Because we grow such unusual varieties, we get many requests for this. However we are not set up to ship at this time. Shipping perishable items is an art itself, and we are not confident we can do so reliably.

We don't have any organized activities or a play area. Our focus is on our fruit and our growing practices. We do have a short nature trail that winds through part of our wetland, and you may visit our sheep (they are friendly!).

There are many great agri-entertainment farms in the area if you are looking for more. Feel free to contact us if you want recommendations.

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Unlike many agri-entertainment farms, we do not have a bakery as part of our orchard. We recommend checking out many of our amazing area bakeries, many of whom use our fruit in their delicious creations. Give us a call/email and we are happy to provide a list.

Recently we have partnered with The Ugly Apple Cafe to bring you apple cider donuts on weekends. Chef Laurel makes these fresh in her kitchen every Saturday and Sunday morning, and then we bring them out to the orchard to YOU! Batches are extremely limited and they sell out very quickly.

We also partner with Tart LLC to bring you frozen, ready to bake fruit tarts made with our apples. These also sell very quickly, so please call first to make sure we have some in stock.

During the fall season we also welcome food trucks to the orchard on select weekend days. Please check our social media for more information.

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Pick Your Own is finished for the current season. PYO 2023 began 8/19 and ended 10/15. Thanks for a great, longer than usual stretch!

We hope to offer PYO again starting in August, 2024.

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Door Creek Orchard is a popular location for photography. Families enjoying a day on our farm during REGULAR business hours, September-November, are welcome to take as many photos as they would like. Professional photographers and their clients are permitted on our farm as well. To provide everyone with a positive, safe experience, these are our guidelines for professional photographers.

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We've been fortunate to have several beautiful weddings of wonderful people at the orchard in the past. However, at this time we've decided to discontinue renting the orchard for special events.

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We accept VISA, MasterCard, American Express ($5 minimum for credit/debit cards), checks, and good ole cash. NOTE: starting September 9th, 2023, all credit card transactions will have an additional 3% surcharge added to the transaction. There is no surcharge for debit cards, cash, or checks. We are doing this to offset the extremely high fees charged by the credit card companies. Thank you for supporting a local, family owned small business.

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We love dogs and other animals too.  However, because of liability issues, the safety of our sheep, and because some folks just aren't fond of animals, please leave your pets at home for the comfort and safety of all our guests (and pets!). Service animals are, of course, welcome.

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Yes. All of our apples, grapes, pears, honey, and sheep are grown and raised on our 80 acre farm. Recently we have elected to not grow pumpkins; the small quantity we sell are grown by neighbor farmers right down the road from us.

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We are members of the Organic Fruit Growers Association, however we are not a certified organic orchard. "Organic” is a legal term that is regulated by the government. To be certified "organic", a grower must use only non-synthetic chemicals on the approved "organic" list. It does NOT mean that the crop is grown without chemicals, just that the chemicals applied are approved, non-synthetics. Pesticides used in organic programs can also have harmful effects on humans, animals and the environment, and must be used carefully and only when needed. 

Though we do not grow using only these "organic" chemicals, we use extremely minimal amounts of chemicals on our crops. Like certified organic growers, Non-chemical techniques are always implemented first (example: mating disruption, visual traps), and we only apply a spray if the levels of one pest or disease rise above levels we are unable to manage any other way. We measure these levels by scouting insect traps, by using weather stations to predict disease, and by visually inspecting for insects and disease. These practices together are called Integrated Pest Management or IPM (See below for more info). When choosing a material for a spray, we consider what will have the least amount of negative impact to our farm-ecology.

In addition, we utilize what to many are "organic" practices in the way we grow and maintain our land. These sustainable practices include:  proper pruning to allow air movement through the trees, mowing sections of the orchard to limit pest habitat, and planting/maintaining friendly habitat for beneficial insects and other animals (such as our marshland, woods, and prairie). We are also constantly exploring other practices to improve the health of our land without utilizing additional chemicals. We truly believe that with hard work and maintenance a healthy farm ecosystem can usually maintain balance all on its own, no chemicals - organic or synthetic - needed. We are constantly working toward this goal. 

For more information on what makes something "organic", read about the different certifying bodies and the standards they use here. 

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Apples are some of the most difficult fruits to grow in Wisconsin. They are not native to North America and have not evolved to fight off the pests we have here. Integrated Pest Managment, or IPM, is our approach to growing tasty apples from healthy trees. This includes pest-monitoring traps and disease-forecasting weather stations. This tactic prevents pests from becoming a problem and reduces pesticide (both organic or synthetic) use. We only spray pesticides if pest levels are high enough to cause substantial harm to our trees and crop. This approach is more time-intensive but is certainly worth the work; we have reduced chemical use (including pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers) in our orchards by 50% or more compared to conventional methods. There are different levels of IPM like anything else. We like to call ourseleves “Ecologically Advanced IPM”.

The majority of our IPM practices involve trapping and monitoring pests in order to identify if and when we need to apply a pesticide.  To do this we use traps baited with a species-specific pheromone to attract the males of that species. Based on the number of insects we see in the trap, we are able to determine if the pest is a serious problem and the best time to spray. At times we also put up extra traps for certain species for a "trap-out" instead of applying a chemical (organic or synthetic) spray.

Weather stations are also important tools that we use to monitor moisture levels in our trees. Fungi such as apple scab require moisture to flourish. If we monitor the threat of an outbreak, we can know if we need to spray at all, as well as being able to time a fungicide application to be the most helpful instead of spraying regardless of threat level as was traditionally done in conventional farming.

Finally, grazing our sheep on rotation in the orchard and careful mowing and grinding up leaf litter in the fall is another effective way of destroying habitat for pests that live in the grass or fallen leaves during the winter. Preventing pests this way in the fall is a great way to eliminate them the following spring and summer - no chemicals needed!

We also work with the wonderful folk at the IPM Institute to help scout the orchard and keep our information fresh and up-to-date. Find out more about the great work they do here.

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Unfortunately, no we don't. We are such a small orchard that we must use almost all of our seconds to make our cider. There are several varieties that are very dry and don't add much to cider (Northwestern Greening, Pound Sweet, Wolf River), so at times we might make these available for sale. We also offer pear 2nds from time to time. Check our "What's Ripe" page to see if we currently have seconds of anything available.

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We grow most standard varieties like McIntosh, Cortland, Empire, Jonagold, Gala, Granny Smith, Golden and Red Delicious. But we really enjoy growing unique varieties - both brand new and heirloom. Please see our Apple page to check out the complete list which currently stands at 88 producing varieties. Or just stop by and try something you've never heard of. We encourage taste-testing in the shop!

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Pink Lady, Jazz, and Fuji apple trees ripen very late in the season so they are grown in areas where there is less risk from freezing weather, like New Zealand and the Pacific Northwest of the USA. We are now growing Daybreak Fuji which was developed for growing seasons similar to Wisconsin.

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Spotted Winged Drosophila (SWD), an invasive Asian fruit fly, has arrived in Wisconsin and has made growing fall raspberries sustainably impossible. This new fruit fly is able to lay its eggs in fruit that is just ripening. The result is a small white larvae that develops in the berry and accelerates spoilage. Numbers of SWD build over the summer and fall berries have a high chance of having larvae inside. While consuming these tiny larvae is not a health hazard, many of you may not enjoy these "protein added" berries.

The only option to effectively manage this new invasive is to spray the berries repeatedly during the harvest season which also effectively kills pollinators and other beneficial insects. We have never done this with our fruit and do not want to begin. We cannot maintain our dedication to our growing principles and manage this pest at the same time. Therefore, we are discontinuing fall raspberries as a crop.

If you want more information about SWD, we suggest an internet search. There are many university sites (including University of WI) dedicated to this new invasive insect.

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Door Creek Orchard cider is made fresh every Thursday of the fall from handpicked apples that have been graded and washed. We never (and we cannot!) use windfalls from the ground. Because our cider does not contain any preservatives and is unpasteurized, we recommend drinking it within two weeks or freezing it. Freezing will allow your cider to keep for months until you are ready to enjoy it.

We use a blend of apples in each batch. Each variety has its own flavor (and we have many to choose from!), so by doing this blend we create a balanced delicious cider. Because of how the varieties ripen at different times over the season, you will notice a shift in our cider flavor from light to heavy and from tart to sweet as the apple harvest progresses.  Please see our Cider page for more information.