BAY CITY – Tucked among the trees on the bluffs above the small town of Bay City is Swede Pickings, an old fruit farm in a new stage of life.

The farm, originally planted almost 30 years ago, has ignited the interest of Madeline Maurer and her husband Karsten, a statistics professor from Ohio.

When the property became available in 2018, the couple took a leap, relocated to Crystal, Minn. and purchased the Bay City property.

“We don’t want to wait until we retire to do what we want to do,” said Madeline.

The property includes an orchard of more than 30 varieties of apples, and 12 varieties of pear, plums, blueberries, grapes and cornelian cherries blended with oodles of perennial flowers and plants.

“I think the original owners were planning to make hard cider,” said the 28-year-old farmer, citing the types of apples that include Black Oxford, Chestnut Crab, and Kerr, a French apple, particularly suited for cider. Plus, the orchard offers a large selection of eating and baking apples.

A vintage vineyard, plum and cherry trees plus ample fruit bushes flourish as fresh fruit alternatives for those who want to visit the U-Pick location.

The couple markets their fruit on site, where visitors can sample the various options and pick and buy fresh. They also plan to join the Red Wing Farmers Market to further extend their market.

The fruit business is a great fit for Maurer as her formal education includes Sustainability Studies, Scandinavian languages and Culture and Environmental Studies. The couple uses no herbicides or pesticides on their farm. They are researchers who experiment with various other forms of pest and bird management, including an Obstsammler, a walk-behind multi-pronged tool that gathers fallen fruit and leaves from beneath the trees where disease and pests can originate.

The farm is labor-intensive. Planting, pruning, picking and managing the abundance of fruit, not to mention the task of identifying the varieties available, are ongoing. There was little indication when they began.

But the pair and their 15-month-old son, Leif, are in it for the long haul.

“This is a way I can use my education and implement conservation practices. It is a lot of work, but it feels good,” said the Swedish mother and business owner.

Apples are the thing we can improve on most,” she said. “The grapes, pears, and plums are doing well.”

Last summer they hosted their largest crowds. Perhaps due to the pandemic, she speculates. People wanted to get out and do something.

“We also sold our Marquette grapes, a 15-year-old variety, to Villa Bellezza, a Pepin winery to incorporate in their local wine offerings,” she said.

There are no plans to make Swede Pickings an attraction with kid rides and cotton candy; their vision is in another vein.

“My husband likes the idea of marketing vegetables. I am thinking more of brewery or wine room,” said Maurer. “A farmto- school program is also a possibility.”

The greatest challenge currently is the time factor, with bugs and birds a close second. While Karsten works full-time as a Senior Data Scientist for General Mills, Madeline works at the orchard, with a fair-skinned toddler close behind.

Swede Pickings, located at N1889 670th St., Bay City, is open select weekends, August through October, with information at Swedepickings.com and on Facebook.