Beets and Fresh Eggs

We have lots of good, fresh eggs right now. The chickens are laying well (I think chickens like this warmer weather) and the eggs sell slower in the winter because there are a lot less people coming to the stand during the winter months. The feed cost has dropped some so we have dropped egg price back to $3 dozen again. It was $3.25. We have 300 more layer hens planned to come into production early next summer so there should be abundant eggs through next summer and fall.

We still have lots of beets, carrots, apples and potatoes left. One thing that we like to do sometimes is to cook a big kettle of beets and then slice them into jars and cover them with a sweet pickle brine. They can be canned or just kept in the refrigerater. After the beets come out of the brine one can pickle hard cooked eggs in the same brine. It makes the eggs a pretty pink and they taste real good. Daniel

Dried Apples

My dad (Luke) has about 4 acres of orchard over on the homefarm. In this orchard you will find all kinds of old heirloom apples growing along with pears, blueberries plums etc. He also has various fruit trees tucked into all sorts of corners and along fence rows etc all over the farm. All this orchard is manged without the use of any chemical fertilizers or sprays. Mixed into this is all sorts of wildflowers and in general a huge diversity of life.

In the winter I take some of these fine heirloom apples (mixed kinds) and dry them. They make a lovely snack food when you are driving or walking out to the field to work etc. You can also use them in the more tradional ways for pie etc. In bygone years dried apples were a major industry here in New York. Somehow in the rush for progress many of us have skipped past this fine, healthy snack food and now eat soda and chips instead.

I have a homemade apple dryer that I use to do the drying. After supper on winter evenings or first thing in the morning when the cookstove is going, we slice a batch of apples. (I need warm, dry air for the drier to work) It takes about 8 lbs of fresh apples to get 1lb of dry apples. The price is $2.50 for a quarter pound bag or $8.00 per LB. We also sell them in larger amounts (10lbs) for $6.00 Lb. Daniel

Green tomatoes in January

Hello everybody. It is winter outside and our solar greenhouse is getting cool inside (30s-40s). We picked all the bigger green tomatoes and peppers from the old plants as they will ripen better in the warm house than the cool greenhouse. So, I have a few ripe tomatoes and peppers for sale and about 100 lbs of green tomatoes that need a good home. We also still have lots of beets, carrots, turnips, potatoes, apples and more left for sale. The online market is open for orders or you can call ahead and come out to the stand.

I have already started the pepper plants for next year and it is almost time to start the tomatoes so the old plants must go to make room for the new ones soon. We baby the new tomato plants in the house while they are tiny as it takes a lot less resources to keep the house warm than to keep a tiny space in a greenhouse warm enough for tomatoes to grow during the cold dark portion of the winter. Daniel

Martins Farmstand open

I have put the stand back in order and we are ready to serve again. The benches in the display cooler are still full. We have lots of nice kale and arugula yet as long as the milder weather lasts. Also of course there are lots of apples, potatoes, beets, carrots and more.
Winter hours are informal. We are always closed Sundays and other days we will give service during normal hours if we are available. If you want to be sure not to waste a trip it is best to call or e-mail ahead. There is a slightly better chance to find me ready to serve right after lunch (12:30- 1:00) and again in the early evening. (4:30- 6:00) Daniel

Summer Hours Ending Wednesday

It feels good to be almost finished harvesting an abundant crop of all the fall crops. There are only leafy greens such as kale and spinach left to pick. The stand is still well stocked with all sorts of good food. As I was working I got to wondering how many thousands of crates full of produce have gone through our stand this year. If there are 30- 60 bushels of vegetables brought in on most days and this goes on for 150 days that is…. a lot. It amazes me as I think about how much food can be grown on about 25 acres of good farmground. This year we had a rough spring for growing things with a very dry April and May along with wild temperature swings including a hard freeze at the end of May. We had really good weather for crops all summer and fall. The weather was warm enough without being to hot. We had regular rains as we needed them. The fall harvest was good enough that even without a strawberry crop we have enough money to live well and and improve the infrastucture. Thank-you God for taking care of us.

Wednesday, November 18 will be the last day of normal summer hours for this year so make sure you are stocked up for thanksgiving needs by then. Any online orders this week need to be picked up by Wednesday evening rather than the normal Thursday pickup time. The online market will be closed for the week of thanksgiving. We want to have two full weeks to be completely off duty and then in early December winter hours will start. Winter hours are informal. We are always closed Sundays and other days we will give service during normal hours if we are available. Daniel

November Spring mix and spinach

The beautiful weather that we have had this past week has made the last planting of lettuce grow to just the right size to make lots of perfect salad mix. Spinach, arugula, kale, and even more romaine and red lettuce heads- the stand is still full of beautiful greens. We also have lots of all the normal fall root crops except onions are sold out. There are still hundreds of pounds of butternut squash waiting for someone to take them home.
Wednesday, November 18 will be the last day of normal summer hours for this year so make sure you are stocked up for thanksgiving needs by then. After that we want to have two full weeks to be completely off duty and then in early December winter hours will start. Winter hours are informal. We are always closed Sundays and other days we will give service during normal hours if we are available.
Today I have started hauling leaves for putting the strawberries to bed for the winter. I am looking forward to some good fresh strawberries next June. Daniel

Sweet Carrots

The late carrots that we are harvesting now are sweet and good- better than the earlier carrot crop was. There is a lot of them. We pack them into 25 lb bags. To store carrots and red beets you want them to stay moist and as cold as you can without freezing them. I am separating the #2 carrots into bags with nice but small carrots and other bags that have the forked or crooked etc carrots. These are both priced at $12.50 per bag and are an especially good deal for juicing etc. We also have lots of #1 carrots.($25 bag) They have the same great taste with less cleanup time and waste. We hope to finish the carrot harvest tommorrow and then I will be turning attention towards the rest of the beets- there are a lot of them and it is likely that we will have them available all the way till spring.
Wednesday, November 18 will be the last day of normal summer hours for this year so make sure you are stocked up for thanksgiving needs by then. After that we want to have two full weeks to be completely off duty and then in early December winter hours will start. Winter hours are informal- we give service when we are available but it is best to call or e-mail before coming if you want to be sure not to waste a trip. With the new display cooler we will be able to give you give much better service in the winter because the goodies can all be nicely displayed. Daniel

Honey and Apples

Hello again. It is time to be thinking about laying up a supply of things like honey, potatoes, apples, carrots, kale, beets etc. There is something right about well stocked cellars and pantries as winter starts.

My Dad has harvested several hundred pounds of honey from our bees which is available on the stand. I may be partial but I think Dad’s honey that we have this fall is way better than most honey. We have a full selection of storage apples picked and lots of late potatoes dug.
There are still a lot of potatoes, beets, carrots etc in the field. Do any of you wish to help with the late fall harvest? It is a way to stock up with out spending money. Have a good night. Daniel

Honey and Apples

Hello again. It is time to be thinking about laying up a supply of things like honey, potatoes, apples, carrots, kale, beets etc. There is something right about well stocked cellars and pantries as winter starts.

My Dad has harvested several hundred pounds of honey from our bees which is available on the stand. I may be partial but I think Dad’s honey that we have this fall is way better than most honey. We have a full selection of storage apples picked and lots of late potatoes dug.

There are still a lot of potatoes, beets, carrots etc in the field. Do any of you wish to help with the late fall harvest? It is a way to stock up with out spending money. Have a good night. Daniel

Frost is not the end

The frost we had over the weekend is not the end for good local food. The leafy greens such as lettuce, spinach, kale, arugula and cilantro all survived and look good. This is the time of the year that the late root crops such as beets, carrots and parsnip are at thier prime. And of course this is the time for apples, squash and so much more- the stand is still full. We harvested 20 bushel of peppers ahead of the frost along with the last of the beans. If you want to freeze or pickle peppers for the winter this is the last call for that. This is also a really good day to smile and say something kind to someone. Daniel