The Farmstand at Cold Spring Orchard

When you buy fruit, you help research

Profits of fruit sales from the UMass Cold Spring Orchard along with State moneys, contributions from commercial orchardists, and grants from the Massachusetts Fruit Growers' Association are used to manage our research and education facility.

At the orchard store, you can taste and buy a variety of fruit, some not available anywhere else in the region. More than 100 varieties of apples are grown at the orchard, with 18 varieties produced in quantity. Each time you visit the store you may see new kinds of fruit for sale.

The store also sells peaches, nectarines, pears, blueberries, sunflowers, and eight varieties of pumpkins, including white Luminas, and Cinderellas (said to resemble the storybook carriage). Orchard-made jams and jellies are for sale too, and include strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, sour cherry, grape, and peach.

We use the most environmentally friendly pest-management approaches available. Whenever possible non-chemical methods are used to reduce insect populations and control weeds. In the pick-your-own areas of the orchard, special care is taken to reduce the level of pesticide spraying and to use non-chemical alternatives even when they cost more.

Retail Store Hours

Open self serve Monday thru Friday 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, closed weekends and holidays.

We will be closed from December 17 thru January 1st.

Cash and check (over a $10 purchase) only

Pick Your Own

Closed for the season.

Seasonal Availability

We currently are selling:

• Apples: Crimson Crisp, Ambrosia, Macoun, Cortland, Fuji, Evercrisp, Suncrisp, Goldrush, Caville Blanc,  Shamrock, McIntosh, Gingergold, Honeycrisp, Gala, Hudson, Spencer, Empire, Fuji, Modi, Golden Delicious and Jonagold.
• Bosc Pears
• Bartlett Pears
• Orchard Cider

Apple Harvest Calendar

School Tours

The University of Massachusetts Cold Spring Orchard is a research facility as well as a "working farm." During the fall, the farm crew is harvesting the fruit they cared for all year. During this time we offer informational tours to school groups. All tours are age appropriate and include various aspects of the fruit cycle, harvesting, cider making and marketing. Children will pick a bag of apples to take home.
Tours are given throughout September and October.  Tours will be offered on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday only. Tours are at 9:30 and 11:30. 9:30 tours will require a minimum of 40 students and 11:30 tours require a minimum of 15 students. Tour reservations should be made early; our schedule fills up quickly when the school year begins!

Schedule a school tour at UMass Cold Spring Orchard using our online sign-up form
or call the UMass Cold Spring Orchard at (413) 323-6647 to leave your name, phone number, number of people in group, and the desired date or contact Janet at foy1950[at]gmail[dot]com.

If you have questions regarding tours during the off season, November thru July, please contact the orchard directly @ 413-323-6647

Frequently Asked Questions

Are second or utility grade apples available at a cheaper price?

We usually have 1 peck drawstring bags of utility grade apples available after Columbus Day at a cheaper price. Many of our utility grade apples are used to produce our cider, so they are unavailable for sale at our store at the beginning of the apple harvest season. Please ask the staff at our Retail Stand for more details about availability of utility grade apples.

Are people allowed to pick the apples that have fallen off the trees?

We only allow farmers to come and collect drops for farm animals. This is only allowed after the harvest crew has gone through that particular block and picked all of the apples off of the tree. Farmers can inquire about apple drop availability and a time will be scheduled for them to collect drops Monday thru Friday 8:30am - 4pm, no weekends or holidays. The general public is no longer allowed to collect drops as the risk of becoming sick from eating rotten apples is too high.

Are people allowed to pick their own peaches?

No, we do not allow people to pick their own peaches. Peaches and peach trees are much more fragile than apples. The fruit must be handled very carefully or they can be easily bruised and damaged. The wood of a peach tree is much weaker than that of an apple tree causing limbs to break easily if climbed. We open up various blocks of apples to pick your own throughout the harvest season usually beginning the second week in September and ending the third week in October.

Do UMASS students or employees receive a discount?

Sorry, UMass employees and students do not receive a discount.

I am interested in buying wholesale, how do I become a wholesale customer?

Please call the orchard (413) 323-6647 and leave a detailed message with your name, contact information and the volume you will be buying and our wholesale manager will contact you.

I would like to inquire about receiving an apple donation for a particular group or event.

We do donate apples to various non-profit groups and events. We require that groups show proof of being a non-profit group with a Form 990 at time of pick up. Donation amounts are limited and we like to be fair to everyone who asks for a donation so we ask that groups limit their request to 4 bushels or less. Groups interested in requesting a donation should contact our Donation Coordinator, Dawn Winkler(link sends e-mail).

Is the Cold Spring Orchard owned by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst?

Yes, the Cold Spring Orchard is owned by the University of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Fruit Growers back in the 1960’s saw a need for a research apple facility to be moved off the Amherst campus. A trust was set up and the old Hanifan Dairy farm was bought in Belchertown, MA, as the new location for this research facility. The Mass Fruit Growers then donated the farm to the University of Massachusetts to be run as a research facility for the Massachusetts fruit industry.

Is there a price break if you pick your own apples?

No, our prices for pick your own apples are the same as the prices we charge at our retail stand.

Is your cider pasteurized?

Our cider is not pasteurized. Pasteurization requires that cider be heated, which changes the flavors and characteristics of cider. Instead we use a modern technology that utilizes ultraviolet light, not heat, to kill bacteria but maintains the quality taste and characteristics of a traditional cider.

Is your fruit organically grown?

Our fruit is not organically grown. Instead, we practice Integrated Pest Management.

When will a particular variety of apple be available?

Please refer to our apple availability calendar.

Where do I buy apple trees?

We do not sell fruit trees but there are many nurseries that you could mail order fruit trees. Here are just a few:

• Stark Brothers Nursey
  PO Box 1800, Louisiana, MO 6333
  phone: 800-325-4180
• Wafler Nursery
  10662 Slaght Road, Wolcott, NY 14590
  phone: 315-594-2399
• Adams County Nursery
  26 Nursery Road, PO Box 108, Aspers, PA 7304
  phone: 717-677-8105

Why are there so many apples on the ground at the end of the season?

There are many reasons that there are apples on the ground around the orchard. During harvest, apples that are not colored well, have disease or insect damage or are too small; are dropped by the harvest crew, rather than making it into the apple bin. This is a way that apples are pre-sorted before being brought up to the building.

There is a great deal of research that takes place throughout the orchard. Apple trees are evaluated on a number of levels. One of these is to evaluate a trees ability to hold fruit. The dropped fruit are counted and included in much of the research data that is collected.

Apples that end up on the ground are not wasted. Many times farmers come to collect the apple drops to feed to livestock. If apples are not picked up, they are mowed at the end of the season and help to fertilize next year’s crop.