Meet Beechwood Orchards: East Coast Corporate Fruit Delivery Starts Here

September brings an avalanche of fruit to Beechwood Orchards in Biglerville, Pennsylvania. For a few glorious and stressful weeks, Melissa Allen and her family are busy as bees picking peaches, apples, and Asian pears all at once. They sell their fruit at farmers’ markets and to The FruitGuys for its East Coast corporate fruit deliveries to offices like yours.

“We’re picking Asian pears and McIntosh apples today, and we just picked Gala apples at the end of last week,” Melissa told The FruitGuys when we called to check in on her fall crops.

She added that this crazy season sneaks up on her every year. “I’m always thinking, ‘Just wait until we get done with peaches,’ and then things get even busier when we start bringing in all of the apples,” she said. “We have so many more apples than we have peaches! Luckily, I love them and eat about an apple a day during our harvest season.”

Five Generations of Apple Farming

Melissa’s family has grown crisp and juicy apples for five generations. They were the first crop that her great-grandfather Israel Robert Garretson grew after purchasing the orchard (a former tree nursery) in the early 1900s.

“He was a Quaker, and a lot of Quakers moved into this area from the Philadelphia area. They basically started the fruit farming industry here in Adams County,” Melissa said.

Israel sold his apples to Mott’s for apple sauce and raised tomatoes for a nearby cannery. Over the years, interest from those processors fizzled out, so Melissa’s family diversified into other types of fruit. Biglerville’s deep, well-drained soil—called Arendtsville sandy loam by the locals—is ideal for fruit trees.

Today, Melissa co-owns the farm with her parents, David and Tammy Garretson, and her brother, Shawn Garretson. They grow close to fifty varieties of apples across Beechwood Orchards’ 270 acres, along with peaches, nectarines, pears, cherries, grapes, and blueberries.

Melissa’s Top Apple and Peach Picks

Beechwood is a member of the Midwest Apple Improvement Association, which gives the farm access to new apple varieties like Evercrisp® in addition to fan-favorites like the Honeycrisp, McIntosh, and Gala. Melissa said her favorite part of farming is interacting with customers and helping them choose just the right apple.

“I’m always like, ‘There’s an apple for everyone! Let me help you find your apple,’ because we have so many varieties that it’s overwhelming for some people who come to our market booth,” she told The FruitGuys.

Her personal favorites are the sweet-tart Pink Lady® and the lesser-known Suncrisp®.

“It’s a yellow apple, usually on the larger side—sweet, crisp, and good,” she said.

When it comes to yellow and white peaches, Beechwood has almost as many varieties to choose from, including Victoria®, Cresthaven, Messina®, and Autumnstar.

“I really love the first peach we pick, Rich May,” Melissa said. “It’s a yellow peach on the tangy side, and I love the balance of sweet and tangy.”

This season’s weather was a mixed bag for Beechwood’s fruit harvest. Heavy rains caused some cherries, nectarines, and apples to split when they absorbed too much water. (Melissa’s family sends split apples to a local cidery.) But cool nights are helping the apples color up beautifully.

Sustainable Farming Practices for Delicious Fruit

While Beechwood Orchards isn’t certified organic, Melissa’s family uses a lot of organic farming practices. They’re members of the nonprofit Pasa Sustainable Agriculture and use integrated pest management techniques to prevent bugs in the orchard and drive them away with minimal pesticides. When they do spray their trees, they go for near-organic options.

“In fact, we’re using a lot of the same products. The active ingredient is the same; it’s the inert ingredient—less than 0.1% of the product—that sets it apart from organic,” she explained.

Melissa said that going fully organic would be tough where Beechwood Orchards is located. But she and her family take care to grow their fruit sustainably and safely, so you can feel good about every bite.

“This is a family farm. I’m the fourth generation, we all live on the farm, and we all eat the fruit on the farm,” she said.

Get a Taste: Try East Coast Corporate Fruit Delivery

If you live in Pennsylvania, Maryland, or Virginia, you may be able to find Beechwood’s fruit at a local farmers market. The FruitGuys also delivers its sweet peaches and crisp apples straight to offices across the Eastern US!

We’ve partnered with Melissa’s family on corporate fruit delivery for almost ten years, and we’re proud to share their sustainably grown fruit with you. To get a taste, try our Harvest Mix or Season’s Best Box during peak season. You can also check This Week’s Mixes to see exactly what we’re packing in your local fruit, veggie, and snack boxes this week.