News and Blog
The produce market will be open Monday through Dec. 3. There are fresh mustard greens, winter squashes, butternuts, sweet potatoes, apples, chestnuts, pecans, apple cider, jams, honey and more.
Thanksgiving reminds me of the song about “over the river to grandmother’s house we go”. There are lots of memories in Thanksgiving. The fall season has been one of disrupted schedules and putting energy into getting back on track. But there are many things to be thankful for. One is the opportunity to be together and enjoy good food, catch up with each other and see some folks we don’t often enough.
At the farm we have some good fall items, blue hubbard squash, butternut of various types and sizes, kobacha, pie pumpkins, chestnuts, persimmons, a few mushrooms as well as greens, curly, slick, tender-greens, turnip-greens, turnips, beets, collards and more. We have a good selection of apples, some not so easy to get such as Arkansas black and, Macintosh.
We still have some nights available for night time hay rides.
The store hours may change so if you are coming from a distance before 9 am or after 4 pm it may be best to call ahead.
Meanwhile try to slow down and enjoy gratefulness at a proper pace.
A lot is happening in a short time since last Saturday.
Sarah will be back at Myrtle Market Friday and Saturday.
The bakery is making pumpkin rolls and pumpkin pies for Saturday’s Pumpkin Day. The garden center has lots of mums , pumpkins, fall décor. The produce market has lots of fresh okra, some of our own beans which have survived the storm, apple cider, perhaps some grape juice if it has not all sold, greens and lots of winter squashes. We have Blue Hubbard, Kobacha and several varieties of butternut. We also have a good apple selection., including Arkansas Black, Fuji, Staymen Winesap, Rome. We are little limited in volume until we can get restocked. It is time for Chestnuts!!
Organically we are waiting to see if cucumbers, peppers and eggplant will come back. Mushrooms should begin to have a good flush after this storm.
Saturday is pumpkin Day . 9 am to 3 pm.. Although it will be lacking some of the features we have had we will be as complete as we can. Pony rides in the morning, hay maze, hay rides, PYO pumpkins, paint pumpkins and Oh YES, Stockpig Racing!!! Here is the present standing: Name # points sponsor
Polar Bear #6 51 Chadbourn Feed Service
Rascal # 9 42 Faith PCA
Thumpkin# 7 36 Wilmington Road Runners
Half pint 3 33 Boar’s Tusk Grooming
Jill be Little # 1 12 Hay Loft Dining
Crystal Star # 5 6 Scott Feed & Family
Racing will go on at intervals during the day.
The market will be open Monday morning.
Thanks to all to help make Farm Heritage Day possible. With very wet conditions and an extremely difficult preparations it went well. It was great to see Wayne and Lavon making soap, the mule pressing cane and to hear the music. Wayne and Lavon play with the Crystal River and for two people playing during all that they sounded really good. The sound of the engine turning the grist mill made music to many ears as well.
The first day of the 2016 STOCKPIG SEASON go off to a good start. The young pigs had to be brought in only about 2.5 weeks ago. For so short a training period they did well. They actually improved as the day went on. Yes , there were surprises. Two of the pigs that were originally trained raced among themselves showing some good speed but also revealing a lack of concentration on running. I believe we can look forward to a good series of racing the next few weeks.
Polar Bear #6 comes through at the day's end to claim first place!! Polar bear earned 51 points and is sponsored by Chadburn Feed in Chadburn , NC. She won three of the last four races to take the lead away from Rascal # 9 who earned 42 points. Thumpkin #7 came in third with 36 points. Thumpkin is sponsored by Wilmington Road Runners. Half-pint #3 with 33 points was the biggest surprise of the day. She was ranked to finish last or next to last prior to Saturday. Jill be little #1 was next and Crystal Star #5 sponsored by Scott’s Farm & Family finished last. Before Saturday the rankings projected a tight race among Polar bear, Thumpkin, Crystal star with Rascal, Jill be little and half-pint considerably behind the top three racers.
This Saturday is farm Heritage Day . The good folks who have for many years taken the time to make this day so special have once again come forth . How grateful we all should be to have them. There have been so many that have reached a point where they are not able to participate or have passed from our presence. If you have not met the people who make FHD I encourage yo to do so. The day has pony rides, pig races, hay rides, PYO pumpkins, grist mill. soap making and cane syrup making.
check out the apple cider , grape juice, chestnuts, winter squash.
Heads up! We are just on the edge of a huge mushroom flush. By the weekend and next week shiitake mushrooms should be available in quantity. You can freeze these mushrooms,dehydrate them or share them with others.
Winter squash, butternut is coming in also. Sarah will be at the Myrtle Beach Market Wednesday , Friday and Saturday.
Take advantage of the peaches while the season last. We have a very good selection of fresh apples for this time of year, cortland, Jona gold, mutsu, grany smith, golden delicious fuji and more. Grapes are coming in well.
This is grape season. It is also a time of transition from summer to fall. As most of you know my parents are facing having to make changes themselves. Dad is doing very well for one in his condition. He is pleasant and not frustrated which is a great blessing for one who is vastly limited from the lifestyle he has lived all his life. The picture is of him on stilts below.This has made a huge void to be filled in the farm. In some ways it opens the way for making improvements in growing fruits and vegetables but making adjustments are still required as our man power has been spread very thin. We are continuing to bring new ideas as we move forward. We will need to be patient and limit what we attempt to do. We hope you can bear with us.
One change is to scale Farm Heritage Day and Pumpkin Day down to a manageable size. After 25 years it is hard to not want to pursue the dream of making people aware of the rich roots that this area was built upon. Both were started as free events and using volunteers. The volunteers have been exceedingly wonderful and true treasures of this region. The cost and man power to make these events in a quality form is beyond what we currently can do. We will still have PYO pumpkins, hay rides, pig races , hay maze and things to do and see each Saturday in October. Night time hay rides will still be available.
School tours will still go on as we believe the next generations need to be connected to farms. These too take lots of man power, time and resources to do well. If you or someone you know is interested in helping with these tours or other activities please let us know. We could sure use help.
Meanwhile, winter squash, peppers, butternut , beans , peas, and squash , melons, radishes and more are now in season. Mushrooms may begin with this rainy weather. Have a meaningful labor day weekend.
With somewhat cooler weather picking blueberries is easier. The field will be open Wednesday and Friday mornings.7am to 11 am.
Some of the best watermelons are coming off the farm now. Lots of peppers and eggplants. Take advantage of heirloom tomatoes before they slow down going into the next crop. They may be less plentiful just before the next crop of heirlooms come in.
I enjoyed seeing and talking to several of you over the past days . Your support, feedback and thankful attitude makes serving people like you very rewarding. We thank you for being a part of us.
