How do you like them apples? Kimmel Orchard offers much more than fruit

NEBRASKA CITY, Neb. (KLKN) — This week’s Nebraska Passport feature takes us to Nebraska City.

For nearly a century, the nonprofit Kimmel Orchard has been providing the community with various fruits and veggies.

Crisp apples and fresh-pressed cider might make you think of fall, but even in the summer, Kimmel Orchard serves some delicious treats, and even an education.

“Our main mission is education, so all of our guests that are welcomed in, we like to teach them about the different things that we are doing in the orchard, whether it’s agricultural or historical preservation,” said Jennie Tachovsky, Kimmel’s general manager.

And the education program provides both knowledge and entertainment.

“I actually have an orchard tour where you can go through just the orchard and learn the history, our planting styles, how we do different things and our apple barn,” Tachovsky said. “We also have a tour to give them a behind the scenes look of what we actually do.”

Kimmel presses its cider on site and also has a doughnut lab.

“We’re famous for our apple cider doughnuts.” Tachovsky said.

If the idea of fresh apple cider doughnuts is making your mouth water, we’ve got good news for you.

This weekend, Kimmel Orchard is hosting DonutFest on Saturday and Sunday.

“We will be making tons of our original apple cider doughnuts, but we’re also bringing in strawberry, cherry and blueberry,” Tachovsky said.  “We also have decided we’re going to be doing free hayrack rides through the orchard at the top of every hour on Saturday and Sunday.”

After watching the chefs make the donuts, it’ll be hard to say no to taking a box home.  Whether you share is up to you.

It’s bound to be busy this weekend, between DonutFest and Kimmel Orchard being a Nebraska Passport stop.

“We have already seen thousands of guests get their stamps already this season, and we haven’t even hit peak season for us,” Tachovsky said.

The big draw, of course, is the apples.

The orchard is 100 acres and grows nearly 22 different varieties of apples, with the earliest varieties available in late August, but apples will be available for picking all the way through October.

The orchard and market are open Tuesday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

If you’re eager to learn more about the century-old orchard, contact Tachovsky by calling 402-873-5293 or by emailing her directly at Jennie@kimmelorchard.org.