You are in for a real treat this week and next as you discover (or re-discover!) the Sansa apple. Don't let the unassuming, "unattractive" appearance of this gem fool you. Remember the old adage, 'Don't judge a book by its cover'. Here at North Star, you are wise to do likewise with fruit appearance.
We planted our first Sansa trees about 18 years ago and pretty quickly realized it was a high quality apple which was difficult to grow to perfection. Now in 2017 we have 80 trees in production. This year we have produced one of our best-flavored and abundant crops of Sansa ever. When I walk my dogs around the farm in the evening, it is currently my favorite snack apple. They are so delicious and easy to eat, I can eat two or three just walking around the farm. And I'm pretty particular when it comes to apple flavor...so I hope you'll appreciate this ugly duckling as much as I do.
And now, for a bit of true apple "geekery":
This year things will be looking mighty different at market, as there will be very few, if any, Asian pears for sale at our stand. Asian pear fans are already saddened and confused by this sudden change of events, so here’s what’s going on…
Hello! My name is Zoe Yost, and I am fourteen years old. The founder of My Tern!™, I sell cards of my original artwork and photographs with 100% of the proceeds supporting the 
It's time to meet the farmers growing your food!
I first came to North Star Orchard on my dad’s birthday (in 2012), when we planted the 
Meet teosinte. You might be surprised to learn that the rather unappetizing morsel pictured to the right would give rise to a much more recognisable staple. Genus Zea, a group of plants in the grass family, encompases all modern domestic corn varieties and their wild cousins, the teosintes. Corn’s sudden appearance in the archeological timeline was a mystery to scientists, until they looked closely at the DNA. A mere five genes separate corn from its ancestral precursor, and both plants have the same number of chromosomes. The two can even produce fertile hybrids! How did wild teosinte become the corn we know today?
"My tricorder can't make heads or tails of this thing, but I hear it's helpful for farms. Beats me - I'm a doctor, not a annelidologist!" 
Don’t let anyone ever tell you farming isn’t a year-round job. It most definitely is. Even when it isn’t harvest season, there are still planning sessions and a slew of tasks vital to making the rest of the year run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. This is especially true at North Star Orchard!
Are you an early adopter as well as a Foodie? Then you’re going to LOVE this!
Welcome to "Warm Winter #2" (the implied #1 herein referred to being last winter, 2016).