News and blog
I just updated the store for this week. We are selling Gold Rush apples by larger volume so you can make sauce. These are great sauce apples for the spring.
We also have loads of snow peas, zucchini and summer squash. Let us know if you would like to buy in larger quantity- say half bushel or peck. We can give you a better price. Go together with friend and buy in bulk or have a big party and celebrate summer!
Let me know if you have any questions about the store.
Gregg, Louise and Oliver Keckler
Orchard Country produce and Fruit Farm, Inc
Dear Folks,
This week's shares will include:
Half and full shares:
Kale
Jam
Sweet cherries
Snow peas
Sugar snap peas
zucchini/yellow squash
pickling cucumber
Personal shares:
Kale
Sweet cherries
snow peas
sugar snap peas
zucchini/yellow squash
Kale is a great addition to any smoothie. Just add a leaf or two and increase your nutrients without even realizing it! Kale chips are also great. Just toss the leaves with olive oil and garlic salt. Put them in the oven for a few minutes until they are crisp and enjoy! Delicious! This is the only way that Oliver will eat kale.
We have lots of snow peas right now. We are also getting a lot of sugar snap peas. Remember that snow peas are the flat pod peas and sugar snap peas are full pod peas. You can eat the pods of both of these varieties without hulling them. They are great raw as a snack or lightly steamed or in a stir fry.
The jam is some mix of our own fruits from last year. Last summer Julie cut up and froze all the fruit that was not sellable. Gregg used that fruit during the winter to create great jams.
The pickling cucumbers are smaller than the typical straight eights that you buy for your salad. You can use them the same as you would a regular cucumber. But these are also great for pickling as well. If you are afraid to try making pickles, here is a easy lazy way to give it a try. Buy a pickle variety that you really like - dill, bread and butter, etc. use the pickles and keep the brine. Fill the jar of brine with your little pickling cukes and put them in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks or even a month ( the longer they sit in the brine, the more flavorful they will be.) Most things kept in a vinegar brine will keep in refrigeration for years.
OK- folks - now for the bad news - the box inspector has been at work. Personal shares are ruining us financially by not returning the boxes. Each personal share box costs us $1.25 each, the pint boxes are 4 1/2 cents each. The half pint boxes are 4 1/2 cents each. The quart boxes are 6 cents each. Rrubber bands are 7 for 3 cents.
Folks - Personal shares are not sustainable unless we can get the boxes back!
I am going to publicly mention all the stops that do not return the boxes -
NGS Farm Stand
Peace Corps
Cannondesign
AWEA
2800 Woodley Rd
Flats 1430
Senate Square Towers
77H
River Park
Gangplank Marina
Folks - PLEASE RETRUN YOUR BOXES - Do it now! Put in the designated spot before you forget. If you know that you will trash it or others will, do not even take it away from the spot, just bring your cloth reusable bags - I know that you have tons of them- transfer your items into the bags and leave the box in its spot. Then you will not be the guilty victim. I am sure that many will write me emails apologizing after the fact for trashing them or forgetting them.
Do not be one of those folks - instead be empowered to take responsibiltiy for your boxes NOW.
Ok - now I've given my persuasive speech.
Now for the punitive measures - If we do not see boxes coming back, we will keep a record of not just each guilty stop, but each guilty person and ask you to pay a box fee. So now that I have threatened you and made you feel guilty, hopefully you will bring back the boxes. You do not need to feel that you will be called out if you would happen to sneak two boxes back in the same week. We would be grateful!
Please remember to bring back your jam jars as well. There is no rush, just remember when you finish with it to return it.
Have a great week!
We are beginning to pick raspberries and I ate a blueberry yesterday. It was blue, but sour. So I am sure that blueberries will be here soon!
Gregg, Louise, and Oliver Keckler
Orchard Country Produce and Fruit Farm, Inc
Come out to check out the great spring vegetables and apples. The snow and sugar snap pease are GREAT! Get the asparagus now - because it is almost over for the year.
These are some of the items that we will have tomorrow at the market.
We will have jellies, honey, Shagbark hickory syrup
Fruit
apples
Rhubarb
STRAWBERRIES!!!
Sweet cherries
Vegetables
spring onions
Asparagus
Kale
lettuce
spinach
red beets in the bunch!
Swiss chard
Snow peas
Snap peas
kohlrabi
broccoli
zucchini
yellow summer squash
cucumbers
French radishes
Meat - our own home grown
beef
Bedding plants --Special deals on all plants!!!!
herbs
flowers
vegetable plants
Bakery
Raised Breads - honey oatmeal bread and raisin bread
Sweet breads - banana, pumpkin and apple
cookies
Homemade strawberry - rhubarb pies
Cherry pies
Home grown eggs
Homemade jellies and jams
HONEY
Shagbark Hickory Syrup
Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow at the stand!
Gregg, Louise, Oliver Keckler - Orchard Country Produce and Fruit Farm
Tomorrow June 6
Oliver will be at St Luke's Episcopal Church from 8 - 1 pm.
Gregg will be at St. Mark's Episcopal Church on South King's Highway Alexandria on Saturdays from 8-1 pm
These are some of the items that we will have tomorrow at the market stands.
We will have jellies, honey, Shagbark hickory syrup
Fruit
apples
Rhubarb
Strawberries
Sweet cherries - first of the season
Vegetables
French Radishes
SNOW PEAS!
spring onions
Asparagus - almost the last week of asparagus!
Kale
lettuce
spinach
Swiss chard
Red Beets with tops
Snap peas
broccoli
cucumbers
zucchini
Yellow summer squash
kohlrabi
Meat - our own home grown
beef
Fresh chicken - just butchered
pork
Bedding plants - Special deals on all Plants!!!
herbs
flowers
vegetable plants
Bakery
Raised Breads - Honey Oatmeal and raisin bread
Sweet breads
cookies
Homemade strawberry/rhubarb pies
Cherry pies
Home grown eggs
Homemade jellies and jams
HONEY
Shagbark Hickory Syrup
Cheese from Whispering Brook Cheese Haus
Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow at the stand!
Snow and Snap Peas are excellent. The red beet tops are a great source of natural vitamins and nutrients!
Strawberries are SWEET!!
Rhubarb is Tart! What a great mix!
Gregg, Louise, Oliver Keckler - Orchard Country Produce and Fruit Farm
East Columbia Farmer's Market
East Columbia Library
Cradlerock Way
2-6 pm.
Rain or shine - We will be here to bring you fresh fruits and vegetables as they are picked!
Come out to check out the great spring vegetables and apples. The snow and sugar snap pease are GREAT! Get the asparagus now - because it is almost over for the year.
These are some of the items that we will have tomorrow at the market.
We will have jellies, honey, Shagbark hickory syrup
Fruit
apples
Rhubarb
STRAWBERRIES!!!
Vegetables
spring onions
Asparagus
Kale
lettuce
spinach
red beets in the bunch!
Swiss chard
Snow peas
Snap peas
kohlrabi
broccoli
zucchini
yellow summer squash
cucumbers
Meat - our own home grown
beef
pork
chickens - whole
Bedding plants --Special deals on all plants!!!!
herbs
flowers
vegetable plants
Bakery
Raised Breads - honey oatmeal bread
Sweet breads - banana, pumpkin and apple
cookies
Homemade strawberry - rhubarb pies
Cherry pies
Home grown eggs
Homemade jellies and jams
HONEY
Shagbark Hickory Syrup
Cheese from Whispering Brook Cheese Haus
Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow at the stand!
Gregg, Louise, Oliver Keckler - Orchard Country Produce and Fruit Farm
Dear Folks,
We are having a busy spring. Juan picked over 8 banana boxes of both sugar snap and snow peas yesterday. Today he, Oliver and Julie are transplanting young winter squash plants so that there will be those wonderful spaghetti squash, acorn squash and delicati squash in the fall. It is ironic how we are always thinking one or even two seasons ahead, yet working manually in the current season.
Virginia is picking asparagus. We had mowed it off last week because the weeds were too high. So we were not picking it for a bit. Now it is coming on again like gangbusters. But the asparagus will only have until June 20, then its season is over until next year. We will let it go to seed and by mid August it will look like a tropical fern jungle out there. It is funny to watch the cats prowling through it in August looking for varmints.
I was chatting with a customer the other day at market and we were talking about kohlrabi and how to prepare it. He mentioned that when he was a child his mother always made creamed turnips for special holidays - Thanksgiving and Christmas. He remembered how he and his sister could hardly wait to eat the creamed turnips. They were so sweet and so good. He looked a little sheepish because who would look forward to creamed turnips unless you were starving!
His daughters have tried to recreate the creamed turnips for him now, but he said that they just do not taste the same. He wondered why that is - maybe the turnips are genetically engineered differently; maybe the cream is not as rich or the butter, or maybe no one can make them like his mother.
I got to thinking about it and I have come to the conclusion that emotion and experience have a lot to do with how we perceive food. Why did things always taste better when we were kids or teenagers? Maybe it was the fact that we were care-free and did not have the pressures (stress) on us.
OR
It could be the varieties. It could be the slow cooking over a slow stove, but it could also have to do with what we eat now.
Because we tend to eat a lot more sweet things - I mean really sweet with fructose sweetners- maybe the old sugar or honey just doesn't seem to taste the same, not but because the vegetables or fruits changed, but because WE changed. We are more resistant to sweetness and now it takes a lot more sweetness for something to taste really sweet.
I challenge you to try something. Try to avoid any artificial sweetners or high sugar content food for a week or even if you are up to the challenge for a month. Then eat a sweet turnip or a sweet onion or a peach. Wow! The taste will be amazing.
The old saying " Just because you can , doesn't mean you should." comes to mind. Some times we must deliberately plan to avoid what is so readily available (and sweeter) in order to enjoy what is natural.
Do not ever compare the natural with the man-made.
Don't worry I am not a stoic (yet:)!
We are hoping that you are having a great year.
Remember the fruits and vegetables that you are eating NOW were planned last fall when the ground was prepared and in the winter when the seeds were purchased and started in the greenhouse and again in the spring when they were planted out in the fields and began to produce the delicious real vegetables that you love and are good for you.
Gregg, Louise and Oliver Keckler
Orchard Country Produce and Fruit Farm , Inc
We will be at DOT for the Farmer's Market tomorrow from 10-2 pm
Come out and get fresh vegetables. We will have these items available for sale.
We will have jellies, honey, Shagbark hickory syrup
Fruit
apples
Rhubarb
STRAWBERRIES
Vegetables
spring onions
Asparagus
Kale
lettuce
spinach
red beets with the tops
Swiss chard
snow peas
sugar snap peas
cucumbers
zucchini
Yellow summer squash
HERBS
mint tea
catnip
lovage
Meat - our own home grown
beef
pork
chickens - whole
Bedding plants SPEACIAL DEALS
herbs
flowers
vegetable plants
Bakery
Raised Breads
Sweet breads
cookies
Homemade strawberry-rhubarb pies
Cherry pies
Home grown eggs
Homemade jellies and jams
HONEY
Shagbark Hickory Syrup
Cheese from Whispering Brook Cheese Haus
Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow at the stand!
Gregg, Louise, Oliver Keckler - Orchard Country Produce and Fruit Farm
National Geographic Society - Tuesday, June 9 from 9-2pm in the courtyard.
We will have jellies, honey, Shagbark hickory syrup
Fruit
apples
Rhubarb
STRAWBERRIES
Vegetables
spring onions
Asparagus
Kale
lettuce
red beets with the tops
Swiss chard
spinach
snow peas
sugar snap peas
cucumbers
zucchini
yellow summer squash
HERBS
mint tea
lovage
catnip
Meat - our own home grown
beef
pork
whole chickens
Bedding plants SPECIAL DEALS!
herbs
flowers
vegetable plants
Bakery
Raised Breads
Sweet breads
cookies
Homemade strawberry-rhubarb pies
Cherry pies
Home grown eggs
Homemade jellies and jams
HONEY
Shagbark Hickory Syrup
Cheese from Whispering Brook Cheese Haus
Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow at the stand! The asparagus is great! The Pink apples are still very sweet and crisp!
The strawberries are sweet!
Gregg, Louise, Oliver Keckler - Orchard Country Produce and Fruit Farm
Dear Folks,
These are items that will be in your boxes this week.
half and full shares
Lettuce mix
Kohlrabi
Swiss Chard
Gold Rush apples
Strawberries
Snow peas
Spring onion
personal Shares
lettuce mix
Kohlrabi
Swiss chard
Gold Rush apples
snow peas
Kohlrabi is a great, interesting vegetable. It makes me think of space aliens. It is in the turnip family and tastes like a sweet turnip. My family likes it peeled and sliced thinly in a salad. I also like to steam it and eat it like a turnip. Give it a try this week!
Swiss chard is a very versatile leafy green. Use it in a stir fry. The stalks can also be used, but they must be cooked a bit longer than the leaves. The leaves make a great addition to a salad. I usually cut them finely with a scissor. Also remember whenever you are making a smoothie - just adding a leaf or two of a green leafy vegetable will greatly increase the nutrients that you are getting without even knowing it! With sweet fruit in your blender you will not even realize that you are also eating leafy greens.
The Gold Rush apples are ours from last year. The peels are tough, which is true of all stored apples. I recommend peeling them. They will be great as a sauce or baked. You can eat them as is as well, but they do show signs of aging. The black spots on some of them are evidence that we do not spray them as well as we should. It is harmless and will rub off.
Enjoy the strawberries! Believe it or not, they are nearing the end of their season.
We have a lot of snow peas right now! They are great steamed, in a stir fry or even just eaten raw.
Remember that we have the online store open. Here is how it works. You can place an order any time. We will deliver your order with your box. (If you order any baked goods and we do not have it for this week's delivery, we will make it for the next week.) You can pay for your order when you place it with your credit card OR you can just wait until the end of the session and pay then with a check. If you pay with a check you can take a 4% discount.
By buying from our store you get not only getting the convenience of delivery, but you are also supporting a local farm.
Thanks to all for your words of encouragement.
We are nearing the end of spring. Enjoy the flowers, birds and butterflies. I saw the first nasturtium flower, the first hummingbird last week, and a blue azure butterfly!
Summer is almost here.
Gregg, Louise and Oliver Keckler
Orchard Country Produce and Fruit Farm, Inc
Tomorrow June 6
Oliver will be at St Luke's Episcopal Church from 8 - 1 pm.
Come out to check out the great spring vegetables and strawberries.
Gregg will be at St. Mark's Episcopal Church on South King's Highway Alexandria on Saturdays from 8-1 pm
These are some of the items that we will have tomorrow at the market stands.
We will have jellies, honey, Shagbark hickory syrup
Fruit
apples
Rhubarb
Strawberries
Vegetables
French Radishes
SNOW PEAS!
spring onions
Asparagus
Kale
lettuce
spinach
Swiss chard
Red Beets with tops
Snap peas
Meat - our own home grown
beef
Fresh chicken - just butchered
pork
Bedding plants - Special deals on all Plants!!!
herbs
flowers
vegetable plants
Bakery
Raised Breads - Honey Oatmeal
Sweet breads
cookies
Homemade strawberry/rhubarb pies
Cherry pies
Home grown eggs
Homemade jellies and jams
HONEY
Shagbark Hickory Syrup
Cheese from Whispering Brook Cheese Haus
Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow at the stand!
Snow and Snap Peas are excellent. The red beet tops are a great source of natural vitamins and nutrients!
Strawberries are SWEET!!
Rhubarb is Tart! What a great mix!
Gregg, Louise, Oliver Keckler - Orchard Country Produce and Fruit Farm