ALFRED — Sun-ripened apples plucked from the tree have a freshness that cannot by rivaled by supermarket stock, according to Frank Boucher, co-owner of Giles’ Family Farm.

And visitors agree.

Bill and Charlene Bourbon of North Berwick said they come to Giles each fall to pick apples, which they like to eat fresh from the tree because the of the taste.

“It was a beautiful afternoon, and we decided to come up and enjoy the day,” Bill Bourbon said after picking a bag brimming with apples.

The Bourbons pick apples every fall, they said, and often get out a few times to pick their favorites.

“They have all the apples we like ”“ we like Macouns,” he said.

Charlene said she used to bake pies, and her family would pick apples for their whole street when their children were younger. Now they pick just to enjoy the fruit and fall weather.

Boucher said pick-your-own business at Giles has been up due to the good weather this year, despite frost this spring, which has accounted for a low crop ”“ about 40 percent lower, in fact.

Despite the short apple-picking season, Boucher and co-owner Stephen Gile care for their orchard all year long to produce half a dozen varieties of the fall favorites. Boucher said the trees, once planted, take about five years to bear fruit, and need to be pruned, drained and cared for year-round. Although frost can kill crops in the spring, rain can keep the customers away once picking season arrives, Boucher said.

“As long as we have sunny weekends, they come,” he said.

And weekdays, too.

On Wednesday, several couples and small groups were weaving through the rows of McIntosh, Cortland, Macoun, Spencer, and Red and Golden Delicious.

Boucher said one of the attractions of apple picking ”“ he believes ”“ is the family atmosphere.

“They can bring the whole family and stay all day if they want,” Boucher said.

The family atmosphere extends to the staff, as well. Boucher’s parents, Norma and Roger, were manning the stand on Wednesday directing pickers and weighing the bags. Norma Boucher said apple growing has been her family’s business for a long time, because her father owned an apple orchard in Limerick.

Frank Boucher said he remembers the orchard and got into farming himself in the early 1980s. Although Giles’ Family Farm was established in 1765, the orchard was not started until the 1930s. It was originally a dairy farm, but since Boucher and Stephen Gile have taken over, they operate the orchard, a pumpkin patch and sell vegetables from their store on Route 202 in Alfred. They also produce maple syrup each spring.

“We do a lot,” Boucher said.

The orchard has decreased in size, from 180 acres at its peak to about 50 acres today, Boucher said. That is the trend, though, he said. Orchards are not closing, according to what he hears from apple growers, but smaller, family operations are becoming more prevalent.

Arthur Kelly of Kelly Orchards in Acton said his orchard has decreased in size also ”“ to about 25 percent of what it used to be.

But the orchard has produced plenty of apples for farmers markets and pick-your-own customers, despite the size and frost this spring. Kelly said the season will be a little shorter this year due to the smaller crop ”“ with about a week and a half to two weeks left.

Kelly said he’s seen a lot of interest this year in pick-your-own apples. Two added benefits of picking your own apples is the fresh air and exercise, Kelly said.

But people need to hurry if they want to pick their own apples this season, both Kelly and Boucher said, because the apples will not stick around much longer.

For more information on Giles’ Family Farm call 324-2944, and for more information on Kelly Orchards call 636-1601.

— Staff Writer Robyn Burnham can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 329 or rburnham@journaltribune.com.