Edwards Apple Orchard Poplar Grove, Illinois

Edwards Apple Orchard

Poplar Grove, Illinois
Edwards Apple Orchard is located near Poplar Grove, Illinois, approximately fifteen miles northeast of Rockford and 80 miles northwest of Chicago. Corn and soybean fields dominate the mostly rural northern Illinois landscape, but agricultural land use is beginning to give way to residential and commercial development in the area.
Robert (Sr.) and Audrey Edwards raised corn, soybeans and livestock on the farm through the early 1960’s. In 1963, Robert (Jr.) and Betty Edwards purchased the property and began the transition from dairy and row crop production to apple orchard and farm market. Ken and Barb (Edwards) Hall joined the family business in 1984, and purchased the business from Bob and Betty (Barb’s parents) in 1990.
Today, our focus continues to be on apples. We currently grow eleven varieties of apples on forty-five acres. Pumpkins and raspberries are also important crops and we grow small amounts of gourds, squash, ornamental corn and chrysanthemums. Pick-your-own apples has been a popular activity here for more than thirty years. We also offer pumpkins and raspberries as pick-your-own crops.
The barn that once housed Granddad Edwards’ dairy cows is now home to our farm market. The Apple Barn includes a gift shop, bakery, fudge kitchen, coffee shop, cider mill, packing facility and cold storage. Additional buildings include a farm museum, farm animal barn and supply storage.
We open for business on Labor Day Weekend and close for the season on the first Sunday after Thanksgiving. Our hours are 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily in September and October, and 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in November.