Branstool Orchards

Our take

What’s actually confirmed here

Branstool Orchards sits at 5895 Johnstown Utica Rd, in an area the record describes as Licking County near the Knox County line — a location also promoted by Visit Knox County tourism, which is worth knowing if you’re searching by county and coming up short. The confirmed offerings here are substantial: more than 35 apple varieties, both u-pick and pre-picked, an on-site cider mill, a free play area, a gem-mining sluice, and u-pick flowers. Hours run 10am to 5pm most days (later on Friday and Saturday), with the farm open Tuesday through Sunday generally, narrowing to Friday-Saturday-Sunday only in early spring.

A real 2026 date — for the market, not the apples

Branstool’s own site posts a specific, dated piece of information: the farm market opens May 8, 2026. That’s a genuine 2026 confirmation straight from the orchard, which is more specific than most of the records in this batch manage. The catch is that this date covers the general market opening, not the apple u-pick window specifically. The site instead describes apple picking as beginning “with Zestar in August,” which names a variety and a rough month but not an exact calendar date. Because the confirmed 2026 date applies to the market rather than to apple picking, this record correctly stops short of calling the apple season itself confirmed.

A season that spans the whole calendar

With more than 35 varieties, Branstool publishes what the research notes describe as a crop-by-crop ripening schedule, starting with Pristine in late July and running through Pink Lady in late October. That’s one of the wider variety spans recorded in this dataset, and it means “Branstool’s apple season” isn’t really one window — it’s a rolling sequence where different apples come into their own at different points. Zestar, the variety named as the u-pick starting point, is itself known as an early apple, which tracks with an early-August picking start.

More than apples, and more coming

Beyond the confirmed play area, gem mining, and flower picking, the site teases u-pick pears and u-pick pumpkins as “coming 2026” additions, according to the record’s source note. Neither is confirmed as actually available yet — treat these as things worth checking on later in the season rather than assuming they’ll be ready alongside apples.

A location note worth double-checking

The record places Branstool in Licking County but flags that the address sits near the Knox County line, and that the farm is also promoted through Visit Knox County tourism materials. That’s not a contradiction so much as a reminder that county lines don’t always match how a business markets itself regionally — if you’re searching specifically for “Knox County orchards” or “Licking County orchards,” it’s worth knowing Branstool could reasonably show up in either search depending on the source.

The bottom line

Branstool Orchards is one of the more substantively documented records in this batch — a long variety list, a real 2026-dated market opening, a cider mill, and several kid-friendly extras. What it doesn’t offer is an exact calendar date for when apple u-pick itself opens in 2026; “begins with Zestar in August” is a useful planning signal but not a confirmed date. If you want to time a visit to a specific variety or weekend, a call to 740-892-3989 closer to your trip will get you further than the site alone.