Apple Bar Orchard

Apple Bar Orchard, LLC

Montana Department of Agriculture interviews MTBGA Board Member Catherine McNeil about Apple Bar Orchard, her family-owned-and-operated orchard that grows juicy honeyberries (or haskaps), dwarf sour cherries, currants, aronias, saskatoons (or serviceberries), apples, and pears. Her fruit is sold fresh or frozen to local farmers markets and consumers.

Apple Bar Orchard is a woman-owned high-density berry orchard in the Helena valley. We grow Honeyberries/Haskaps, Dwarf Sour Cherries, Serviceberries/Saskatoons, Aronia Berries, and Currants. We have about 1000 plants in about 1-1/2 acres. We started out as a research site to see what kind of berries grow in colder climate and expanded when we found out that some of them did well.

U-PICK — Great Family Activity

U-Pick this year for Honeyberries/Haskaps on Saturdays 7-10am and Wednesdays.

Berry Products for Sale

Other than the berries themselves (fresh or frozen), we will offer haskap jam, syrup, jelly; honeyberry lemonade, aronia jelly, and more!

Berries and Products Available Year Round

Whether fresh or frozen, we have supplies available until we sell out, but we may have frozen supplies all year.

More About Apple Bar Orchard

Catherine McNeil and her late husband, Ken, have spent their lives in agriculture. Their family owns Apple Bar Orchard in the Helena valley of Montana, one of the original homesteads in the area dating back to the early 1900s.

The McNeil family farm hosts seven acres of hay fields and 1.5 acres of fruit. The orchard got its start as a research site for MSU Extension to determine what kinds of berries could be grown in Montana on only .25 acres. The successful berry cultivars gained footing and expanded fruit production to its current acreage, and is now occupied by honeberries/haskaps, currants, saskatoons, aronia berries, sour cherries, and various apple and pear varieties.

Products from Apple Bar Orchard can be found across the state of Montana in various value-added products such as jams, jellies, juice, kombucha, beer, wine, seltzer, pies, tarts, scones, and other baked goods. Catherine loves the nutritional aspects of the honeyberries/haskaps and other Montana-grown berries, and hopes they become a healthy option for Montanans in the future.