Strawberry season is approaching, and cars will soon fill the parking lot of Flamm Orchards as customers arrive to get their fill of fresh fruit. Many may also pick up a jar of jam, made fresh in the on-site bakery, a bottle of smoky, Amish-crafted salsa, or a bag of fresh vegetables, also grown at Flamm.
Adjacent to the store lies the Fruits and Cream Stand, where people will line up to buy fresh cobbler, donuts, sundaes or a Razzle — soft-serve ice cream with chunks of fresh fruit. Many of the treats served at the stand come from recipes handed down by Judy Flamm, a fourth-generation Flamm by marriage.
Austin Flamm, one of the current owners and a member of Southern Illinois Electric Cooperative, remembers sitting at the table as a child while his Grandma Judy served four different types of peach cobbler or apple dumplings.
Everyone’s favorites became the desserts she regularly served the family, and later, customers at the Fruits and Cream Stand. Her assistant, nicknamed Chela, learned alongside Judy at the stand, and when Judy passed away in 2024, Chela took over baking the original recipes.
The Flamms have been growing fruit there since Austin’s great-great-great grandfather purchased 117 acres in 1888. For many years, Flamm was solely a commercial farm, because, as Austin explains, farm stands stood on every corner and there just wasn’t a need for another one. By the 1980s, however, that was no longer the situation.
As farms fell by the wayside, people began to stop by Flamm Orchards requesting cases of their fruit. Thus, the farm stand was born, serving two purposes: to supply the community with fruit and to allow the owners and staff to work the commercial side uninterrupted.
When reflecting on the success of Flamm Orchards, Austin gives the topography of southern Illinois a lot of credit — the rolling hills with valleys in between create the perfect situation for fruit-growing.
For example, Flamm’s 300-acre peach orchard sits at 800 feet in elevation. In the spring, when frost is still possible, it’s critical that the newly blooming peach buds are protected. Because cold temperatures settle, the valleys create natural protection for the trees.
Austin says cultural practices handed down through the generations, along with innovative techniques, also contribute to the orchard’s success. The amount of time spent pruning, the type and method of fertilizing, attention to detail, and the willingness to do whatever it takes to grow top-notch produce are all important aspects.
“Eighty employees will walk through the orchards with pruning shears making little cuts,” says Austin. “It’s expensive and it may seem unnecessary, but the end result is better peaches.”
Few years go by without Flamm Orchards experimenting with something new. Several years ago, they introduced handmade strawberry donuts, and early this year, the family began tossing around ideas for blackberry jams and a blackberry cobbler or dumplings, as this is their first year growing blackberries.
However, the apple dumplings, strawberry shortcake, zucchini bread, peach cobbler and donuts — all the long-time favorites — are all still available, and will be for generations to come, according to its current fifth- and sixth-generation owners.
Flamm Orchards
8760 Old Highway 51 North, Cobden
618-893-4241
flammorchards.com
Photo courtesy of Flamm Orchards
