Ditmars Orchard & Vineyard

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Ditmars Orchard & Vineyard is a Council Bluffs fall staple

Ditmars Orchard & Vineyard is a Council Bluffs fall staple

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Ditmars Orchard & Vineyard: 2021 Omaha Metropolitan Area Tourism Award Winner

Congratulations to Ditmars, winner of the 2021 Omaha Metropolitan Area (OMA) Tourism Award for Best Attraction in Pottawattamie County in Iowa.

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Apples from Ditmars Orchard, Council Bluffs, Iowa

Iowa PBS
In the early 1900s, Iowa was a top apple-producing state. Apples are still thriving here, especially in southwest Iowa.

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Fresh apples, donuts and fun for all ages:
Ditmars Orchard and Vineyard is a Council Bluffs fall staple

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa. (KMTV) — When it comes to apples, it’s hard to find someone who knows more than Lyle Ditmars. It started in 1993. Ditmars wanted to find something he could do with his four kids. After getting the land in Council Bluffs, he and his family planted 300 apple trees the following year. Now, nearly 30 years later, the family’s operation at Ditmars Orchard and Vinyard has evolved into something he never imagined. “I just thought we would plant a few trees, pick a few apples, and get them sold,” Ditmars said. “It didn’t seem like it would be that big a deal, but it’s just become so much more.” Just how much has it grown in apple trees alone?

“We’ve got about 4,500 trees total,” he said. “I know the next question you are going to ask is, ‘Do you pick them by hand?’ Yes, we do. Every one, one at a time.” Although not all ripe at the same time, the orchard’s trees consist of more than 30 different varieties of apples. 3 News Now anchor Zach Williamson tried four right off the tree. “When you get a fresh one right off the tree, you’re living,” Ditmars said. Ditmars Orchard has fresh apples you can buy in its stores but have the u-pick option as well. “When you see a little kid come running up with an apple, it’s pretty cool.” Inside the store you can find all things made with apples. You can also see them making their own apple cider. “It is actually true apple Juice. The stuff that you buy at the store that they call apple juice isn’t really apple juice, it’s made from concentrate,” Ditmars said.

However, it’s far from just apples. Ditmars grows strawberries, pears, cherries, pumpkins, peppers, and tomatoes—just to name a few. “You can come here and get a bushel of tomatoes for 50 cents a pound,” he said. “There’s not many places you can go and buy tomatoes at 50 cents a pound.” Produce isn’t the only thing you can pick. They grow a long list of flowers, too. “We have a lot of mothers that come out, bring their little ones with, and say let’s pick a bouquet for grandma or for mommy or whatever,” Ditmars said. “The kids will come in and they’re just tickled pink because they’ve never seen or had the opportunity to do stuff like that.” The fun for the kids doesn’t stop there.

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Pumpkin patches and apple orchards adjust for this weekend's cold weather



COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — Pumpkin patches hoped for one last nice weekend, but Mother Nature proved to have more tricks than treats. Cold fronts, like the one the metro is experiencing this weekend, can be devastating for crops. "If we get down to 28 [degrees], we lose 10% of the crop," Lyle Ditmars, owner and operator of Ditmars Orchard and Vineyard, said. "But if we get down to 25 [degrees], we lose 100% of the crop. That's how it affects the blooms on the trees." And it takes a toll on pumpkin patches and apple orchards. "It certainly decreases your traffic," Ditmars said. "We're very weather dependent, and if it's too cold and especially if it's cold and windy, it cuts down on your traffic."

[thenewguy]

it's good that the cold snap waited until almost the very end of the season...that could have been bad

[Garrett]

it's good that the cold snap waited until almost the very end of the season...that could have been bad

In New York we’ve had like 8 consecutive weekends of rainy weather so the apple orchard season was completely shot this year. Some of them are in really bad financial shape now.