Peak Summer Harvest: Everybody Come Pick Your Own Peaches, Tomatoes, Asian Pears; First Fresh Apple Cider of the Year; Pick Your Own Flowers & Herbs; Fresh Donuts Thursday-Sunday; Piano Chicken Time.

– FRESH CROP ALERT –

U-Picking

Round peaches • Asian pears • Tomatoes • Peppers • Flowers • Herbs

Shopping

Beefsteak tomato peck sale ($16) • Peach peck sale ($26) • Apples • Peaches • Asian Pears • Tomatoes • Peppers • Fresh cider • Flowers • Garlic • Slushies • Coffee • Mugs • Honey • Lotion • Beeswax • Syrup • Pottery • Potted fruit trees • Fresh donuts Thursday-Sunday 11 AM to 5 PM

Business

See current hours on home page
See map & tips & safety in 2022 Farm Guide
Drive extra carefully on highway & farm
Thank you for being kind & nice

– FULL STORY –

DEAR FARMKETEERS: When pigs fly! When doves cry! When heck freezes over. Even freshman Farmketeers know what these old phrases mean. But only veteran ‘Creekniks know what it means when the Pickin’ Chicken tickles the ivories…

IT MEANS FARM SEASON PROPER! Yes, despite epic drought and widespread dread, late August has brought a lovely u-pick bounty for locavores including this week’s headline crops: peaches (classic round), tomatoes (especially juicy beefsteaks), and Asian pears (a fan flavorite!). We need you all picking ASAP. Please commence bumrush. There’s no need to read further. But! An unsubstantiated fact worth digesting: This is the most viewed piano-playing chicken of any small farm in the 12-county Finger Lakes region. Assorted other probable facts follow. But! Things change fast on a small farm.

U-PICK PEACHES: Round peaches (classic style) are in, flat peaches (donut style) are out. Overall it is a smaller crop this year, but this is peak week for peach picking. Please ask at the stand and we’ll direct you to the beautiful bountiful booty. You can also get a peck of peaches at the farmstand for only $26 while supplies last! That can actually equal or beat the u-pick price per pound.

NEW THIS WEEK: U-PICK TOMATOES! Technically there have been bits-n-bobs for a couple weeks, but now is the true tomato harvest. Especially BEEFSTEAKS! Load up and put up! They are so easy to chop and cook down and put into freezer bags for the off-season. There are also cherries and heirlooms. Romas are getting going, but not in full swing yet. You can also get a peck of beefsteaks at the farmstand for only $16 while supplies last! These are “field run” tomatoes meaning there will be some blemishes – perfect for your DIY culinary productions.

NEW THIS WEEK: U-PICK ASIAN PEARS! Surely you’ve tasted these before, right? They are more of an apple-shaped pear than a pear-flavored apple, but they’re not a cross of European fruits – they’ve been grown in China and Japan for over 3,000 years. They are wildly popular and the harvest flies by. This is your chance. The orchard is behind the playground, but ask at the stand so we can point you to the stuff that’s ready.

NEW THIS WEEK: FRESH CIDER! At the farmstand you can get the year’s first jugs of “Orchard Ambrosia” – that’s 100% unsweetened, unpasteurized juice of apples and sometimes a few pears. Nothing added. It’s like the old days. Earn your locavore credentials by starting with a jug this week and following with jugs over the coming weeks of apple harvest – the flavor will evolve as the varieties change each week. Freezes great, just pour a little off the top before freezing to keep it from going kaboom.

FRESH DONUTS! Served Thursday through Sunday 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Yes, with ever increasing verve and vigor as autumn approaches, the Mark 2 Donut Robot churns out fresh fried rings of fructotic splendor – sprinkled, if you like, with cinnamon sugar. “A SPRINKLE OF SIN, SUGAR,” is all you have to say. No donuts served on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, when the Mark 2 Donut Robot observes its lavish Cyborg Sabbath. Amen and hallelujah.

U-PICK PEPPERS. Come browse the pepper patch. Sweets and hots, many varieties, a veritable capsicum smorgasbord.

U-PICK FLOWERS. The u-pick field is right next to the farm stand and parking lot! Use scissors instead of ripping and tearing at flowers with your bare hands. Thank you!

U-SERVE COFFEE! First time ever, you can get a cup at the farmstand. We are brewing from hometown roaster, Ithaca Coffee Company, and you can serve yourself. No lattes, no pumpkin spice, no ice. Just a simple cuppa for your agritourism adventure. Self-serve kiosk next to the hole-in-the-wall donut shoppe. (New tumblers keep stuff hot or cold forever!)

HOW TO PICK AN APPLE. Apples are not quite ready to pick, but the harvest is imminent. This would be a good time to read our Farm School tutorial, How to Pick An Apple. And teach your rugrats. Respect les pommes!

& SO MUCH MORE. Please come help us harvest the best of summer crops now! Hurry! But! Don’t rush…

THIS IS THE MYSTICAL MAGICAL UNICORN OF SLOW DRIVING. Please drive slowly. We have witnessed several terrible, high-speed collisions on Route 96 by the farm in recent years. Approach the farm carefully, exit the farm carefully, and drive SLOWwwwwly when you are on the farm! Here is a free driver’s education reminder.

A Drivers Education
REMINDER

Entering from Ithaca

Indian Creek Farm is 1/2 mile north of the Cayuga Medical Center traffic light. We are on the left, just after the Dubois Road intersection, as you come over the rise. The farm entrance comes up quickly. There is no need to increase speed to 55 MPH. Stay slow to keep the cars behind you slow. Use your TURN SIGNAL well before the turn. We have watched people stop to turn into the farm without using their signal.

While on Farm

Please drive slowly. There is no hurry. You are on vacation while on the farm. There are kids and folks of all ages walking around the farm. Take it easy.

Exiting

Do not pull out if you can even see a car coming. Assume the car is speeding and that you will get hit.

Be patient, an opening will come.

BUS STOP = INDIAN CREEK! You can take your public transportation right to your u-pick destination. TCAT has moved the bus stop to directly in front of the farm, so anyone can take the #21 from town to our doorstep. You want to avoid using the #14, which ends at the hospital requiring a walk on the highway. Be safe!