Farm News from Orchard Country Produce
Gardners, PA
We are a two generation family farm in rural Cumberland County, PA. We own approximately 57 acres; some of it in woodland, some in pasture, some in hay, most in vegetables and fruit trees. We have four greenhouses. One for propagation and two are unheated high tunnels and one is heated. We raise hogs and broiler chickens for meat and layer chickens for eggs. Our family consisted of Gregg and Louise Keckler (old people) and Oliver and Lizzie Keckler with their three (soon to be four) children – Isabelle, 7; Remington, 5; Cassidee, 2 and Travis on the way.
This is a review of what has happened in the last month on our fields, in our greenhouses and tunnels and around the farm.
The Field Crops
The fields are emptying out. The plastic has been pulled and the ground tilled and cover crops are being planted. The only crops still in the ground are the Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips and radishes. All the squashes have been picked up and stored in the sheds. We are preparing a section for garlic planting. We hope to have that done by the 15th of November.
Last month I mentioned the wet weather, well, that is not a problem now. It has been very dry for this month. It makes for easier markets with no rain, but it is not helping the cover crops to germinate quickly.
The black raspberries are still producing berries.
They are a bit tart, but we getting a good many of them.
We had some problems with the broccoli. The first planting was not good because of the rain, but now the second and third plantings are looking very good. The cauliflower was very slow to get going, but now we have plenty in all the colors!
The Brussels sprout did not have a good year. It could have been the weather or it could have been the variety. We have used the same variety for years, but last year it was not available anywhere, so we ended up having to by seedlings at a nursery near us and they were not the same as we had always planted. So we have some Brussels sprouts, but not many and they are not big or filled out like we usually have.
The Tunnels
The tunnels are full of winter greens – kale, Swiss chard, spinach and beets and bok choy and lettuce. We are beginning to pick kale from the tunnel for the markets in the fall. We are picking spinach and lettuce for sales from the early tomato tunnel.
Greenhouse Seeding
We are not seeding hardly anything right now. We seeded the first batch of radishes on the 15th of October. They should be going into the tunnel by the 10th of November
CSA
The CSA is on week 22 now. Everything is coming up winter squash and apples We enjoy the seasonal changes of food and look forward to the end of one season and the beginning of the next. Admittedly the fall and winter season is longer than the rest, but it sure is great to see that first asparagus in the Spring. The CSA will be ending on November 16. We are planning to add new items and pictures to our website and we will be looking forward to the new CSA for 2025. We will begin to take subscriptions in January. We will let everyone know about this later.
Canning, Gardening, Grilling and Preserving
We have been eating a lot of soups and stews this month. I canned 30 pint of applesauce. I eat a lot of applesauce. It is very good for the stomach if you have difficulties with digestion. I have been baking a lot of bread lately especially honey-oatmeal bread. I have also been making pumpkin pies and pumpkin breads with scarred pumpkins. I have been using honey instead of sugar in the recipes and they are wonderful! I steamed the last of the yellow beans yesterday and we are still enjoying them. They are small and they taste amazing. I blanched and froze about 20 pints of Lima beans for the winter. They are very good with corn and in soups. We are snacking on deer baloney that we made last year when Oliver shot a deer. We like the deer baloney especially lightly pan-fried with cheese. It is a great late afternoon snack. I made some cheese pretzels to go with it and they are salty and great. I made some goat cheese this week for the first time in a while. I seasoned it with dill weed and garlic powder.
I am beginning to look at my book collection and I cannot wait to begin reading in earnest. I am doing my fall house cleaning right now. With 18 rooms, 27 windows and 6 exterior doors to wash and clean – it takes me awhile to get it done, but the books lying there in on table are my incentive to get it done! Enjoy with fall weather! My favorite time to look at the trees is in November when the trees are bare and the leaves are on the ground. The smell of the rotting leaves is earthy!
Farm Stands and Markets
The St Luke’s Farm Stand is open every Saturday from 8 – 1 pm . Come out and support the local farm on Saturdays! No market stand on Saturday, November 30.
The Belle View Condos Farm Stand is open every Thursday from 2 – 7 pm. Last date for 2024 – Thursday, November 21
The East Columbia Library Farm Stand is open every Thursday from 12 noon – 6 pm. Last date for 2024- Thursday, November 21.
The Fairfax Community Market is open every Saturday from 8 am- 1 pm. Last date for 2024 – Saturday, November 23.
Come out and support our farm in one of these locations.
Have a Great Day!
Louise
Orchard Country Produce and Fruit Farm, Inc
Gregg and Louise Keckler
Oliver and Lizzie Keckler with Isabelle, Remington and Cassidee, also
Orchard Country Produce and Fruit Farm, Inc
1410 Goodyear Rd
Gardners, PA 17324
717-486-4653
www.orchardcountryproduce.com |
