Welcome to NW Fruit

We’re located at the Washington State University Northwest Washington Research and Extension Center, 16650 State Route 536, Mount Vernon, WA 98273

  • Announcement for Fall Apple and Pear Field Day 2025

    Saturday, October 11, 2025

    10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

    Free to members

    Come and join us:  Membership is $25 for the year or $15  for a one day pass.

    Activities:

    Enjoy a day in our beautiful fruit orchard. Come and sample dozens of different apple and pear varieties and talk with experts about them.  Taste samples of many old time varieties that have unique flavors that have been beloved for centuries. Then, we will guide you to the trees and you can pick a bag full of your favorite fruits.

    Harvesting Melrose apples at the 2022 Apple and Pear Day.

NWFruit Saturday workdays start May 17. They are from 9 a.m. to noon. This is an opportunity for members who are unable to help in the Fruit Garden on Thursdays due to other life commitments to come out Saturdays and lend a hand. Some folks might want to help Thursday and Saturday. Fruit thinning and mowing are two of the most urgent needs in the near future. Thinning helps trees, especially apple and pear, thrive and yield healthy fruit. There are plenty of different activities in the garden as the seasons transition. If you are a current member, you can volunteer. Get some hands-on experience you can apply to your own backyard. Meet great people and grow great fruit with us.

Samantha Chang prunes and thins fruit in a full-sized golden russet apple tree on May 30.

Full Saturday class schedule

Pruning Classes Resource: Guidelines for Summer and Winter Maintenance Pruning.

Read our current newsletter to learn of NWFruit  activities and how to get involved.

The grafting of trees has occurred for millennia, as noted in this poem by Roman historian Virgil on grafting .

Click here to see a video on Heritage Apples with Larry Crum.

Click here to see our Antique Apples handout.

The espalier Welcome sign as seen from the Master Gardeners Discovery Garden

Posted on November 30, 2020 by admin

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Honeycrisp apples on the Welcome espalier.

Our Fruit Garden has a collection of over 30 heritage apple varieties in the Antique Apple Collection, mostly around the center oval of the garden. During our Winter Field Day in March we offer scionwood of many of these varieties for grafting so you can either graft your own or have one of our expert grafters put a little tree together for you for a nominal fee. Now is a good time for you to learn about (and taste) these heritage varieties to see which ones you might like to see growing in your own orchard, whether large or small.

Golden Russett apples have incredible flavor; you won’t find these at the grocery store!

We have hardy kiwis, which look like a large grape and don’t need to be peeled, and the more well known fuzzy kiwis in our Fruit Garden. Kiwi vines need a strong trellis, and we have installed a new trellis this year, which was designed by Richard Fairfield who will be talking about the kiwis and how to trellis them. You will be able to take some kiwi fruit home from the event.

Our new kiwi trellis is much sturdier than the old one.

While many people know what figs are, it may surprise you to know that you can grow wonderful figs here in Western Washington.

A luscious fig awaits discovery…

Medlars are an ancient fruit that few people know about. They grow on a bush or small tree and are attractive in the garden. How does one eat this mysterious fruit? This will be your opportunity to find out.

What is this strange fruit? A Medlar.

Our Fruit Garden

Our Fruit Garden, located at 16650 State Route 536, Mount Vernon, WA, is open to the public 7 days a week from dawn to dusk. The Fruit Garden is west of the Discovery Garden.

If you are not able to visit our Fruit Garden in person, you can take a home Fruit Garden Tour.

See our blog posts for news about events and other announcements.

Become a member!

Join the Fruit Garden volunteers!

Calendar of Events