Peak of Apple Season at Knaebe’s Apple Farm

Autumn is in full swing here in Northeastern Michigan and, at Knaebe’s Apple Farm in Rogers City, apple season is at its peak.

Since taking over the decades old orchard in 2021, Scott Kromer and his wife have expanded across their sprawling 118 acres in Rogers City and are excited about this year’s harvest. “Everything from the trees we have here from the wild apple trees in the woods are loaded, we had really good pollination this year,” he said. “It seems like the little bit of drought conditions we had earlier in the year effected the size a little bit but definitely not quantity.”

With a large harvest, certain varieties flourish. “The honey crisp are always a favorite, and we have a strong crop of honey crisp this year,” said Kromer. “The gala are my personal favorite and there are a lot of them on the trees this year. We’ve picked those for a long time. That’s what really adds something special to the cider, in our opinion.”

The trees may be full of fruit now, but the last third of apple season will be soon be here. “We’re coming into a lot of our mid to late season dessert apples right now, and this is our sixth week of the season. We go through the first week of November before we shut down,” Kromer said.

Kromer and his team use their abundance of apples to produce cider, hard cider, and baked goods. All are sold on site as they continue their season.