News and blog
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
Here is the delivery schedule for the Friday. Please be gracious for the first couple of weeks as Gregg figures out which direction works the best to get all the deliveries done in a timely manner.
Gregg will be delivering the Gettysburg stops first thing - about 7:00- 7:30am
Gangplank Marina - 9:30 - 10:00am
River Park - 9:45 - 10:15 am
77H Apartments - 10:15 - 10:45 am
Senate Square Towers - 10:30 - 11:00am
Flats 130 - 10:45 - 11:15 am
2800 Woodley Road NW, DC 20008 - 11:15 - 11:45
11408 Newport Mill Road, Silver Spring, MD 20902 - 11:30 - 12 noon
10681 Weymouth Street, Bethesda MD - 11:45 - 12:15pm
Hopefully this schedule will be accurate. If Gregg has any questions, he will call the contact person for each stop before delivery. Let me know if you have any questions.
Louise
East Columbia Farmer's Market
at the East Columbia Library on Cradlerock Way
from 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. Say Hello to Virginia and let's start the new year right with great asparagus!
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
French Radishes
spring onions
Asparagus
Kale
lettuce
spinach
red beets in the bunch!
Swiss chard
Snow peas
Snap peas
kohlrabi
broccoli
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
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 2 from 9-2pm in the courtyard.
We will have jellies, honey, Shagbark hickory syrup
Fruit
apples
Rhubarb (Is this a Fruit?)
STRAWBERRIES
Vegetables
French Radishes
spring onions
Asparagus
Kale
lettuce
red beets with the tops
Swiss chard
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
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
French Radishes
spring onions
Asparagus
Kale
lettuce
spinach
red beets with the tops
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! The asparagus is great! The Pink Lady apples are still very sweet and crisp!
Gregg, Louise, Oliver Keckler - Orchard Country Produce and Fruit Farm
Here is our tentative order of delivery for the Wednesday CSA. Please be kind to Gregg (only for a few weeks:) until he gets the best route figured out. We will attempt to keep to this schedule, but try to be understanding. We do not yet know the traffic patterns for this time of day. We have added several stops this year as well.
The Wyoming - before 9:00 am
BlueLabs- 9:00 -10:00
Peace Corps 9:00 - 10:00
NEA - 10:00 - 11:00
AWEA - 10:00 - 11:00
CSPI - 10:00 - 11:00
Smith Group - 11:15 - 11:45
Columbia Plaza - 11:15 - 11:45
Navy League Building - 12 noon-12:30
CannonDesign - 12 noon - 12:30
HOK - 12:15 - 12:30
International Baccalaureate - 1:00 - 1:30
JBS - 1:30 -2:00
It would be great if it would be this simple - just put places and times on a paper and let it happen. Inevitably this will not work. I hate to be a pessimist, but .....
Let me know if you need any clarification about these times.
Louise
Dear Folks,
This week's shares will include:
Half Shares:
Rhubarb
Strawberries
spinach
kale
asparagus
lettuce mix
spring onions
Personal Shares
Rhubarb
Strawberries
lettuce mix
kale
asparagus
The rhubarb is great! I love it stewed. It is especially good with strawberries for a little sweetness. It also makes great muffins.
Enjoy the spinach. With the warm weather it will not be here for long.
We have lots of kale - use it in stir fry, add a leaf or two to anything that you are juicing for added nutrition.
The asparagus is especially good grilled.
Our lettuce mix is our own blend. We have buttercup, mizuna, romaine, oak leaf, green crispy, and many more. The lettuce patch looks like a water color picture! (Although it does have a few weeds, as well) Enjoy these throughout the week.
The spring onions are great. Use the whole thing, the bulbs and the green tops - great in stirfry, salads, and on sandwiches.
THE ONLINE STORE IS OPEN!
If you would like to order any extra items to add to your share - you can go to the online store anytime throughout the week and add things. We will try to get your items to you on the week that you order, but sometimes we mess up so we will deliver them on the following week.
You can order and pay with a credit card right away or you can save 4% by sending a check for the amount.
If you have any questions about the store or the items in your share or about your delivery, please let me know and I will be happy to answer your questions.
Gregg, Louise and Oliver Keckler
Tomorrow May 30
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 stnands.
We will have jellies, honey, Shagbark hickory syrup
Fruit
apples
Rhubarb
Strawberries
Vegetables
French Radishes
China Rose radishes
spring onions
Asparagus
Kale
lettuce
spinach
Swiss chard
Meat - our own home grown
beef
Fresh chicken - just butchered on Thursday!
pork
Bedding plants - Special deals on all Plants!!!
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 Lady apples are still very sweet and crisp!
Strawberries are SWEET!!
Gregg, Louise, Oliver Keckler - Orchard Country Produce and Fruit Farm
If you are getting this email you are on our list to get a share at:
St Luke's Episcopal Church - Fort Hunt Rd, Alexandria
St Mark's Episcopal Church - South King's Highway, Alexandria
Westminster Farmer's Market
You should come to the stand and give your name. Gregg will be at St. Mark's, I will be at Westminster; and Oliver at St Luke's. You share will be in a box. DO NOT TRASH OR RECYCLE THE BOXES OR ANY ITEMS INSIDE! Please bring the box and all rubber bands, cartons, etc back the next week and trade in the empty box for a full one. There will be a check off list at the stand, be sure to check off your name showing that you picked up your box.
If you cannot come for any reason, please arrange to have someone else come to pick up your share for you. We are not able to give double shares or add extra weeks. If you let us know ahead of time, you can donate your share to the DC Soup kitchen if you will not be able to pick up.
You may choose to change your pick up spot within the same week that you are missing if this would help you plan your schedule. For example: If you normally pick up on Tuesdays at DOT and you will be out of town that day, you can send us an email and pick up your share at St Luke's on Saturday. You must choose a site that is open to the public, usually one of the farm stands or Farmer'' markets. We have them listed on our website. www.orchardcountryproduce.com
Extras: We do offer extras that you can purchase in addition to your regular share. These items will be listed on the online store on the website. You can go to the store and order items that will be included in addition to your share. You can pick these up at the stands and pay for them when you pick up. The store will be open by Monday, June 1 for delivery next Saturday. The items that are sold by the pound will be weighed out and priced at the stand.
Each Monday I will send an email with the listing of the items that will be in your share that week. We try very hard to keep to this list, but occasionally we do have to substitute when things do not work out. If you have any questions about what something is or how to use it, do not hesitate to send me an email and ask. I will answer your questions as promptly as possible.
Thank you for joining us this year for a great harvest. We are looking forward to meeting everyone again. We love what we do and we hope that you will love it too!
Gregg, Louise, Sarah, Virginia, and Oliver Keckler
Orchard Country Produce and Fruit Farm, Inc