Apple-picking season will look starkly different across New Jersey this fall, as a late-spring freeze has wiped out the crop at the state's oldest pick-your-own orchard.
Battleview Orchards in Freehold announced that it will not offer apple picking this season due to severe damage caused by a late April freeze. Family members operating the farm noted that in five generations of ownership, they have never experienced a total loss of their apple crop like this.
Despite the loss in the orchards, the farm remains open to the public. Battleview operates a year-round country market, where visitors can still buy fresh produce, freshly baked pastries, and their signature apple cider donuts made with sourced apples.
Other farms across the Garden State are navigating similar challenges following the spring weather anomaly as the autumn season begins.