Hutchins Farm

A mile north of Concord's historic

rude bridge that arched the flood

where, in Emerson's words,

once th' embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.

is Hutchins Farm, an organic farm with a small but diverse orchard. I have been eating, and reviewing, apples from these trees for the past month.

The farm today sits across Monument Road from the old Estabrook Woods, where Thoreau rambled. There on the side of Punkatasset Hill the farm slopes gently down towards the Concord River (Emerson's "flood").

Trees on the bank hide the river here, but it is one of the loveliest I know.
This is probably the closest orchard to my house, at least of those where fruit is sold retail.

The farm stand is next to the apple trees, though this is not a pick-your-own. Organic fruit takes lots of care to grow: picking is left to the professionals.

Hutchins also brings its produce to farmers markets in Belmont and Cambridge.

The apples include favorites such as Gala, Honeycrisp, and Macoun, but also heirlooms and some modern varieties so obscure they do not even have names (though Hutchins has proposed some).

This eclectic collection reflects a lively pomological curiosity. The variety and quality of its fruits have brightened my fall.

Update March 2012:

Directly across the road from Hutchins Farm is this building (a former barn, perhaps?) bearing the farm's original name, Punkatasset.