Our First Year: Learning, Growing & Leaping In

When we purchased our orchard in 2024 and officially joined the Manistee community, we were overflowing with ideas — and equally aware that we had so much to learn. We weren’t just moving properties… we were stepping into orchard life in a big way.

We went from 6 acres to 40. From a dozen strawberry plants to over 5,000. From a small “hobby” homestead to more than 1,000 apple trees — plus plums and peaches ready for commercial growth.

We knew we couldn’t do this alone.

Over the past year, we’ve walked orchards with local growers, listened to their stories, and learned from both their successes and their struggles. We attended a small farm conference in Leelanau, spent days at the Great Lakes EXPO for Fruit, Vegetable & Farm Marketing, and joined farm market tours to see how other farms grow food and create meaningful agritourism experiences.

We’ve worked closely with our local USDA office, Farm Service Agency, the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (MDARD), Conservation District staff, MSU arborists and fruit tree specialists, and agronomists — soaking up knowledge, advice, and reality checks along the way. We're currently working towards our farm's MAEAP (Michigan Agricultural Environmental Assurance Program) certification.

We learned quickly why farmers constantly check the weather. We felt the sun on our backs and the relentless Lake Michigan winds on our faces. We learned that growing cut flowers in a windy zone is very different from anything we’d experienced before.

And then there were the peaches.

We watched tiny flower buds swell into fruit larger than our hands. We tasted fresh-picked orchard peaches that made every peach we’d ever had before completely forgettable. At Dewlicious Farms we grow four peach varieties — and quickly learned there are so many more. The peaches brought people to the farm, many of whom became regulars within just three short months. We sold out more than once and couldn’t make our Peach Cobbler Syrup or Peach Salsa fast enough to keep up with demand.

Not everything went according to plan. Wait...is there a so called "plan" when your business relies on nature? We invested thousands of dollars into rebuilding healthy soil and restoring nutrients to the orchard.

We also experienced the kind of loss farmers know all too well — including the shock of losing what we projected to be nearly $60,000 in apple revenue. To continue serving our growing customer base, we sourced apples from a trusted local orchard.

Pests found us, too. Every orchard pest imaginable… and even one our agronomist had never encountered before. Fruit loss followed. And the garden? From plans for 17 pumpkin varieties to zero pumpkins due to squash bugs that also wiped out our squash and melons — months of indoor seed starting, care, and labor lost.

Still, we kept building.

For the nature lovers visiting Manistee, we poured many more thousands of dollars into creating one-of-a-kind glamping spaces, including a state-of-the-art glamping bathroom. Our two farm stays are already earning 5-star reviews, and for us, that matters deeply — because we’re not just hosting a place to sleep. We’re creating experiences people remember. It’s often said people may forget what you said, but they remember how you made them feel — and that’s what we strive for with every guest.

We’ve also learned what it truly means to work for ourselves. No weekly paycheck. No corporate perks. Long days — often 14 hours — even in the so-called “off-season.” And yet, we’re healthier than we were in our twenties, more fulfilled, and deeply connected to what we do.

Winter, we’re learning, isn’t a slowdown — it’s a shift.

This is the season when we grow our glamping business, plan the 2026 garden, finish the Dewlicious greenhouse, map out next year’s events, build our online store, and stock the indoor farm stand for the months ahead. It’s when seeds are ordered, ideas take shape, and the future quietly grows beneath the surface.

And maybe — just maybe — if we’re lucky, we’ll sneak in a little time to finish restoring our 1906 farmhouse and finally paint those ceilings.

With the Winter Solstice upon us — the turning point of the year — we’ve found ourselves pausing more often, asking the same question again and again:

How did the last six months go by so fast?

Come Be Part of What We’re Growing

Whether you stop by the indoor farm stand, shop online, book a winter glamping stay, follow along on social media, or simply cheer us on from afar — thank you!

Supporting a small, woman-owned farm means more than a purchase.

It means believing in growth, resilience, and community.

This is just the beginning of our story. And we’re so glad you’re here for it.

Nicole & Scott

Dewlicious Farms

Rooted in Manistee. Grown to Delight.

www.dewliciousfarms24.com