Eddy's Fruit Farm — Local services in Chester Township

If Patterson’s Fruit Farm, located just up the street, is the big name in regional orchards, Eddy’s Fruit Farm is the overlooked step-sibling (the Luigi to Patterson’s Mario, if you will). Everything about Eddy’s suggests a low-key, low-tech, delightfully low-stress operation. The main store, not as expansive as Patterson’s, contains the usual farmhouse fare: in addition to produce, you can purchase jams and jellies, sauces, pickles, cider, and local maple syrup. Be advised that, like Patterson’s, not all of the goods are local (some of the jams are imported from Maine, for example), and prices tend to run a bit high. Eddy’s self-pick orchards, meanwhile, feature rows of Concord grapes (which were still half tart when I visited, but should be ready for harvest come October) and a grove of (underwhelming) peach trees. According to their website, Eddy’s has a number of additional seasonal fruits, including strawberries (June), cherries (July), blackberries and raspberries (August), and pears (September). However, the main draw here are the apples, tucked away on a large hill about a 15-minute walk (or very short drive) from the general store. Not only does Eddy’s grow the usual staples like Gala, McIntosh, and Honeycrisp (which are specially labeled and sold at premium prices), you can also find Elstar, Ozark Gold, Jonamac, and several other unique varieties. At just over $1 per pound, except for Honeycrisps, and with unlimited free tastings, this is my favorite place to discover new apple varietals and stock up on fruit for all of my autumn baking needs. Since different apples are in season at different times, consult Eddy’s website before heading over to see what’s available (or, come prepared to be...

We should have visited there much sooner as they offer different kinds of fruits depending on the season. It didn't look big from the street and I could not see many cars so I thought this place was not popular. However, we needed to drive further inside to see the real fruit farm. It is beautiful and we picked up Fuji and Melrose apples from trees. Price was very reasonable, much better than local supermarkets. We got 8 x Fuji and 6 x Melrose for less than $10. We already ate Melrose this morning and it was sweet and crispy. Mr. Tom Eddy was very nice and we will definitely go back there often. Maybe check out their Christmas trees as well.

UPDATE: We just recently went back and got apples and grapes. They have Seeded grapes which are great with juice. It is very hard to find seeded grapes. We should have been...

Cute little place, fantastic produce. Cashier tried to double charge me, I'm not sure if he's TERRIBLE at math or if he was intentionally trying to swindle me. He tried to say he was "new" but that might just be a line he uses when he gets caught swindling. Either way, if you go here, be prepared to do some mental math so you don't get ripped off.

Bonus, my daughter did learn a VERY valuable lesson on why it's important to be able to do math in your head on the fly. We also had fun speculating on whether he was a crook or a math...