About Us

Who We Are:

We’re Richard and Rebecca Murphy. I (Richard) live in New Sharon, Maine during the growing season, for now. Rebecca hasn’t made the move yet; she’s here a lot helping. We’re both retired from the 9 to 5 work life.

What We Are:

We are a small apple orchard on Lane Road in New Sharon, Maine. We designed and built this orchard to be something special. Our customers are small retailers, and local folks, like you. Plenty big enough to walk around, small enough to make it fun. No rides, no games, no petting zoo. Just fruit and farm products. 

What We Grow:

We grow apples and Aronia Berries (more on Aronia later). We also have a few dozen pear trees. Our apples are something special. We grow many of the old-time varieties, sometimes called Heirlooms. We also grow a lot of the newer varieties, recently developed by universities for disease resistance, great flavor or long storage life. I promise that you will find some great apples here at the orchard; many you’ve never heard of. This is what we do. Check out the Varieties page.

What We Sell:

Pre-picked apples and U-Pick apples. Also, Aronia jelly and syrup, and other jellies when available.

Brief History:

We bought the land in May of 2003. It was basically a hayfield and some woods. By August, there was a house (shell only) we camped in while building the orchard. We had an outhouse, and bathed in the Sandy River for a couple years. Many family and friends visited, and helped plant trees, and do other work. We still lived in MA, until 2020 when Richard moved up.

In the last decade, the trees have really settled in and are growing strong. Now, there are about 200 apple trees. Lots and lots of apples. We also supply apples to the CSA (community supported agriculture) called, “Out on a Limb”, run by John Bunker of Fedco in Palermo. The U-Pick business is still slow. That’s because nobody knows we’re here! 

Please help us get the word out!

There is another orchard in the next town (Mercer) called Sandy River Apples. It is run by Carol and Jim Gilbert. Carol’s father, Francis Fenton, ran it for decades until 2015, when he passed away at the age of 99; two months shy of 100. He was the Apple Guru of Maine. We would compare notes and talk politics on occasion. Cool stuff. Look them up.