About Us
Sand Flats Orchard is a family owned and operated farm. We are the Hoffmans'; Jim, Meg, Sara and Mitch. We moved to Fonda, NY, from Colorado Springs, CO and purchased our home in October 1987. A few years later we purchased the remaining land adjacent to our farm to bring our total acreage to 100.
Our house preceded us by over 200 years. It dates back to 1752; our barn was erected in 1884. We are located in the very fertile Mohawk Valley which is rich in Iroquois Indian and Revolutionary War history. The rural community is now growing with an Amish population of over 100 families moving into the area called Stone Arabia.
Our family and friends planted our first 500 apple trees in the spring of 1990. As holes were dug the children were given a small tree. Each tree was walked to the appropriate row and placed in a hole, where it was fertilized and watered. The process continued all day with a big barbecue at the end of the day, fun was had by all.
After six years of fertilizing, pruning and watering we had enough apples to have our first sale.Our first sale was in September of 1996. It was a very small year sale wise, with a small road-side stand, very few people even knew we were here. We have since planted 1500 more trees bringing us to 2000 trees, which include more than 10 different varieties.
As our trees grew so did our customer base and their requests. Shortly after our first apple sale we began to have our apples pressed into cider. Our customers always enjoyed our unpasteurized cider, we also have pasteurized cider. In the fall of 2004 our bakery opened. "Where there is cider, there should be cider donuts", we were told. Cider donuts it is! There is nothing like a cool glass of cider and a warm cider donut. We also made apple pies, pumpkin pies, fudge, and cookies. Our store features many local products including maple syrup, honey, candles and more.
Our customers enjoy the short ride to our farm and often times, stay and enjoy the atmosphere. So, we began to share more of our country living. We have always had pick your own apples, but now you can extend your time here on the farm with a short walk to our pumpkin patch and pick out the size you would like. Challenge yourself with a walk through the corn
