The Elm Tree Farm is a Organic farm in Afton, Minnesota. We grow organic apples, pears, and plums. Although organic farming requires a little more work on our end, we wouldn’t do it any other way. It is our pleasure to produce delicious, healthy, and chemical-free fruits and contribute to the health of our environment. 

What We Offer

Fruit

In our small orchard, we grow five varieties of apples, two varieties of pears, and three varieties of plums. 

Each fall, we press a blend of our organic apples into fresh apple cider. Delicious and complex, it is an excellent autumn treat, warm or cold. And because it is unpasteurized, it is great for fermenting into hard cider. Sold by the half gallon directly from the farm. 

Pure Honey from the Elm Tree Farm

Nestled in the rolling hills of the Saint Croix Valley in Afton, MN, Elm Tree Farm provides an organically managed environment ideal for the production of pure wholesome honey.

Flowering fruit trees, berries, wildflowers and clover offer our pampered bees a wide range of healthy pollen over the entire growing season. Try as I might, I can’t train a honeybee to only frequent organically managed blossoms. Our bees have no need to stray far from home; which means our honey is as close to 100% organic as possible.

Sweet, wholesome and healthful, Elm Tree Farm Honey.

Why Organic?

We choose to grow our products organically because we value high quality, nutritious, chemical-free foods. Since we eat our produce ourselves, and provide them to our families, friends and customers who share our values, we have developed an Organic System Plan (OSP) which will allow us to grow healthy foods well into the future while contributing long-term benefits to the environment.

The Saint Croix Elm

The namesake of The Elm Tree Farm is a 100+ year old, giant Elm Tree located at the farm. It is unique among Elm Trees as it has proven to be resistant to Dutch Elm Disease, a fungus that affects Elm Trees, causing destruction and death to the infected tree. Our tree is very special and we've taken care to preserve it for future generations as well as propagate it for others to enjoy. 

The "St. Croix Elm" is now propagated through Bailey's Nurseries and available to order at local garden stores! For more information on the disease-resistance and history of the Elm Tree, enjoy the articles below. 

The Saint Croix Elm - MSP Magazine

"Surrounded by wooded hills and a winding stretch of country road, Chris Bliska's 40-acre property in Afton has everything a farmer might want: a red barn, three horses, an old yellow lab, an apple orchard, an apiary, a wild blackberry patch, and a beautiful lodge-style home. Save for the passing cars and the occasional thrum of farm equipment, it's as quiet and pastoral as a Robert Frost poem. Which makes the giant standing at the bottom of the driveway all the more startling"...read more

Disease-resistant St. Croix elm making its way to Twin Cities garden centers - Star Tribune

"American elms once were known for their glorious leafy canopies spreading over city streets. But after the arrival of Dutch elm disease, elms became associated with garish blaze-orange rings painted around their trunks and the buzz of chain saws. The once-beloved tree quickly fell out of favor.

Now a new disease-resistant, homegrown option — the St. Croix elm — will be available in some local garden centers this growing season, although demand is expected to outstrip supply"...read more

Say Hello!

This year we will be open on select autumn weekends for either pick-you-own or pre-picked apples. We also offer direct sales of our apples, pears, plums, blackberries, garlic, and fresh apple cider by appointment.

We like to sell our produce close to home. If you are a food buyer for a restaurant, grocery store, institutional food service, distributor, or any other organization in the market for local, organic food, we are interested in partnering with you.

The Elm Tree Farm is located in Afton, Minnesota. If you'd like to visit, or learn more about us, send an email, or use the contact us button for a contact form.