IT'S...... RASPBERRIES!!!!!

It sure enough is a pretty as a picture, delicate, bountiful crop of ripening raspberries! What is even more amazing is that this overly zealous variety of berry has multiplied from 6 plants to two rows of berry bushes! Next year probably enough for some U-pick ! Well, we actually picked out of blackberries for the weekend. Still lots of red ones that will be ready for the next open picking days, which will be Thurs. and Saturday at 9:00 AM. The thornless variety are starting to ripen, they are a little smaller, but still yummy. The market this weekend will have some new veggies and fruits that we are harvesting. New potatoes, Sweet Texas Onions, some fancy, french variety of green bean that I planted, and just regular ol' stringless green beans, the tail end of the cabbage and broccoli, some blackberries, for sure, and some raspberries, and peaches,  if they haven't all been bitten into by this crafty squirrel that has learned to climb the trees knock one off, bite it to see if it is to his liking, if not he tries another one. We have dug some elephant garlic the size of a baseball. There are still beets and some baby carrots. I am catching up on the goat cheese supply, so we should have most of the varieties. The canning and baking are going to slow down because of the heat, so there will be a limited amount of preserves and pickles. The summer crops are progressing along, there are little cucumbers and melons on the vines. The corn is not quite as high as an elephants eye, but it looks very promising. The black eyed and purple hull peas and the okra are just enjoying the heat and are dawdeling along. I am anxious to try out my new pea sheller this summer, so there will be shelled peas in the market. And of course the tomatoes and the peppers. The anticipation is killing me! From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!

BEE BEARDS!!!!

A sure sign that it is hot! hot! hot! The bees congregate outside the hive, fanning their wings, clustering together, trying to keep each other cool. They take turns going to water, dipping their wings and flying back to the hive and fanning the queen and the brood, keeping a constant temperature in the hive at 91 degrees. If the farmer gets all of the potatoes, onions and garlic harvested and the sweet potatoes planted, we should start harvesting some honey in a couple of weeks. One good point about the unusually hot temperatures, is that it makes  for easy pouring of the filtered honey. We do not heat treat our honey. If it is very cold outside, it has to be warmed to the standard temperature of the hive(91 degrees) for easy pouring. Generally it is harvested in the mid to late summer, when it is toasty outside and perfect for honey pouring! It was a wild day for blackberry picking! The wind was blowing, the sun was relentless, but the folks just kept coming. Even the wee ones were little troopers, filling their baskets and enjoying the outdoors. We are going to be open MONDAY, MEMORIAL DAY @ 9:00 am. until pickout, which will be around noon. Maybe we will beat the heat just a little by getting an earlier start. There are still lots of blackberries for picking. Some of the later varieties have a week or two to go, but the earlier varieties are coming on strong! We provide containers to pick and take home. Pt. $3, Qt.$5, gallon box $15. From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!

TANTALIZING TATORS!!!

A direct quote from the Farmer " I've never met a French Fry I didn't like!" He would eat them with every meal, especially home fries from freshly dug potatoes. It doesn't get any better than this! ...... so he says. The potato harvest is great this year. We are just mowing the tops and letting the skins season a bit. We beat the potato bugs , they were just starting to hone in on the lush green leaves. New freshly dug potatoes will be in the market this weekend. NEW MARKET HOURS: Friday and Saturday from noon until 4:00 pm. We will be closed on Thursday, as we prepare produce boxes for our CSA members. For more information call or e-mail us. U-Pick blackberry schedule : Open picking Thurs. Fri. Sat. 10:00 AM until we are done. We will be open for picking  Monday, Memorial Day at 10:00 AM until pickout. From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!

BERRY PICKERS.......MUCH THANKS!!!!!

Our fist week of blackberry picking was a whoppin' success, thank you so much to those who ventured to the farm in questionable weather and picked and picked and picked some more! We just love company, and hope everyone felt welcome and had a good time. For those that did not make it this week, we will have oodles of berries for another few weeks. We will be available throughout the week for call ahead appointments, or will have open picking again Thurs. AM 10:00 and Sat. AM 10:00. We are going to be open on Memorial Day for picking also. Give us a call, if you might head our way on that day and we will keep a spot for you! We will start at 10:00 AM, and pick until we get picked out or pooped out, whichever comes first! Our new market hours start this week : Friday and Saturday from noon until 4:00 or call ahead for an appointment for dairy pick up. Thurs. is CSA day. A CSA (Community Sustainable Agriculture) is a produce co-op we have started where each week a box of freshly harvested produce is prepared for pickup at the farm. The cost is $30 per box  for approx. 4-5 persons. Each box contains at least 7 items. This weeks box contained summer squash, new potatoes, fresh garlic, sweet onions, beets, cabbage, broccoli, spinach, lettuce mix, blackberries,  If anyone would like more information just e-mail me and more details will be given. We have a couple of spots open. From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!

BLACKBERRY PICKING INFO.!!!!

This is our first year of u-pick blackberries! Our bushes are young, but are proudly presenting an abundance of  beautiful, ripe, berries for picking. Boxes are provided, that can be taken with you. A box is $15, when level full it is approximately 7 lbs. Quart containers are also available for $5. We have baskets for children to pick into. As we have several different varieties of berries, they do not ripen at the same time, some are earlier producing than others. Some of the early varieties are ripening and ready for picking. This week, we are accepting appointments in the mornings for picking the first of the crop, just call and set up a time that will be convenient for you, we will be available. Berries are best picked in the morning or evening when it is cool! Friday, May 20 will be open picking without an appointment. We will open at 10:00 AM. until pickout. We will also be open Sat. May 21 for open picking at 10:00 AM, picking until pickout.  We will keep updated information on our answer machine, and continue to post on the blog.  Some guidelines for pickers: Wear appropriate clothing, jackets, hats, close toed shoes, as we are in sand. The berry patch is a slight distance from the market, so prepare for a little stroll .  Pick all around dark berries, as they are the most ripe. All berries you pick are keepers, so be selective. Children are welcome, if well behaved and supervised. We are a working farm, so there will be equipment, animals, electric fences etc. within our gates. We ask that you respect our home and our livelihood as we would yours. The season should last for about 6 weeks.  We look forward to your visit! We accept cash or checks in the form of payment. From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!

SPUDS, SPUDS, AND MORE SPUDS!!

Before the impending attack of the potato bugs and their voracious offspring, we are going to start harvesting the potatoes. It has been several weeks before the first ones have bloomed, we have taken a sneak peak, and there is a treasure trove of new potatoes in the soil. Yukon gold and a red variety will be available in the market this week. BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!! This week the CEO ( The Farmer) and the board of directors (me, myself and I) held a meeting. Our intern Danny from Ohio, is returning to his home after a year and a half of intense farm related indocterination. (He was to be here for 3 months). He now has an opportunity to coach soccer in high school. Hopefully learning how to milk cows and goats and drive a tractor will help him with his new occupation! We will miss him when he is gone!Soooooooooooo, we are going to regroup! The market will be open on FRIDAY & SATURDAY Noon - 4:00PM. Special appointments can be made at other times for Dairy pickup. New hours will begin May 27. Our family farm day is postponed until fall (maybe Danny will decide goat kids are more fun and a lot less trouble, than high school kids, and come back). Blackberry picking update posted tomorrow. HINT: We will be starting u-pick this week, by appointment, with open picking starting May 27, and will be open Memorial Day at 9:00AM for picking! From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!

BERRY NEWSFLASH!!!!

Come wind or rain, sleet or snow, frost or hail, blackberries are the stormtroopers of the garden. This is our third year for the plants, as they are so plentiful, we will be able to begin the U-Pick blackberries this year. Our target date is Friday May 27. We will open for picking at 9:00 am. The price for the berries will be $15.00 per level box. We will provide the boxes for picking and take home. More details will follow, as the berries ripen. Our family farm day scheduled on June 4 is going to be postponed. We have had a few sailors jump ship! Danny, our farm intern is going back to Ohio. Some of our family members who volunteered to help had conflicts in their schedules We will be rescheduling in the fall, when our pumpkins are ready. From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!

SAUERKRAUT SO SIMPLE!!!!!

Everyone needs to try fresh, homemade sauerkraut at least once in their lifetime. It is a completely different food from what is sold commercially in the store. You will be incredulous after sampling it, at how good it tastes and amazed at how simple it is to prepare. I am going to share with you the basics of making the best tasting kraut that you have ever eaten. First of all, a clean,  glass or ceramic crock works the best to ferment the cabbage in. Use fresh, trimmed of all the bad leaves, cabbage. For fresh cabbage from the garden, check carefully for crawly critters camping amongst the leaves, get them out. You can wipe the cabbage off, but the bacteria on the cabbage encourages the fermentation. I know it sounds kind of scary, but the ancient kraut makers knew what they are doing. And believe me, after the cabbage ferments for several weeks, nothing unwelcome will survive.  Quarter the cabbage and remove the core... slice the quarters into 1/2 inch shreds. Place the shreds into the crock sprinkling sea salt or canning salt over it. Apply generously. You may" stomp" on the cabbage a little with the end of a wooden spoon to encourage it to break down.  A wondrous reaction will occur and the salt will draw liquid out of the cabbage, making a brine! After about 2 hours the cabbage may be submersed in the liquid. If not make a little salt water brine and pour over it . Find a plate that will fit down into your crock without much room on the sides, and put something clean and heavy on top of it to squish the cabbage down into the liquid and keep it there. Cover it lightly with a tea towel or cheesecloth.  That's it! Now find a spot in your house that is cool, around 70 degrees, and wait patiently for about 4 weeks. A word of caution: There may be a little gunk growing on the top, that's ok. Just scoop it off. It may smell like something is a little off in the house, well that is ok too, just close that part of the house from company for a while! I promise that when it is ready, all of the odd smells, will be forgotten. Just scoop out the kraut, some rinse it lightly, some don't, and put it in the fridge. Enjoy!!! It is one of the healthiest foods you can eat. From our farmstead to your table,  thank you for all of your support!!

FEED MEEE!!!!!

Perhaps I am not really a cabbage? Perhaps I am a cutting from a quaint little flower shop on skid row named Mushnik's. Perhaps my momma's name was Audrey II? Perhaps I have a  real affinity for the Farmer and his wife that pass by me several times a day and smell so deliciously...... alive?                            I can just imagine what  is passing through everyones mind, and I realize that once again, I am really aging myself. That musical was from the 70's and most of you have probably never heard of it. I still dig out the cassette now and again and become reaquainted with the great doo-bop songs! And because I walk on the safe side of caution, if I ever hear singing coming from the field in the middle of the night and someone calling out FEED ME!!!, All of the cabbages will be harvested the next morning. From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!

MARKET HOURS !!!

The wind has laid down a bit, and the crops are breathing a sigh of relief! The melons are starting to bloom and the corn stalks are standing straight as little soldiers after being laid low by the storms. We planted the second wave of sweet corn this week.  We are harvesting broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, onions, beets and salad greens for the market. Still a week or two for the potatoes. We plucked out all of the casualties in the tomato and pepper beds. Thankfully, we have a back up plan with about 60 plants in the kitchen garden. That should give us plenty for the market and the CSA. Fall tomatoes are much more my forte, anyway. Lulu will go to the milk barn this weekend, so we will have a little more cows milk. We share with Maizey, and after learning that she has to get on her knees to find her nummy, she has become a little glutton. Our market hours are:Thurs. Fri. and Sat. from noon until 4:00pm. The blackberries seem on schedule, so the U-pick will probably start the last weekend in May. More info as we get closer to the date. From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!

FIRST BATH!!!

Ms. Lulu and Mr. Colorado proudly announce the birth of their daughter Maizey, born at the height of last nights storm, (naturally) weighing approximatly 15 lbs and standing on wobbly legs, about 24 inches tall.  Mother and daughter are doing well! Lulu the doting mother, and Colorado thinking one more mouth to feed! Visions of fresh cream and butter are dancing in my head! From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!

LETTUCE BE HAPPY!!!!

MARKET HOURS FOR MAY!!!

Happy May Day!!! Market hours for this month will be Thurs. Fri. Sat. from noon until 4:00 pm. As we milk every day, special appointments can be made to get milk at other times.  Inquiries have been made as to the possibility of coming earlier on market days. Our milking and chores are done in the morning. As the competent staff is very limited ( The Farmer and myself, and sometimes our son) it takes us most of the morning to make the rounds and get all of the work done. Anyone is welcome to come earlier, but you may find yourself with a pitch fork and a poop scoop in your hand! The kole crops are still being harvested, the supply should hold steady, if the weather stays cool, for several more weeks. Several customers have asked if we have tomatoes......it is still early Spring. Tomatoes are harvested in the early summer, along with peppers, squash, cucumbers, etc. I refuse to go to the Dallas Market and buy cardboard tasting tomatoes imported from who knows where, and try and pass them off as home grown. Our customers are far to intelligent for that to work! Besides, that would totally defeat the purpose of our policy, "We Sell What We Grow". in some form or another...... with the slight exception of the Vanilla Beans for the vanilla extract....and the wheat in the bread...... and the chocolate in the cookies..... well, "We Sell What We Grow and Make! If you happen to see some limes in the market, they have come from my very own trees thriving in my kitchen garden, but I can guarantee you will not see coconuts and pineapple on our shelves. The blackberries are looking luscious and loaded.Will give plenty of notice as the picking time nears.  Should be new potatoes and green beans in a couple of weeks! Will keep you posted! From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!