Shirley Blackburn shows the Jonathan apples that are ready for picking. (Photo by Beth Harms Miller/for Chronnicle Media)

If you’re looking for a family activity on a crisp late summer or early fall day, try picking apples at an orchard.

Partridge Point Orchard, 807 Partridge Point Road near Metamora, is one such place where you can experience apple picking.

The orchard, which has been owned by the Blackburn Family for 44 years, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday in September and October.

Owners Bennie and Shirley Blackburn came from a history of farming and growing peaches in the central part of Missouri where they grew up and went to high school together. After serving in the Korean War, Bennie one of 11 children came to the Peoria area in search of work. The pair were married Sept. 11, 1955 and their adventure began. They searched for just the perfect land and found it in Woodford County. Apples instead of peaches were the crop they chose since this part of Illinois is a cooler climate than Missouri. They started Partridge Point Orchard by planting their first apple trees in 1974 on 6 acres of land and opened to the public in 1979. They chose dwarf trees (between 8- and 10-feet tall) for convenience of picking and pruning. These typles of apple trees take about five years to produce.

Over the years they have changed varieties as the market changed. Currently they have more than 800 trees producing eight popular varieties — Honey Crisp, Jonathan, Golden Supreme, Gala, Gold Delicious, Fuji, Jonagold and Red Delicious. Each variety ripens at a different time of the season.

They grow their fruit using Integrated Pest Management in which they trap for damaging insects, electronically monitor for crop ruining diseases, and do not spray unless absolutely necessary. IPM is safer for the environment and children.

Want to know more, Shirley is more than happy to shar what she knows while you are at the orchard. With a degree in has a degree in science and mathematics, Shirley is a Master Gardener and has a wealth of information.

More information about the orchard is available on their website at https://www.partridgepointorchard.com.