Happy June 17th everyone!  Can you believe that the orchard will be open in less than 2 months!?  I know I can’t!

One thing that I love that we don’t grow at the orchard is strawberries!

Luckily, this year, our friends and neighbors over at Creek Bed Country Farmacy opened their strawberry for the first time!  They’ve been open since Monday, June 15th. 

This morning, the girls and I had a small breakfast (you have to save room for fresh strawberries when you’re planning to pick) and we headed over to the Farmacy for some strawberry picking!

 

When you get to the farm you can decide if you want pre-picked strawberries or if you want to pick your own.  Picking your own strawberries includes this fun wagon ride up to the patch.

We got there just after 8 in the morning so it was a little bit cool on the ride for the girls.  I personally found it refreshing. 

Isn’t the view of the farm just gorgeous from here?

Once we made it to the patch, the helpers indicated which rows we should pick and how far to go down on the row.  The girls got right to work. 

The berries are absolutely gorgeous!  And the picking is fast and easy.

I had planned on just picking a few quarts for fresh eating.  That plan changed quickly.  Before we knew it we had a flat full!

Pip enjoyed picking the strawberries very much!

Capri is a very dedicated picker!

And Cedi got into it more than she normally does too.  I think they tasted so good and looked so pretty it was just too hard to stop picking!

Of course we had to munch on a couple!

Three happy girls on the way back from a fun morning of strawberry picking!

 

My plans of three quarts quickly changed into three flats.  But – we did our ‘pay it forward’ for the day and dropped a flat off at my mother-in-law’s house.  She was beyond happy! 

If you’re looking for a great place for strawberries I highly recommend Creek Bed Country Farmacy!

Hours are:

• Monday – Friday: 7am to 7pm
• Saturday – Sunday: 7am to 5pm
• Pre-picked Strawberries: 8am until Sold Out

Please call the Berry Picking Hotline for updates before heading out to the farm.  608-635-8798

Use hashtag #creekbedcountryfarmacy to share your strawberry picking adventures!

I really try hard not to double post but I just had to today.

Some parents told a young girl that she could have any pumpkin she could lift into the wagon and get to the car…she managed to get an EIGHTY-ONE POUND Pumpkin! All I can say is “Nice Work.”

Frank and Diane planted an amazing ‘little’ garden on their farm. Turns out…it produced A LOT and they want to share the veggies of their labor with you. We are offering a new adventure for you and your family at the orchard this year…a pick your own vegetable garden! If you wish to do this, stop in the store when you arrive to get some bags and a marker so you can keep the varieties separate for your own taste tests. We would love to hear what you think we should grow next year.

We have a variety of vegetables growing in the garden including Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, eggplant, giant kohlrabi, zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes (wide variety: Agriset (Grape), Amish Paste, Bi Beef Beefsteak, Legend Red Meaty, New Yorker, Opalka, Supersteak, ultimate opener, Wayahead) talk more about those later), and peppers! A wide variety of peppers are growing and Diane did a really nice job of labeling each variety out in the garden for you. Painted stakes with the name of the pepper variety envelope the area in which those peppers are growing. I have a few pictures shown but you’ll understand better once you’re out there.

Here’s a little guide to the peppers you can find (I didn’t know this when I first read the veggie guide, but Scoville Units = Units of hotness…the higher the number, the hotter the pepper):

Variety: Big Chili

Hotness: Moderate (1,000 to 5,000 Scoville Units)

Uses: Fresh for salsa’s or salads, frying, drying, pickling

Variety: Gentle Giant Goliath

Hotness: Sweet (0 Scoville Units)

Uses: grilling, frying, or stuffing

Variety: Mucho Nacho

Hotness: HOT (5,000 to 30,000 Scoville Units)

Uses: fresh (salsa, salads), stuffing, drying, pickling

Variety: Banana Bill

Hotness: Sweet (0 Scoville Units)

Uses: fresh (salsa, salads), frying, roasting, pickling

Bell Boy – Sweet (0 Scoville Units), fresh (salsa, salads), stuffing, pickling

Variety: Fooled You (looks just like a jalapeño but doesn’t have the same bite)

Hotness: Mild (1 to 1,000 Scoville Units)

Uses: fresh (salsa, salads), stuffing, pickling

Variety: Habanero

Hotness: Extremely Hot (above 30,000 Scoville Units)

Uses: fresh (salsa, salads), drying, pickling

On a side note: One time a little girl grabbed a habanero from a our veggie table and bit into it like an apple…not good. She was fine after she ate an apple to calm the hotness down. Since that time, we have moved our pre-picked peppers to a higher shelf.

Variety: Sweet Havana

Hotness: Mild (1 to 1,000 Scoville Units)

Uses: fresh (salsa, salads) frying, stuffing, roasting

We’re really excited to hear what everyone thinks of the pick-your-own garden that we’re offering this year!

Well, I have one more market to go to in Deforest and two in Sun Prairie. If anyone is thinking about buying bushels to make sauce or freeze apples please call us SOON and I will deliver them to the markets for you. Also, don't forget that cider freezes wonderfully!



I know everyone will be sad when the markets are done for the year but don't hesitate to take a ride up to our store. We will be open until at least Thanksgiving. Depending on how many apples we have left at that point we may remain open a bit longer...we'll have to see and we'll be sure to keep you posted.



I'm happy to say that we have additional schools that we are providing apples to this fall for the kids' lunches. Not only do we still provide them to Waunakee, Poynette and Rio schools, but Fall River and Middleton schools have also added us onto there lunch menu. Reports have been great that the students continue to enjoy there fresh, locally grown apples! We will continue to provide these schools with apples until the end of the semester.



The guys are still picking apples for us. They've been working on Red Delicious, Cameo (yum!), Jonagold, Empire, Idared, Jonathons, and probably a few others that I'm forgetting. We're thinking that picking will be done at the end of the week but our cooler is stocked up with lots of apples for your enjoyment. We still have 16 varieties of apples for you to choose from.



The pick your own pumpkin patch has been quite a hit! Lots of families are stopping to go for a nice walk on our farm to get to the patch.



On Saturday, my sitter, Kelsey, took my girls to a farm festival and below is an adorable picture of Cedi right after she bobbed for apples!

I always jokingly brag that I am the best salesperson in the family. I may have prooved that true the other day when I litterally sold the sweatshirt that I was wearing. A fairly regular customer came in and was checking out all the hand-dye hooded sweatshirts we have for sale. She kept commenting on how much she liked the one I was wearing, then would look at the others, comment again. Finally, I told her that the one that I was wearing was for sale...I had just gotten cold the other day, had no sweatshirt, and had taken it down and put it on. Like that, a sale was made! When you come into our store make sure to look up when entering the back room. We have quite a selection of hand-dyed hooded sweatshirts hanging near the cieling.

I grudgingly got out of my warm bed early this morning to get suited up for the Sun Prairie Farmer's Market. I put on many layers...including my long underwear and had Jared heat me up some hot cider for the thermos. It was quite chilly when I left. Once I got to the market and started to set up I warmed up quickly. I was able to strip off a few layers to cool off a bit. I have a hard time keeping track of the time at the market in the morning, but it wasn't too long before it really became nice and I was just down to a long sleeve tee under a regular t-shirt. It really changed into a beautiful day quickly. I picked up some delicious shrimp for my in-laws from the seafood guy, Wally, and I picked up some scallops for myself. I am going to try one more time to cook them properly. I absolutely LOVE scallops when I get them at restaurants but have been unable to replicate them in my own kitchen....we'll see what happens...

Another beautiful day at the orchard. I wasn't there this morning (I was at the Sun Prairie Farmer's Market) but I heard that lots of people decided today was the day to visit the orchard. Surprisingly, the frost did not damage our raspberry crop too badly. There were still pickers out that found some beautiful, tasty berries. Our pumpkin patch also recieved some visitors. We really need to get some better signs up showing how to get there (side note for myself) so don't be afraid to ask us if you want to pick-your-0wn pumpkin. Squash have also been flowing out of the store smoothly. If you are worried that there is too much squash in what you pick out I must tell you, it freezes wonderfully! We will freeze enough (hopefully) that my girls will be able to eat it until we have squash again next year.

Limited Edition 'Mixed Nut' caramel apples have thus far been a hit. We are currently making the second batch of them. I hope you decide to try one out when you stop because they won't be around long!

Take care!

Yes! We are opening up our patch for pick your own pumpkins starting today/this weekend! My inlaws planted a beautiful patch! It's in a new location this year so be sure to stop in the store to ask how to find it. There's a bit of walking involved so if you planned to get a lot of pumpkin try to bring a wagon or carrying device. We have a few wagons, but if things get busy they will be limited!

Also, the raspberries are still going strong. We had multiple people over yesterday to pick and they were having a wonderful time! We had a lady come in that never picked raspberries before, was a little hesitant to even try, but when she came in with her brimming full quart of raspberries had a huge smile on her face.

See you at the orchard soon!

From Blog

The people have spoken: the raspberry picking has been AMAZING and FUN! We should have some raspberries for pick-your-own until the first frost. (this is our first year for this...we're learning as we go :) ) Word is that there are TONS on the bushes. I hope you stop by soon to try it out for yourselves!

From Blog

It was an amazing weekend at the orchard! We had the most beautiful weather and lots of fun people and families visiting us. On Saturday morning I attended the Sun Prairie Farmer's Market. It was my first week there with cider and I'm pretty sure people were happy about that. If you ever decide to head over there on a Saturday morning be sure to not only get some apples from me, but try out the scones from Market Street Bakery...they are AMAZING (there apple pies and cheese bread are wonderful too)!

I spent the afternoon at the orchard helping out customers. Kelsey watched the girls for us, thank goodness. We're just so busy it's hard to keep an eye on both of them. Frank helped an old friend of his and got him hooked on mac's. As a treat, he sent him home with a sample Honeycrisp. I would say about 20 to 30 minutes later the gentleman was back...we had him hooked. I believe his exact words were, "It is better than steak!".

I can't remember if it was Saturday or Sunday, but we also had a mom and a daughter (I believe) that made me laugh...they had printed out our webpage and had done research before they came on the apples they wanted to try! I love a prepared person. It is so much like something that I would do! Thanks for stopping if you're reading this...it was fun!

Frank also picked the girls pumpkins on Saturday night. It was so adorable! He was so proud of them. He had to carry them both in and make sure to set them up for there pictures. So cute! Earlier, when the pumpkins were still green they had carved the girls' names into the pumpkins. As they grew that names turned scar-like. They're super neat. Be sure to look at them when you come into the store (window sill to your left as you walk in).

People went crazy with the raspberry picking this weekend! The berries were plentiful and everyone had a good time. Stop by tomorrow or later this week to pick your own fresh raspberries!

Cedi's awake, have to end my blogging for this morning. Have a good week everyone!

From Blog

From Blog

I can't believe I forgot to mention that we have opened up our Raspberry patch for pick your own! They are producing LOTS and LOTS of beautiful, gorgeous, large berries! Bring your family, grab a pint, and head out to our bushes!