SWEDEN — In a mystery befitting a Stephen King novel set in the western Maine mountains, Pietree Orchard has been dark since last December.
A few people commenting on the fruit farm’s Facebook page seem to be in the know but have not said why.
On Dec. 19, 2022, a final post told Facebook fans that it was wrapping up its season-ending pruning and the farm would bear fruit again in time for its spring opening. But by the end of the year, it had laid off the last of its staff and closed all operations down.
While its Facebook page is still live, the website is now unplugged. The business phone is still active, with a message on its answering machine indicating that the farm stand is open Thursday-Sunday.
Popular orchard and farm stand Pietree Orchard in Sweden seems to have ghosted its loyal customer base. All seasonal and full-time staff were let go last December and the farm never opened for the 2023 season.
If any upkeep and maintenance was done to the apple and berry orchards this spring it was not obvious to passersby, leaving possibly acres of locally grown fruit to go feral and succumb to insects and the elements.
One orchardist based in nearby Harrison told the Advertiser Democrat that even if operations come back fully it will take years for the plants and trees to recover from this year’s neglect.
Pietree Orchard has been owned by King’s novelist wife Tabitha King since 2007.
Calls made to the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation last spring were never answered or returned. Officials at Sweden’s town office and codes department could not comment.
But more recently the Kings’ attorney, Warren Silver of Bangor, confirmed to the Bangor Daily News that the orchard is closed to the public and that the Kings had no further comment.
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