You can tell it is Wednesday when Community High students are walking around holding doughnuts. Wasem’s

Orchards has been a regular at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market for many years. Although they pride themselves on their produce, fruit mostly, CHS students are drawn by the promise of fall inspired sweets.

“Doughnuts, caramel apples, sometimes they buy apples but they usually buy the sweets,” said Jan Wasem of her student customers.

Jan’s family has been coming to Ann Arbor to sell their apples for nearly 60 years.

“My parents started coming here years ago and our family is the second longest family coming to the market,” she said.

Throughout the decades Wasem’s has been a customer favorite. Wasem’s sells its goods at its orchard location during the fall but the Farmers Market is the only year-long site Wasem’s operates.

“We’re well known on the market so we have repeat customers all the time and they look for us because we should be here. It is not like we show up some days and not others. We’re regular here the whole year.  We like the people here in Ann Arbor they are very friendly,” Wasem said.

Wasem’s sells their staple crop, apples, for a large portion of the year but this year they may run out of stock before the normal time.

“We normally sell apples from August until April but since we were hit heavily by the frost this spring we just had half a crop of apples so we’ll probably only have apples until Christmas instead of all winter,” Wasem said.

When they aren’t selling apples Wasem’s offers further selections to keep their loyal customers coming back.

“We sell the curly willow, the dogwood, rhubarb and iris in the spring and cherries and gooseberries and peaches and plums. We have something that keeps us really selling on the market 12 months a year. Except this year because of the shortage of apples we probably won’t be here this winter,” she said.

It is easy to see that Wasem is knowledgeable about her wares. Her favorite part of coming to the Ann Arbor Farmers Market is the opportunity to answer customers’ questions.

“They ask a lot of questions and I like to be able to answer them because we’re the growers and I mean we hire some help but people want to ask knowledgeable people and at the grocery stores you can’t do that so they like to talk to us,” she said.

Stock up on your Wasem’s apples now because with a shortened selling season this year they are going fast. While you are there, ask for a recipe to make the most of your fall treat.