Friends of Piper's Orchard

Join Friends of Piper's Orchard on Saturday April 18th from 10 to noon as we prepare the ground for mulching. Come and get dirty! 🌎 It's part of Carkeek's Earth Day:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DspjAJK2X/

Earth Day Activities at Carkeek Park on April 18th - meet at the Carkeek Admin Building on your right near the entrance to the park to sign in and learn about all the areas you can volunteer. Weeding, mulching, trail work, and garbage clean up - you can also go help feed the baby salmon :-)

Did you know there are three ways to reach the orchard? Try them all!

Join us for more winter pruning! Two shifts:

Sunday, February 1st 9AM - 11AM
Sunday, February 1st 11AM - 1PM

Bring gloves and tools if you have them. Experience not required. Wear practical shoes or boots, the orchard is slippery!

Questions? [email protected]

Join us if you can for winter pruning this Sunday, January 18th, 2026. We are offering two shifts:

Sunday, January 18th 9AM - 11AM
Sunday, January 18th 11AM - 1PM

Yes of course you can do both! Bring gloves and tools if you have them (saws, loppers). Safety glasses not a bad idea either. Experience not required.

(There will be at least one more pruning party in the coming weeks.)

If you want to help with 2026 winter pruning, just say so! Send an email to [email protected] today, don't delay!

Don Ricks here from Wenatchee. Congrats to Jim Walseth and crew for a very successful Harvest Fest this year. The Piper's orchard is by far the oldest and most interesting orchard in the Seattle area, tucked away inconspicuously in this metropolitan area. As 2026 unfolds, think about visiting and watch the seasons progress. Best to all. And it is so good to see the tradition of volunteer help continue this legacy as well.

And the cycle begins anew, a full year of orchard stewardship work parties, culminating in another big harvest and festival in the fall of 2026.
Click this link to sign up as a volunteer! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSei6E1gk9QkGLQgftAPLRJRVVvU_Xm897OJk1pXy-qZOQstrQ/viewform?usp=header

Yo! Help harvest the early-ripening Wealthy apples this Saturday August 16 at 10 AM.
Rain or shine!
We will use pickers and our hands to load apples into crates and transport them down to the parking lot. From there they will go to City Fruit and be put to good use.
Questions? [email protected]

Manci and Tommy below are visiting Seattle and followed clues to Pipers. So I put them to work today!

Max (who recently came to Seattle from Germany) and Livy harvested some Wealthies today. We all agreed they were good!

We made off with quite a haul (of pruning debris) on Tuesday!
Fearless Leader of FOPO Jim Walseth hauling several hundred pounds with help of City Fruit interns Pascha, Ava, and Joel.

Friends of Piper's Orchard will be gathering at the orchard on Tuesday July 15th at 10 AM to do some caretaking work: summer pruning. Bring gloves, water and any favorite tools. No experience necessary and no need to stay the whole time (we'll stop at noon).

Pruning is often done in winter, when the tree is dormant and the leaves are gone. It’s easier to see the structure of the tree at that time. Summer pruning is also fine if the tree is vigorous and well-watered. Summer pruning is useful for spotting dead wood (no leaves) and can reduce the spread of fungal diseases. Summer pruning is harder on the tree, however, so go easy and don’t prune during a drought.