal
Harvest:
October

The Gold Metal is a classic pumpkin with its deep orange skin color and strong green handle. This pumpkin can weigh 30 lbs or more. 

gold rush
Gold Rush
Harvest:
October

This is a 20-35 lb pumpkin. Its deep orange color, thick flesh, and 3-4 inch handle make it a pumpkin patch classic.

speck
Gold Speck
Harvest:
October

This is a miniature pumpkin we have here at Kimmel Orchard and Vinyard. It weighs close to 1/4 of a pound and is perfect for decoration purposes. 

indian doll
Indian Doll
Harvest:
October

Indian Doll is a unique pumpkin variety that adds interest to your fall or Halloween displays. Large, flat, blocky-shaped fruit with deep ribs are produced on full vines and range in color from light orange, medium orange, and pink-orange.

jumpin jack
Jumping' Jack
Harvest:
October

This 20-40 lb pumpkin is a vibrant orange color that has a sturdy handle. This fruit tends to be taller than it is wide.

Kratos
Kratos
Harvest:
October

Vigorous vines with a semi-vine growth habit produce 20-30 lbs of fruit with a flat-round shape, medium ribbing, and large, firmly attached handles. The fruit has a medium-dark orange color.

monster
Monster Smash
Harvest:
October

Complete with slightly flattened/round fruit with moderately defined ribbing 50-150 lb pumpkin.

zeb
Ol Zeb's
Harvest:
October

Ol Zeb's has a unique florescent orange color and has a long wispy handle that gives a particular heirloom look. It can range anywhere from 20-30 lb.

phat jack
Phat Jack
Harvest:
October

This is a pumpkin patch staple and perfect for carving Jack O Lanterns. It is a tall pumpkin with a thick handle and a classic orange color that is 50 lbs or larger.

pie
Pik-A-Pie
Harvest:
October

This is a pumpkin with a large, dark green handle and uniform fruit that can be 5-6 lbs. Pik-A-Pie yields an abundance of excellent quality pie pumpkins.

porcelain doll
Porcelain Doll
Harvest:
October

Porcelain Doll pumpkin is an eye-catching fall ornamental with its striking pink color on large, blocky, deeply ribbed fruit. Large vines produce excellent yields of 20-25 lb. fruit that has a pink-colored rind and sweet, deep orange flesh. 

solid gold
Solid Gold
Harvest:
October

This deep orange-colored pumpkin gets around 25lb and is excellent for painting and carving.

warty goblin
Warty Goblin
Harvest:
October

Warty Goblin pumpkin seed produces heavily warted pumpkins that are frighteningly cool! The round to tall pumpkins has an orange hard shell rind and green warts that stay green for several weeks after harvest. This is an 8-20 lb unique pumpkin variety that sparks interest while in the pumpkin patches.

world of color
World of Color Blend
Harvest:
October

The base of the blend will be a dark red-orange pumpkin that does not fade in the sun. Other colors are largely white, large pink & blue, Hubbard blue, plus peach and other nuances discovered in our breeding nursery. All of the fruit are pumpkin-shaped and will definitely create a new concept in fall displays. These pumpkins can be anywhere from 50 to 150 lbs! 

zeus
Zeus
Harvest:
October

Zeus produces big yields of consistently sized, round fruit, which has large and firmly attached stems. Its rich, dark orange color and medium ribbing give the 16-20 lb pumpkin some natural eye appeal.

chandler strawberry
Chandler
Harvest:
Late May - Mid June

Bursting with vibrant color and flavor, this berry produces the highest yields at Kimmel Orchard.

honeoye strawberry
Honeoye
Harvest:
Late May - Mid June

This is a winter-hardy berry with gleaming, wonderful color and appearance. Its sweet and delightful taste is one of the first varieties to bear fruit in our field patches.

jewel strawberries
Jewel
Harvest:
Late May - Mid June

The Jewel variety is the largest of the berries grown at Kimmel Orchard, the Jewel variety is bright red, glossy, and full of flavor.

asparagus
Asparagus
Harvest:
Mid April - May

Green, fleshy spears topped with tasty bud-like compact heads, asparagus is harvested in the spring when it is 6–8 inches tall. Its succulent taste and tender texture make this nutrient-packed side a healthy and favorable addition to any summertime meal. Asparagus is loaded with healthy nutrients and is an excellent accent to any summertime meal.

bunch of chambourcin grapes
Chambourcin
Harvest:
Late August – September

A French-American hybrid grape, this variety is of unknown parentage and can produce wines of a light-to-medium body with the fruity aromas of cherry paired with earthy, spicy complexities.

DeChaunac grapes
DeChaunac
Harvest:
Late August – September

This is a reliable and productive red French-American hybrid grape widely grown in Hudson Valley. Wines produced from De Chaunac can be deeply inky in color despite its surprisingly light-to-medium body.

Edelweiss grapes
Edelweiss
Harvest:
Late August – September

Developed by Elmer Swenson, Edelweiss is a very winter-hardy grape. The clusters are large and rather loose. Early picking is essential for making wine, and the flavors contain hints of tropical fruit with a clean, crisp, and light caramel finish.

bunch of frontenac grapes
Frontenac
Harvest:
Late August – September

This grape variety was the first release of Minnesota’s new line of cold, hardy hybrids. It has become a standard Nebraska wine grape proven to be reliable. Frontenac grapes produce sound varietal wines as well as some outstanding ports.

bunch of lacrosse grapes
Lacrosse
Harvest:
Late August – September

Lacrosse grapes produce aromatic pear and apricot notes that extend slightly Muscat, citrus, and floral. These grapes are proven to make great varietal wine or blend well with others to add a fuller body and smooth finish.

bunch of vignoles grapes
Vignoles
Harvest:
Late August – September

One of the most versatile white grapes in Nebraska, Vignoles is used to produce wines ranging from dry to sweet and is considered a late-harvest dessert wine. Its luscious floral aroma and fruity flavors of citrus, pineapple, and apricot parallel that of a German Riesling.