DEAR ‘CREEKNIKS:  One of us farmers made a foray down to Hudson Valley apple country this week.  Aren’t you insane with curiosity about what we discovered there in the mountains?

First we confirmed the rumor:  We got gorges, but they got Gunks.  Touché.  Well played, Hudson.

Next we nabbed the copy cats.  We got a wine trail and they got a wine trail.  We got a CiderWeek and they got a CiderWeek.  They got an apple trail, and we… well… we don’t really have an apple trail.  But everybody knows we got the best apples.  Team Finger Lakes!  Champions foreverrrrrr!

But you don’t get credit just for living here.  You got to earn it by picking Finger Lakes food.  What is your first step toward becoming a varsity foodie?  Pick the first apples of the year — Transparents and Pristines — by August 1!

Yes, all you have to do is eat the apples of July.  The JV squad doesn’t start picking til Honeycrisp drops in the fall.  But you can start with Yellow Transparents in the Vintage Orchard.

Continue to the west end of Row 7 in the Dwarf Orchard.  There you will find Pristines.  Pick yourself a peanut butter vehicle.

Raspberries are still going, but you have to learn how to hunt.  It is just like the grocery store:  Everybody sees the eye-level product.  If you look low on the plant, and behind the leaves, you can find ripe berries even after a surge of rival pickers has spun through the patch.

New this week:  Pick sweet bell peppers!  This is your chance to check out our amazing NEW veggie fields, the biggest we’ve ever had.  Start with peppers and eggplant.  Tomatoes are still percolating.  Stay tuned.

Flowers:  Cut your own or grab a bouquet at the farm stand.  Also don’t miss the Lavish Lilies™ in the cooler.

What else can you find at the farm?  Everything that we listed in last week’s crop alert and more:  squash, eggplant, Swiss chard, flowers, basil, Thai basil, sage, dill, cilantro, parsley, oregano, peaches, blueberries, garlic scapes, onions, potatoes, melons, peppers, apples…

And the last few t-shirts.  These are stupid cute.  We have orange and yellow left in kid sizes only.  Printed front and back with hand-drawn farm doodles and silk-screened by hand in Ithaca.  Thanks for reading.  Hope to see you at The ‘Creek.