Business & Tech

Smith Farm Apples Still Available for Thanksgiving Pies

Lucienne Witkowski remembers trekking from her house through the woods as a kid, sometimes cross country skiing or snowshoeing in the winter, to get to Smith Farm, where she started working at age 13.

Now her parents Frances and Lou Witkowski own the farm and she lives on the property, growing and selling apples and other produce. They bought it from Max Smith in the late '90s and he farmed there until he passed away at age 93 in 2001.

Lucienne Witkowski remembers Smith as a knowledgable and soft-spoken "Yankee farmer" who believed that a "man's word was his hand shake." His dog, Lucky, a shepherd mix, always sat faithfully on the right corner of the store as customers came in.

Many developers tried to make Smith offers to buy the farm, which is in a prime real estate location in Avon with beautiful views. But Witkowski said he did not take any of them up on their offers.

The farm is one of the last ones in Avon. There is another called Stonewall Farm across the street and the Thompson family's Sunrise Farm, which sells hay, is around the corner, both on West Avon Road. The Pickin' Patch on Nod Road also still sells apples and has absorbed the Avon Cider Mill brand. 

Carrying on his legacy, she said she's happy to sell apples in the town where she grew up, often seeing many familiar faces and regulars stop in.

"I liked to plant and watch it grow," Witkowski said. "You reap what you sow."

Last year, Smith Farm lost about 80 percent of its apple crop when the blossoms froze on the trees, but this year the apples are "bountiful," Witkowski said. There are 40 varieties of apples this season at Smith Farm, which typically picks its apples from mid-August to September. 

The farm still had plenty of apples in stock for Thanksgiving apple pies and eating and will be open on Thanksgiving.

Witkowski said that picking the right apple for your pie depends on your taste. She recommends Granny Smith, Ida Reds (tart and firm), Winesap (firm, crispy and thicker skin), Baldwins (firm and tart), Rhode Island Greenings (firm, tart and juicy). 

"Some people like a tart apple," Witkowski said. "Some people can only eat sweet."

It costs $7 for half a peck of apples or you can buy individuals for $1.79 a pound. 

Smith Farm donates its leftover apples to FoodShare in Bloomfield and food shelters in Hartford. Two years ago, they contributed 750 crates full to people in need. 

The farm store, which also carries its own jams and honey, as well as maple syrup that Witkowski's friend, Greg Lapan produces in New York. Jams cost $5 a jar and customers can get 25 cents back if they return the jar and Smith Farm reuses them. The honey comes from East Windsor resident Jeff Schultz's bees. 

The store is open from about 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., daily and year round. The farm is open at 841 West Avon Rd. For more information, call Witkowski at 860-670-2394. 


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