DEAR FARMKETEERS:  The Golden Rule has been stated so many different ways.  In farm country, we say, “Do unto peaches as you would have people do unto you.”  That means treat every peach with dignity—even the humble, early specimens that aren’t all sugar and dandiness and flamboyance.

We are calling the first wave of peaches our “Low Fructose Culinary Confectioner’s Peaches.”  Come pick them NOW because they are ideal for your preserves, pastries, cobblers, and jams, since you’ll be adding sugar anyway.  You’ll find these not-so-sweet peaches in Row 1.  Pick them for only 99¢/POUND through SUNDAY!

You can supplement your haul with PA peaches at the stand.  They are “peach-sweet” and ready for drooling.

It is also time to outfit your home with Lavish Lillies™ grown here in our kitchen garden.  These are BIG mofos (see our scale model).  “Lavish” means sumptuous, luxurious, splendid, fancy—all apt descriptions of your soul, no doubt.  And at $3/stem, you can afford to invest in yourself.

Better yet:  Get 3 stems for only $8!  That’s $1 back in your pocket.  (Do you sneeze at a dollar?  Are you allergic?!)  You can allow yourself to splurge on 3 stems when you recall Rodney Dangerfield’s alternate version of the Golden Rule:  “Look out for #1 and try not to step in #2.”

Cynics have often said that the Golden Rule really means, “Whoever has the gold makes the rules.”  Well, we’re offering everyone a chance to take a share of the power with the new Pesto Power Pack™.  For just $4, you get a bunch of basil AND these farm-fresh, hand-harvested garlic scapes that are worth their weight in gold.  Power to the pesto!

What else is cooking?  You can pick Yellow Transparent apples–great for saucing, drying, and freezing.  You can go treasure hunting for the last of the summer raspberries.  Next apples to pick will be Pristines, ready real soon.  The fall raspberries will come around later.

Pick your own cucumbers.  Field is right near the stand.  As if the cukes weren’t water-packed enough, there is a small flood in the field.  Slop around or tiptoe as you like.

Get the season’s first peppers at the stand:  jalapeños, serranos, green and purple bells, and more kinds on the way.

Farmer Allie has also started picking eggplant!  Fairytales, Japanese, and a few Classic.  The u-pick field will open soon.  Stay tuned.

You can roam the farm and cut your own flowers.  It’s pretty fun.  Make a bouquet or get one at the stand.  They make lovely gifts, if you want to go old-school Golden Rule.

Last chance to pick through this crop of Indian Creek shirts.  Mostly kid sizes are left.  Size 8 fits puppies 6-9 months, while size 10 will cover some yearlings.  Now only $10 for a hella cute, home-drawn shirt, hand-screened in Ithaca.

Speaking of kids and little shi(r)ts… umm… yeah!  Anyway, tune into Facebook to get upates on peach picking status between crop alerts.  Hope to see you at The ‘Creek.