The Fall Colts Neck's Orchards Kept Going Without Apples

"It took everything. There's not any fruit, on any tree."

That is how David Barclay, owner of Eastmont Orchards on Route 537, described his trees to the Asbury Park Press in June. For a town whose October usually means apple bags and cider, that sounds like a lost season. The farms tell a different story. The April freeze killed the blossoms, but the trees came through healthy. Colts Neck's growers have rebuilt this fall around everything that grew anyway. What they offer looks different, and the window to enjoy it is short. Eastmont's last open day is Sunday, October 25.

What Four Nights in April Did

The damage came from a weather sequence that farmers had not seen in decades. In mid-April 2026, a warm spell pushed temperatures above 90 degrees in parts of New Jersey, and fruit trees bloomed early. Lows then dropped into the 20s between April 19 and April 22, right when blossoms and newly forming fruit were most exposed. Governor Mikie Sherrill described the sequence that way in a May 20 letter to the USDA.

At Eastmont, the farm fought two freezes that month. Farm manager Nick Basis told the Two River Times that the first wiped out about 40% of the peach crop and the "second one was the nail in the coffin." Across 11 acres and more than 1,000 peach trees, Eastmont lost over 99% of its crop. A few days after it canceled peach picking, the farm posted that its apples had "sustained a near total loss," adding that "the very few that remain will likely not meet our quality standards." Basis said Barclay has farmed for 45 years and had never seen anything close to it.

Route 34 got hit too. Michael McDonald, co-owner of Delicious Orchards, told the Two River Times that the heat wave and freeze were catastrophic for the store's acres of apple trees, the trees behind its signature cider. In the interview, he showed a single blossom on a row of trees that should have been covered in them. Karl Menzer, the farm's manager for more than a decade, said Delicious Orchards also lost six beehives to the cold.

The losses stretched well beyond Colts Neck. Governor Sherrill declared an agricultural state of emergency on May 20, and the governor's office put early statewide losses at $300 million or more. Within three weeks, the USDA issued a disaster designation covering all 21 counties. That made farm operators eligible to be considered for emergency loans. The policy response is still moving. On October 1, the New Jersey Monitor reported that Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia had introduced A5587, a bill that would set aside $60 million in state grants for affected farmers. The hardest-hit farms would get priority.

Bare Trees, Healthy Trees

The detail that matters most for Colts Neck's orchards is easy to miss. Basis told the Two River Times that the freeze hit the blossoms, which left the trees "bare but healthy." A dead tree takes years to replace. A tree that only lost one year's bloom is still standing and still growing.

The summer helped. June was dry, and Basis called that month a "pretty critical time" for the trees. Then the storms over Fourth of July weekend brought several inches of rain. He said it was the first time in four or five years that Eastmont did not have to irrigate. So the orchards along Route 537 are in this fall with their trees intact. That is why the farms are open at all. They are not closing up for a bad year. They are running a season built from what they have.

Eastmont's Weekends, Counted Out

Eastmont is open Friday through Sunday from September 18 through October 25, plus Columbus Day, weather permitting. The farm has pumpkins, fall decorations, local jams and honey, and a corn maze that it bills as new this year. NJ.com's statewide apple-picking roundup lists hayrides and sunflowers as part of Eastmont's fall too.

The posted hours run 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Fridays and 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The farm notes that hours can change with weather and supply and asks visitors to call or check its posts before heading out. The farm is at 321 Route 537, and the phone number is 732-542-5404.

As of today, October 7, here is what's left of that schedule:

That comes to ten open days. Eastmont usually runs from July through October. This year its entry sign still read "closed for the season" nearly two months after the usual opening. The fall stretch is the whole public season for 2026.

The Rest of the Farm Run

The other stops on a usual October loop are running with adjustments, and some have details that aren't yet confirmed for this year.

Delicious Orchards at 320 Route 34 South still lists apple cider donuts in its online catalog, including 2026-labeled dozens. The store hasn't published anything about whether the freeze changed its cider, pies or apple sourcing. Its hours this season also aren't posted anywhere that could be confirmed, so calling ahead is the safest plan.

Carm's Farm at 296 Route 537 advertises a weekend Fall Fest running "September 19-November1," but the website doesn't print a year next to those dates. Its pricing page lists $12 general admission, with a corn maze included and a $5 barrel-train ride, and that page carries a 2024 publication date. Confirm dates and prices with the farm before you plan a visit around them.

Battleview Orchards sits just over the line in Freehold and has no apple picking this year either. Family members told NJ.com that in five generations of ownership, they had never seen a total loss of the apple crop like this one. Its country market is still selling produce, baked goods and apple cider doughnuts made with sourced apples. Battleview's homepage lists pumpkin-patch days this week of Wednesday, October 7, Thursday, October 8 and Friday, October 9, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., weather permitting. Entry is free, pumpkins cost $1 to $8, and the patch takes cash only.

Farm stands across the state have filled gaps in different ways. Ben Casella of the New Jersey Farm Bureau told the Two River Times that many pushed through with what they had or brought in produce from growers in other parts of New Jersey.

The Winery Carries the Season Into November

Once Eastmont's maze closes on October 25, the farm calendar moves to Hillsdale Road. 4JG's Orchards & Vineyards at 127 Hillsdale Road says plainly that it is "not a pick your own fruit farm." What it offers instead is a run of weekend events that goes into November. A rule change makes those events easier for households with kids. Starting in June 2026, 4JG's dropped its adults-only policy and began welcoming families. The tasting room is open noon to 5 p.m., guests 21 and over pay admission, and small picnics are allowed in the picnic area. Coolers and pets are not.

The weather shows up on 4JG's calendar too. Rock and Wine with the JMR Band moved to a new date after a storm. The closing event is a vineyard walk with Vineyard Manager Craig about "weather effects on the 2026 vintage." The farm says it will assess weather damage this fall and again in spring. Its listing doesn't put a number on any loss, and it doesn't tie the walk to the April freeze specifically.

The Calendar, in Order

Put together, Colts Neck's farm fall for the rest of 2026 looks like this:

1. October 8 and 9: Weekday pumpkin-patch hours at Battleview in Freehold, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., cash only.
2. October 9 to 12: Eastmont's Columbus Day weekend, four straight open days.
3. October 11: Colts Neck Community Church's annual Fall Fest. One outdoor service at 10:30 a.m. is followed by a pig roast, live music and family activities.
4. October 17: Rock and Wine at 4JG's, noon to 5 p.m.
5. October 24: Soup and Sip at 4JG's, noon to 5 p.m., with October 25 as the rain date. Admission is $30 for adults and $15 for children, and kids get sparkling apple cider.
6. October 25: Eastmont's last open day of the season.
7. October 31 and November 1: Spooktacular Weekend at 4JG's, noon to 5 p.m. The farm calls it the "final" stroll through the apple orchard and vineyard for Halloween, with a scavenger hunt, fire pits and costumes optional.
8. November 7: The vineyard walk at 4JG's, with tours at 1:15 and 3 p.m. and a taste from the barrel room afterward, weather permitting. The $15 adult admission includes a tasting and a glass of wine, and the winery calls the day the close of its Harvest Weekends.

Every outdoor date on this list depends on the weather, and both orchards and the winery ask visitors to check before they go. NJ.com gave the same advice for the whole state this season, since supply and conditions can change from week to week.

Colts Neck's farms, horse country and open acreage do a lot to shape what a home here is worth. If you're thinking about what your property might bring in today's market, Gerine A. Skamarak and The Gerine Team can walk you through a current, detailed home valuation, with the same attention to local detail that goes into tracking a season like this one.