News and blog
Dear Folks,
We hope that you are enjoying the winter months. We are working hard - just doing things differently than the hectic summer time schedule. Gregg is working on a composting recipe and making composting tea for the high tunnel. The high tunnel is looking very well. Gregg is excited to get things started in there. He planted a couple flats of kale seeds to transplant into the high tunnel in March. Oliver cleaned out the manure in the chicken shed and spread it in the high tunnel as well. So that soil is looking great.
Gregg is also busy with jam-making. He has made several batches of Shagbark Hickory syrup and also lots of applesauce.
Oliver and Juan have been trimming trees. They are almost finished with them for the year. The trees look great. They have also been repairing wooden crates. Oliver will be getting a load of wood shavings for bedding. (We get it from an Amish wood crafter.)
Nic, our soil specialist, has given Oliver his advice for several of the fields that we are trying to repair. We will be spreading molasses on the one. The field has improved so much in calcium and nitrogen since last year. Now we are trying to get the good microbes working. The molasses should do it! Doesn't sugar get you motivatied?
Oliver and Juan have been doing some work on the new farm that we are purchasing. We will be settling for it at the end of February. Thanks to all who were able to help us with loans for the principle amount. These have helped us to avoid costly interest payments, so we can put our money into our fields and vegetables.
This farm had been neglected for some time, so Oliver and Juan were pulling out trees and shrubs that were growing in the wrong places. Unfortunately there are alot of willow trees growing on the bank of the pond. Although they may look pretty they can ruin a pond. We are probably going to need some more expert advice on removing them and when to do it. The outbuildings need repairs and/or torn down completely. If you saw it you might think it is too large of a job, but we can truly see the potential and Oliver and Juan are young and LOVE the physical work! Also the price was right. The elderly folks who own the property will still be able to live there until September, 2016. During that time they will be removing all the junk and stuff that has been accumulated over the years. Oliver will be helping them with this huge job.
We will be having two work days this spring. If you are available, please come! We would love to have you visit and also help us to do some planting. The first work day will probably be Friday, March 27. At this work day we will be planting spring onions. The second work day will be on Saturday, April 11. We will be planting blackberry bushes at that one. I will be sending you more specific emails about these days as we get closer. Make a day of it, come visit the farm, do some work and get a good meal as well!
If you have not signed up yet for the 2015 CSA season - now is the time! You can go to the website www.orchardcountryproduce.com and sign up. You will automatically get the early bird discount when you sign up for all three session. You can also save an additional 4% if you send a check for the total.
If you would like to organize a drop off for the CSA please let us know and we can send you information and flyers to distribute at your workplace or neighborhood. If you live in an apartment complex and community we would love to organize a drop off at your home. Please give us the contact information for your building management and we will contact them and see if we cannot get a drop off there.
We are also looking for a new Farm Stand location for a Saturday. Does any one have any ideas of a great location for a Saturday Farm Stand? If so, please let us know and we will try to coordinate with the property owners.
Thanks to all who have supported us over the years. Your loyalty and faithfulness have inspired us to keep on producing and planting and trying to improve our techniques and develop new marketing strategies.
We are looking forward to seeing everyone in the Spring. Again if you are in the area or if you would like to take a short 1 and 1/2 hour drive to the farm, we would love to have you come. We have LOTS of fresh eggs and apples! Let us know and we would look forward to seeing you.
Gregg, Louise, Virginia and Oliver Keckler
Orchard Country Produce and Fruit Farm, Inc
Dear Folks,
We hope that you are having a great winter! Beth Hall hall.beth@gmail.com from River Park is planning to make a run up here to pick up some produce, eggs and meat this Saturday, January 31. She has offered to pick up items for folks who live there at River Park. I am sending this email to let you know about the delivery and also to let you know what we have to sell right now.
Here is how it will work:
Beth will be coming up here on Saturday. If you would like to purchase any items, just send me an email and also copy Beth to it as well. Then either give her the cash or a check for your purchases as well as bags to put everything in. She will be coming here on Saturday and returning to River Park on Sunday. She will put all the items in the usual CSA pick up location at River Park and you can pick up then.
Here is what we have for sale:
Ground Beef $6.00 for one pound pack
Eggs - $2.50/dozen
Red/White potatoes - $3.00 per quart
Candy Onions - $2.00 per quart
Honey -$6.00 per jar
Apples -
Gold Rush, Fuji, Cameo, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady
$3.00 per quart
$15.00 per half bushel
Choose which variety or you can choose a mix.
Add up your total and give this amount to Beth in either a check or cash. Please put it in an envelope with your name and email or phone. Thanks,
Let me know if you have any questions.
Gregg, Louise, Oliver Keckler
Orchard Country Produce and Fruit Farm, Inc
Dear Friends and Supporters of the Farm,
We hope that you are enjoying your winter months. We are doing some much-needed repair projects and new construction. Gregg, Oliver and Juan have put a new high tunnel that will be very fun to work in this spring. We are hoping to have some early greens and veggies for the very first markets of the year. Gregg is already envisioning how everything will work and look in this high tunnel. We know that you will benefit from the early greens and we will not feel so guilty at the first markets when we have nothing to sell but asparagus.
Speaking of asparagus, the field that we plants with 10,000 asparagus roots last year is looking very good. Nick, our soil specialist who helps us to get our soil in optimum condition took some samples and he was pleasantly surprise at how much better the field is doing. Last year we added tons (literally) of calcium and chicken manure. Now we are working to improve the bio-mass of bacteria (the good ones) to improve the aeration of the soil.
Our main and most important tractor, the Kubota, went in for serious heart surgery at Christmas and we are hoping to have it back by the end of January. We did get all the plastic out of the fields before the tractor went to the shop.
Juan is pruning trees; Oliver is doing general clean up and repair; Gregg is making jam and canning applesauce. This week Oliver and Juan will be butchering some two year old layers. So we will be starting out the market season with stewing chickens.
We are overwhelmed with eggs right now. We are trying to sell them at the house, but everyone around here has chickens of their own. We are taking them to auction every Tuesday just to get rid of them. If you would like to make the drive up here to stock up on eggs, let us know - We will give you a good discount for the drive. Eggs do keep very well, the ones you buy in the stores are usually between two and four months old.
The New Farm
We struck the first deal in our two part deal about purchasing another farm. We negotiated and purchased a nine acre farm with a house and many outbuilding and a large pond. We are still working on the deal for the 17 acres of adjacent land. The land is not being sold by the same person as the farm. We have not yet reached an agreement, but we are only about $12,000 away. So hopefully before the end of February we have that finalized. Thanks to all who have helped us with these purchases by loaning us money. We really do appreciate you support. If others could and would like to help us, let us know and we will explain how you can help.
Spring Work Days
We are planning Spring Work days and Visit the Farm days. We will let you know more particularly about the details in February, but we would like to hold a work day in late March and another in April. We will see how the weather seems and how soon we can get into the ground. I know that Gregg and Oliver have been talking about a lot of blackberry bushes and strawberry plants for sure. I know that there are gooseberries to be transplanted and many other things.
Animal News
We have also got some new pigs that are growing very well. There are seven in all. They are smaller so we have them together, but we will be splitting them up soon, since they are growing so fast! We added two new feeder steers to the mix and we will be getting a few more of them later in the winter. We will be getting 50 new pullets in April and the usual 100 meat chickens in early April. We may also be doing our own turkeys again this year.
CSA for 2015
Thanks to all who have already signed up for the CSA. Now is the time to sign up. You can sign up by going to the website www.orchardcountryproduce.com and go to CSA Experience. You can pay when you sign up with your credit card or you can send us a check. If you would like to sign up for all three session - spring, summer, and fall you will automatically get a discount of 6% when you sign up. If you would like to save 4% send us a check instead of using a credit card. So if you sign up for all three session and send a check for the amount before May 15 you can save a whopping 10%!
If anyone would like to have a drop off spot for a CSA delivery for the 2015 season, please let us know. We would be glad to work with you about getting a delivery set up for your location. You would need to get at least 6 shares (any size) for a delivery. If your business would like to have a CSA information session with Gregg or Oliver during January or February, please let us know.
We are also looking for more apartment complexes to have CSA deliveries. If your community or building would give us a chance to work with them, please let us know and we will contact the right people in the complex to get a delivery set up. Sometimes if residents do the asking it helps to get us a opportunity. Please keep us in mind.
We MAY also be looking for a new Farm Stand location for a new Saturday market - probably in Northern Virginia - not too close to Fort Hunt Rd. We do not want to compete with ourselves! If you know of any locations with good visibility and possibility, please let us know.
We intend to be back at Westminster Farmer's Market, St Luke's Farm Stand, East Columbia Library, NGS Farm Stand and DOT Farmer's Market.
We are also hoping to be making deliveries to all the same locations as last year.
Fridays
River Park
Gangplank Marina
11408 Newport Mill Road, Silver Spring, MD 20902 NEW
Flats 130
77H Apartments
Senate Square Towers
Wednesdays
The Wyoming
Peace Corps
JBS
International Baccalaureate
Navy League Building
Columbia Plaza
Calvert Foundation
NEA
Blue Labs
Smith Group
HOK
DC Department of Health
CSPI
Family News
If you are associated with facebook you saw our family photo from Christmas. We love seeing you folks throughout the year. you usually do not see all of us, but that picture should help you to keep us in mind as your farmers! As you probably know we have seven children - Oliver and Stuart are the only boys - they were standing on either end of the back row in the picture. We have five daughters. Each of the girls were sitting in front of their husbands. In order- Lydia, Katie, Martha, Sarah (almost married) and then Virginia ( not married). Tamara (Stuart's wife ) was on the end. Sarah is planning a March wedding for this year. So we are gearing up for it - before markets start for us and before The Twirley Top opens for the year.
Whew! This was a long letter! I hope that you were able to read it through to the end! Let us know if we can do anything for you or if you have any questions about the farm. Thanks for your support!
Gregg, Louise, Oliver, and Virginia Keckler
Orchard Country produce and Fruit Farm, Inc
We will be at NGS on 17th Street in the Courtyard from 8 - 2:30
Come out and get fresh vegetables. We will have these items available for sale.
Vegetables
kale
cabbage red and green
spaghetti squash
butternut squash
potatoes
sweet potatoes
Buttercup winter squash
pumpkins - LOTS
cheese cake winter squash
Brussel sprouts
Delicata Squash
turnips
Jerusalem artichokes
Fruits
Bosc pears
Honey Crisp Apples
Braeburn apples
Fuji apples
Granny Smith Apples
Asian pears
Pink Lady Apples
Gold Rush apples
Meat
Pork - We have great Kielbasa!
Beef
Baked goods
Apple pies
Sweet Breads
cookies
yeast bread
Other items
jams and jellies
honey
Shagbark Hickory syrup
OUR OWN Fresh eggs
Cheese from Whispering Brook Farm
Come out and stock up with good food!
Orchard Country Produce and Fruit Farm, Inc
We will be at NGS on 17th Street in the Courtyard from 8 - 2:30
Come out and get fresh vegetables. We will have these items available for sale.
Vegetables
kale
cabbage red and green
hot peppers
spaghetti squash
butternut squash
potatoes
sweet potatoes
Buttercup winter squash
pumpkins - LOTS
cheese cake winter squash
Brussel sprouts
Delicata Squash
turnips
Jerusalem artichokes
Fruits
Bosc pears
Honey Crisp Apples
Braeburn apples
Fuji apples
Granny Smith Apples
Asian pears
Pink Lady Apples
Gold Rush apples
Meat
Pork - We have great Kielbasa!
Beef
Baked goods
Apple pies
Sweet Breads
cookies
yeast bread
Other items
jams and jellies
honey
Shagbark Hickory syrup
OUR OWN Fresh eggs
Cheese from Whispering Brook Farm
Come out and stock up with good food!
Orchard Country Produce and Fruit Farm, Inc
Last week to order apples at St Luke's. NGS has Deoember 16 and December 23 to go - Order now!!
We will be able to deliver apples to the St. Luke's Farm Stand on Fort Hunt Rd in Alexandria, VA on Saturdays from 7:00am until 1:30 pm
We have LOTS, LOTS, LOTS of APPLES!
Honeycrisp apples are a sweet, crisp apple.
Granny Smith are a tart crisp apple.
Fuji are sweet, crisp apple.
Pink Lady are crisp (hard) and tart.
Gold Rush are crisp and tart.
All of these apples make great eating apples. They are also great for pies, crisps and baking ,as they will hold their shape very well. DO NOT USE THEM FOR SAUCE! They are too crisp for sauce.
If you want apples for sauce, please let us know. We have excellent sauce apples as well for the same great deal!
You can ask for a mix of apples in each half bushel or you can just order a half bushel of one kind - take your pick!
DO NOT PLACE YOUR ORDER FOR THE APPLE SPECIAL ON THE STORE - email me and I will take your order. The store can not give you the discount!
Keep these apples in mind if you are buying items for a school or organization. These are delicious and we will give you a REAL DEAL!
There are approximately 40 apples to a half bushel - if you buy more them one half bushel we will sell them to you for $10 per half bushel. Let me know via email if you want to buy some in quanity and I will order them for you.
If you buy them from the store the normal price is $15 per half bushel.
Sorry, but we can no longer deliver to DOT or Cedar Lane, any Wednesday deliveries, Columbia, or Westminster!
Louise
We will be at NGS on 17th Street in the Courtyard from 8 - 2:30
Come out and get fresh vegetables. We will have these items available for sale.
Vegetables
kale
cabbage red and green
hot peppers
spaghetti squash
butternut squash
potatoes
sweet potatoes
Buttercup winter squash
pumpkins - LOTS
cheese cake winter squash
Brussel sprouts
red beets
Delicata Squash
turnips
Jerusalem artichokes
Fruits
Bosc pears
Honey Crisp Apples
Braeburn apples
Fuji apples
Granny Smith Apples
Asian pears
Pink Lady Apples
Gold Rush apples
Meat
Pork - We have great Kielbasa!
Beef
Baked goods
Apple pies
Sweet Breads
cookies
yeast bread
Other items
jams and jellies
honey
Shagbark Hickory syrup
OUR OWN Fresh eggs
Cheese from Whispering Brook Farm
Come out and stock up with good food!
Orchard Country Produce and Fruit Farm, Inc
We will still be able to deliver apples to the NGS Farm Stand on Tuesdays from 6:00am until 2:30pm. Order them NOW for the Holidays and for gifts!
We will be able to deliver apples to the St. Luke's Farm Stand on Fort Hunt Rd in Alexandria, VA on Saturdays from 7:00am until 1:30 pm
We have LOTS, LOTS, LOTS of APPLES!
Honeycrisp apples are a sweet, crisp apple.
Granny Smith are a tart crisp apple.
Fuji are sweet, crisp apple.
Pink Lady are crisp (hard) and tart.
Gold Rush are crisp and tart.
All of these apples make great eating apples. They are also great for pies, crisps and baking ,as they will hold their shape very well. DO NOT USE THEM FOR SAUCE! They are too crisp for sauce.
If you want apples for sauce, please let us know. We have excellent sauce apples as well for the same great deal!
You can ask for a mix of apples in each half bushel or you can just order a half bushel of one kind - take your pick!
DO NOT PLACE YOUR ORDER FOR THE APPLE SPECIAL ON THE STORE - email me and I will take your order. The store can not give you the discount!
Keep these apples in mind if you are buying items for a school or organization. These are delicious and we will give you a REAL DEAL!
There are approximately 40 apples to a half bushel - if you buy more them one half bushel we will sell them to you for $10 per half bushel. Let me know via email if you want to buy some in quanity and I will order them for you.
If you buy them from the store the normal price is $15 per half bushel.
Sorry, but we can no longer deliver to DOT or Cedar Lane, any Wednesday deliveries, Columbia, or Westminster!
Louise
We will still be able to deliver apples to the NGS Farm Stand on Tuesdays from 6:00am until 2:30pm. Order them NOW for the Holidays and for gifts!
We will be able to deliver apples to the St. Luke's Farm Stand on Fort Hunt Rd in Alexandria, VA on Saturdays from 7:00am until 1:30 pm
We have LOTS, LOTS, LOTS of APPLES!
Honeycrisp apples are a sweet, crisp apple.
Granny Smith are a tart crisp apple.
Braeburn are a tart, crisp apple.
Fuji are sweet, crisp apple.
Stayman Winesap are crisp and tart.
Pink Lady are crisp (hard) and tart.
Gold Rush are crisp and tart.
All of these apples make great eating apples. They are also great for pies, crisps and baking ,as they will hold their shape very well. DO NOT USE THEM FOR SAUCE! They are too crisp for sauce.
If you want apples for sauce, please let us know. We have excellent sauce apples as well for the same great deal!
You can ask for a mix of apples in each half bushel or you can just order a half bushel of one kind - take your pick!
DO NOT PLACE YOUR ORDER FOR THE APPLE SPECIAL ON THE STORE - email me and I will take your order. The store can not give you the discount!
Keep these apples in mind if you are buying items for a school or organization. These are delicious and we will give you a REAL DEAL!
There are approximately 40 apples to a half bushel - if you buy more them one half bushel we will sell them to you for $10 per half bushel. Let me know via email if you want to buy some in quanity and I will order them for you.
If you buy them from the store the normal price is $15 per half bushel.
Sorry, but we can no longer deliver to DOT or Cedar Lane, any Wednesday deliveries, Columbia, or Westminster!
Louise