Indian Creek Farm

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– SUMMARY –

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Everyone welcome • Open every day now through October • Current hours are 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM rain or shine • Pick your own strawberries or get prepicked quarts at the stand • Fresh garlic scapes • Lemon slushees • Fresh donuts Friday, Saturday and Sunday 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM • Local honey • Local syrup • Local pottery • Strawberries are sold by volume, not weight, so we provide containers for picking • COVID:  Farm stand staff are fully vaccinated, and current protocols include: (1) The farm is an outdoor experience and we are not requiring masks, (2) We recommend that non-vaccinated people wear masks, (3) Practice social distancing inside the covered farm stand area (4) Note that these protocols could change throughout the season • Drive slowly on the farm • Thank you for supporting small farms and local artisans 

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DEAR FARMKETEERS:  Early bird gets the worm!  But second mouse gets the cheese!  But third place is last winner!  Yes, folks, this is the third weekend of strawberry picking – and possibly your last chance to pick a big haul that will put you on the podium of ‘Creeknik Champions.

Come pick your last big haul.  What?!  But strawberry season just started?!  True.  We are only a couple weeks in, and only one week after announcing a huge crop.  But you all went berry bananas last weekend and did a exuberant job on the weekdays, too.  Just yesterday we saw a family of four – each person had picked a whole peck!  Hooray!  All this action has brought Farmer Steve, Strawberry Whisperer, to predict that the next 4 days are your best chance at the best picking.  Thursday and Friday to beat the crowds.  After the weekend, who knows?

Serving suggestion: See what Farm Fan @whiskandscone made! “Did some strawberry gathering at @indiancreekfarmithaca and figured before my eldest ate them all (believe me she would), that I better put them into some strawberry cupcakes with strawberry cream cheese frosting. No food coloring used here. These sweet, delectable summer berries provide all the coloring needed to make these that wonderful pink color…”

Market report:  Doing home improvement?Pandemic lumber prices are out of sight.  Haggling over a washing machine?  Forget about it!  Shopping for a barrel of light sweet crude?  Dump out your piggybank!  But our u-pick strawberry prices are charting a line as flat as Putin on a polygraph.  Exact same as last year:  $4/pint, $7/quart.  And we’re down a dollar off the peck price, now at $35.  A level peck is 8 level quarts.  (Though you won’t fit quite that many in a peck of berries unless you smash them to smithereens.)  Peck picking is one of the highest forms of u-pickery.

Please note!  We provide containers for strawberry season.  Strawberries are sold by volume, not weight, so we will ask you to pick into our pint, quart, and peck containers.    Of course you can bring your own buckets or boxes for taking the berries home after you have checked out.  For other crops later in the season (most of which go by weight) you can bring your own bags and boxes for picking, or buy our farm totes.

Fresh donuts are in season.  You can get yours Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 11:00 to 5:00.  The Mark 2 Donut Robot will be churning out fresh fried rings of fructotic splendor – sprinkled with cinnamon sugar if you must.  Simply say, “A sprinkle of sin, sugar.”

COVID status.  Farm stand staff are fully vaccinated.  Current protocols include: (1) The farm is an outdoor experience and we are not requiring masks, (2) We recommend that non-vaccinated people wear masks, (3) Practice social distancing inside the covered farm stand area (4) Note that these protocols could change throughout the season.  Thank you.

What else is picking?  Strawberries are the game this week.  But look at everything else that’s coming.  Should be a great season, most of the crops are the biggest ever, and we’ll need you here throughout the season – especially weekdays between Fresh Crop Alerts – to help us harvest the local bounty.  Please stay tuned and check our FACEBOOK PAGE for crop updates between newsletters.  Please understand that we often cannot pick up the phone during the season to answer questions about exactly how many strawberries you will find when you arrive in 2 days, nor can we keep up with the HUNDREDS of social media messages and emails that come in during the season.  There’s only a few of us, and many of you.  We’re really grateful for you.  It’s just that, for better or worse, Indian Creek is the kind of place you just have to pop in now and then to see what’s picking in real-time.  Our regulars are tuned into that reality and they make weekday scouting runs to score the best booty.

Love to y’all.  Hope to see you at The ‘Creek.

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Everyone welcome • Open every day now through October • Current hours are 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM rain or shine • Pick your own strawberries or get prepicked quarts at the stand • Lemon slushees • Basil Pots • Fresh donuts Saturday and Sunday 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM • Strawberries are sold by volume, not weight, so we provide containers for picking • COVID:  Farm stand staff are fully vaccinated, and current protocols include: (1) The farm is an outdoor experience and we are not requiring masks, (2) We recommend that non-vaccinated people wear masks, (3) Practice social distancing inside the covered farm stand area (4) Note that these protocols could change throughout the season • Drive slowly on the farm • Thank you for supporting small farms  

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BELOVED FARMKETEERS:  Aloha from the Fabled Queendom of Strawberristan!  Where daiquiris flow like bitcoins through loopholes in the tax code.

The farm is open.  This is the first Fresh Crop Alert of the year.  Come pick your own strawberries.  There are LOTS of berries to pick right now!  The usual spiel applies to strawberries and all crops that will follow in succession:  first come, first get.  The newsletter reaches some 10,000 local food lovers every week, and enterprising fruit fanatics have already started picking – even before this first edition of the 2021 season, which itself could incite a bumrush on the berry patch.  Therefore you simply have to come and hunt for berries yourself.  We can’t guarantee you a cornucopia.  And we might not be able to pick up the phone if you call for a berry report.  Please just come out and hunt around.  Look under the leaves.  People have been leaving with beautiful hauls each day, and the berry patch recharges with hot weather and sunshine. 

A word on good strawberry sense:  Please don’t taste-and-toss.  If you happen to smuggle a few berries into your yum-tum-tummy while you are picking, please don’t toss the remnants in the field.  If you take a bite, please stick the stems in your pocket, or if that’s too ewww for you, put them in a baggie or something.  Pack in, pack out.  We are asking everyone to remember that there are pickers and farmers coming through after you.

We provide containers for strawberry season.  U-pick strawberry prices are same as last year:  $4/pint, $7/quart, $35/peck.  Strawberries are sold by volume, not weight, so we will ask you to pick into our pint, quart, and peck containers.    Of course you can bring your own buckets or boxes for taking the berries home after you have checked out.  For other crops later in the season (most of which go by weight) you can bring your own bags and boxes for picking, or buy our farm totes.

COVID update.  Farm stand staff are fully vaccinated.  Current protocols include: (1) The farm is an outdoor experience and we are not requiring masks, (2) We recommend that non-vaccinated people wear masks, (3) Practice social distancing inside the covered farm stand area (4) Note that these protocols could change throughout the season.  Thank you for being the best customers anywhere.  It will be good and happy to see you here again.

Another point of business, a simple word about inclusivity – everyone is welcome.  That has always been the case at The ‘Creek.  We’re not normal and you don’t have to be either.  Come one, come all.  Just be kind.  Photo by long-time Farmketeer Hannah.

And now back to agriculture.  Top crop for many of you is donuts.  You can get them Saturday and Sunday 11:00 to 5:00.  The Mark 2 Donut Robot will be churning out fresh fried rings of fructotic splendor – sprinkled with cinnamon sugar if you must.  Simply say, “A sprinkle of sin, sugar.”

New this year.  Basil pots!  Get them at the stand.

What else is ready to pick?  For now just strawberries.  But soon there will be a cavalcade of crops – lord willing the creek don’t rise and she don’t bust out the Dust Bowl.  It begins with strawberries then garlic then raspberries and peaches and plums and tomatoes and peppers and pears and apples and eggplant and pumpkins and sprouts and all that.  So, now starts the harvest.  Please come say hello to the new season.

Love to y’all.  Hope to see you at The ‘Creek.

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Farm is now open self-serve 7 days a week 9:00 to 5:00 • Pick the last Mutsu APPLES and cut your own SPROUTS • GOODIES at the stand = apples & cider jugs every day; cider slushees & hot spiced cider on weekend • COVID rules include (1) Keep SAFE distance, (2) wear MASK in closer quarters, (3) monitor your KIDS, (4) BYOBags for picking produce • Drive slowwwwly on the farm • Thank you for being the kindest ‘Creekniks

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DEAR FARMKETEERS:  Leave it to you – our brilliant and dedicated corps of locavores – to turn the WORST. YEAR. EVER. into the BEST. SEASON. EVER.  This weekend we invite you to come pick the last mutsus and sprouts, and say farewell to the farm til next year.  If there are a few remaining straggler apples to pick after the weekend, we might announce it on Facebook and Instagram instead of sending a Fresh Crop Alert.  Thank you all for supporting local farms.  Be well.

Pick your own Mutsu apples.  Mutsu is the annual orchard finale – and a delicious, versatile, delightful apple.  It is an excellent dessert apple, and makes first-rate juice, pie, and sauce.  Mutsus will not shrivel when stored, and they hold flavor through winter.  Come pick the last pomes of the year.

Cut your own Brussels sprouts.  These massively nutritious spheroids of cruciferous crunchings are your best food-friend in late autumn.  Cut a fresh stalk yourself, pop off the sprouts, chop in half, stir fry with bacon or facon.  Please cut the whole stalk, not individual sprouts.

Get sweet cider jugs for winter.  This is the 11th – and possibly final – week of “Orchard Ambrosia,” our 100% unpasteurized, old-fashioned, nothing-added cider.  You can get gallon and half-gallon jugs.  It’s just apples and maybe a few pears, cold-pressed into juice.  Freezes great, just drain off a little to keep the bottle from going kaboom in the freezer.

Today we say farewell to a great farm year, and a great Farm Friend, Robert, who passed away of cancer.  From making delightful signs to wrangling spreadsheets of fruit tree data and all sorts of odd tasks in between, Robert was “the man” and a pleasure to have on the farm.  He landed at The ‘Creek in 2017 upon returning to the USA after a teaching appointment in Poland. 

Robert’s memorable signage – the famous “Produce Portal” and “Heirloom Clock” and other quirky guideposts around the farm – are now part of ‘Creek lore.  Maybe these remind us to think about portals to other universes, and the longevity of trees versus human machines, a farmy meditation on deep space and deep time.

Seeing Robert walk through the orchard with his daughter, Grace, even as the disease made a simple walk very difficult, inspired all of us at the farm.  Robert fought valiantly and with purpose. 

November 1 would have been Robert’s 56th birthday.  We all miss him.  We miss his bread baking, his story telling, and his ever-so-dapper attire, fitting for the “Old Spice” model that we always imagined him to be in another life. Thank you, Robert.

This season we also said farewell to the gentlest giant of a fluffball farm dog.  Zorro brought joy to THOUSANDS of u-pickers who encountered him in his usual posture – napping in the orchard – or ambling ever-so-leisurely to say hello to visitors with an “arfy woof.”

Zorro was a living poem.  He was the 4-pawed, 130-pound embodiment of Walt Whitman’s celebrated line, “I lean and loafe at my ease… observing a spear of summer grass.”  Now Zorro has flown to his mythical wintry mountain home atop the Pyrenees.  Thank you for being with us, Zorro.

Love to y’all.  Hope to see you at The ‘Creek.

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– SUMMARY – 

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Farm is open 7 days a week 9:00 to 5:00 rain or shine, but self-serve on weekdays • This could be the final weekend of farm activity • Pick your own Mutsu APPLES and cut your own SPROUTS at half-price • Eat fresh DONUTS on Sat and Sun 11:00 to 5:00 • GOODIES at the stand = apples, cider jugs, cider slushees, hot spiced cider • COVID rules include (1) Keep SAFE distance, (2) wear MASK in closer quarters, (3) monitor your KIDS, (4) BYOBags for picking produce • Drive slowwwwly on the farm • Thank you for being good and kind Farmketeers

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DEAR FARMKETEERS:  This is probably the final weekend of farmalicious activities.  You can come pick the Mutsus and cut your own sprouts – all at 50% off the normal U-pick price – and get fresh air on the hilltop overlooking the Cayuga valley.  We’ll have the donut machine going Saturday and Sunday. 

Pick your own Mutsu APPLES at 50% OFF.  Mutsu is the orchard finale – a delicious, versatile, and delightful apple.  It’s an excellent dessert apple, and makes first-class juice, pie, and sauce.  Mutsus will not shrivel when stored, and they hold flavor through winter.  Please come pick the last apples.  The NORMAL u-pick price is $2.25/lb with breaks at 15 pounds ($1.50/lb) and 42 pounds ($1.25/lb).  Cut that in half for the end-of-season deal.  So 75¢ a pound if you pick 15-42 pounds.

Cut your own SPROUTS.  These massively nutritious spheroids of cruciferous craving are your best food friend in late autumn.  Cut a fresh stalk yourself, pop off the sprouts, chop in half, stir fry with bacon or fakin’.  Please cut the whole stalk, not individual sprouts since that will wreck the plant.  And you are not a plant wrecker.  You are a sprout lover.  The normal u-pick price is $7/stalk or 3 for $15.  Take half off that for the end-of-season deal.  So $3.50/stalk or $2.50/stalk if you cut 3. 

Still have CIDER jugs – could end soon!  This is the 10th week of “Orchard Ambrosia,” our 100% unpasteurized, old-fashioned, nothing-added cider.  You can still get gallon and half-gallon jugs.  Freezes great.  It’s just apples and maybe a few pears, cold-pressed into juice.  It gets better every week as the apple blend complexifies, so now is the apex, the pinnacle, the zenith – even the acme! – of sweet cider season.

Probably last blast on fresh cider DONUTS – Saturday and Sunday 11:00 to 5:00.  Yes, we still have a somewhat functional nation and donuts are still rolling off the Mark 2 Donut Robot under the watchful eye of Nick the Donut Kid.  The Donuttic Duo is churning out these freshly fried toroids of fructotic splendor – optionally sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.  Just whisper, “A sprinkle of SIN, SUGAR.”

Love to y’all.  Hope to see you at The ‘Creek.

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Farm is open 7 days a week 8:00 to 7:00 rain or shine, but hours and staffing could be reduced after November 1  • Pick your own Mutsu APPLES • Cut your own SPROUTS • Eat fresh DONUTS on Fri, Sat, and Sun 11:00 to 6:00 (maybe final weekend) • Halloween Saturday 2:00 to 7:00 fried chicken FOOD TRUCK and get a FREE CUP of hot cider from the bubbling cauldron if you come in costume • GOODIES at the stand = apples, sprouts, cider jugs, honey, syrup, slushees, hot spiced cider, donuts • COVID rules include (1) Keep SAFE distance, (2) wear MASK in closer quarters, (3) monitor your KIDS, (4) BYOBags for picking produce • Drive slowwwwly on the farm • Thank you for being such loyal and faithful Farmketeers

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DEAR FARMKETEERS:  Good news!  The official source of life predictions for aggies like us – The Farmers Almanac – did NOT forecast an apocalypse for this year.  That means things are bound to turn around soon!  Maybe we are even “rounding the corner” – hooray!  But since we farmers never count our chickens before… well… before an election in a recession in a pandemic in a climate crisis, please help us humbly and collectively share gratitude for the abundant harvest we have enjoyed so far this year.  Here’s five ways how.

(1) Pick your own Mutsu APPLES.  You have wiped the orchards clean of 100 other varieties, and the Mutsu is a fitting finale – a delicious, versatile, and delightful apple.  It’s an excellent dessert apple, and makes first-class juice, pie, and sauce.  Mutsus will not shrivel when stored, and they hold flavor through winter.  Please come pick the last apples of the year.  You can also find Mutsu, Newtown Pippin, Empire, Ashmeads Kernel, Golden Russet, and Roxbury Russet apples at the farm stand while supplies last.

(2) Cut your own SPROUTS.  These massively nutritious spheroids of cruciferous craving are best in late fall.  Cut a fresh stalk yourself, pop off the sprouts, chop in half, stir fry with bacon or fakin’.  Please cut the whole stalk, not individual sprouts since that will wreck the plant.  And you are not a plant wrecker.  You are a sprout lover. 

(3) Get CIDER every day – but only while we still have apples to press – could end soon!  This is the 9th week of “Orchard Ambrosia,” our 100% unpasteurized, old-fashioned, nothing-added cider.  You can still get gallon and half-gallon jugs.  Freezes great.  It’s just apples and maybe a few pears, cold-pressed into juice.  It gets better every week as the apple blend complexifies, so now is the apex, the pinnacle, the zenith – even the acme! – of sweet cider season.

(4) Get fresh cider DONUTS on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 11:00 to 6:00 – could be the final weekend!  Donuts are still rolling off the Mark 2 Donut Robot under the watchful eye of Nick the Donut Kid.  Yes, the Donuttic Duo is churning out these freshly fried toroids of fructotic splendor – optionally sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.  Just whisper, “A sprinkle of SIN, SUGAR.”  Depending on weather and apples, maybe we’ll do donuts another week, but unless you’re a gambler, come get your donuts now. 

(5) Stop by the play area on Halloween Saturday, 2:00 to 7:00 PM, to get a FREE CUP of hot cider (if you are in costume!) and visit the FRIED CHICKEN food truck.  Here’s the idea.  This was the busiest year ever at The ‘Creek, so we wanted to thank our staff who did a marvelous job in challenging conditions, and thank you Farmketeers for being the best locavores in the land.  So this is going to be a safe and quiet little thank-you picnic.  Our friend Eric will have his food truck with amazing southern-fried chicken sandwiches and tenders, extra-cheesy mac and cheese with cheddar-parmesan bechamel, and crunchy savory hush puppies!  He will also make caramel-chocolate pecan pie, fresh brewed dark coffee, and organic chocolate peanut butter banana smoothies!  (He will accept cash and credit card.)  Nearby you will find a bonfire and cauldron of hot cider.  Come to the copper kettle to get a free cup of cider IF YOU ARE IN COSTUME!  No, your covid mask doesn’t count!  We’re talking good old-fashioned Halloween gitups.

NOTE:  This will be a safe, socially distanced picnic setting, where everyone is asked to respect the well-being of others, no matter who you want to see in the Oval Office.  Wear your mask – creepy or not – whether you are in costume or not.  Keep safe distance from everyone who’s not in your pod.  Be smart and help us finish the season safely.

Please BRING YOUR OWN BAGS for picking fruits and vegetables.  You can fill your bags as you wander the orchards and sprout patch, then set them on the scale at checkout, and we will ring you out without touching your bags.  You can also buy our totes which you might have seen around town.

And now a word from our sprout sponsors.  Edible Finger Lakes says:  “While they may not make most lists of everyone’s favorite vegetable, when correctly cooked and seasoned, Brussels sprouts can offer a sweetness that is nutty and natural.  You can find them locally at farms such as @indiancreekfarmithaca.  #flxfood #eatlocal #flxfarms #flxfarmtotable #flxrecipes #brusselsprouts #localfoodmovement 🌱“.  Thank you @edibleflx.

Love to y’all.  Hope to see you at The ‘Creek.

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SUMMARY

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Farm is open 7 days a week 8:00 to 7:00 rain or shine • Pick your own Mutsu, Golden Russet, Roxbury Russet, Ashmead’s Kernel apples • Cut your own Brussels sprouts • Eat fresh cider donuts Fri, Sat, and Sun 11:00 to 6:00 • Now filling your 5-gallon cider carboys, see details below • All pumpkins are GONE for 2020 • Goodies at the stand = apples, sprouts, squashes, cider jugs, cider slushees, hot spiced cider, donuts, honey, syrup • COVID rules include (1) Keep SAFE distance, (2) wear MASK in closer quarters, (3) monitor your KIDS, (4) BYOBags for picking produce • Drive slowwwwly on the farm • Thank you for being rational and compassionate Farmketeers

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FULL STORY

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DEAR FARMKETEERS:  The nation seems more polarized than ever.  Who is to blame?  Conservative bullies?  Liberal liars?  The 1%?  The lawless hordes?  And will we succumb to something sinister, or rally the forces of hope and positive change?  Well, small chance we will settle these puzzlers in this Fresh Crop Alert.  But there is ONE THING we can agree on:  Robots are people, too.  And they have a home at The ‘Creek.

Yes, human-robot relations have never been better, especially here on the farm, where Nick the Donut Kid and the Mark 2 Donut Robot have teamed up to serve more donuts this year than any 2 years combined.  Holey flaming doughball statistics!  You can get fresh cider donuts every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 11:00 to 6:00, until we give “NickMark” the Cyborg a rest for the off-season, which could be PRETTY SOOOOON!  So come now, People of the Donut.  The Donuttic Duo is still churning out these freshly fried toroids of fructotic splendor – optionally sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.  Just whisper, “A sprinkle of SIN, SUGAR.”  Meanwhile, for you purists – you who think the purpose of an apple is to be eaten out of hand, not squeezed into juice that’s poured into dough then sold over the counter as a deep-fried abomination – you can still pick apples.  In fact this might be your last chance to pick four prized late-season varieties, and geek out good and proper on pomological lore.  In this week’s edition, we present Mutsu, Golden Russet, Roxbury Russet, and Ashmead’s Kernel, with detailed dossiers straight from our fruit tree nursery catalog. Please read on…

Pick your own Mutsu apples.  The Million Dollar Apple from Japan.  Also known as Crispin. 

“The tree is vigorous and large; it will need extra space in the orchard.  A triploid, Mutsu should be grown with two diploid pollenizers for full fertility.  It is somewhat susceptible to fireblight, scab, powdery mildew, and cedar-apple rust, and it will need to be thinned to maintain annual bearing.  It is also highly susceptible to blister spot, but this is a cosmetic issue that will be of concern only to commercial growers.  Trees may need scoring to force buds low on the trunk to form scaffold limbs.  Mutsu has a comparatively low chill hours requirement (500-600 hours).”

“These apples are really, really big.  They are the last major crop at our u-pick farm in Ithaca, NY, and they have a faithful following of pickers who come every year to finish the apple season by packing as many pumpkin-sized Mutsus as they can carry into a sack or a laundry basket.  It’s an excellent eating apple, and it makes first-class juice, pie, and sauce.  The fruit is large, oblong, and irregular.  The smooth greenish-yellow skin is waxy and clear with a copper blush, and the dense flesh is crisp, juicy, and coarse-grained with a sprightly flavor.  The fruit does not shrivel when stored, and holds flavor through winter.  Some growers report issues with bitter pit, but we have not seen this.”

“Mutsu was developed in 1937 as a cross between Golden Delicious and Indo.  From the Aomori Research Station, Kurioshi, Japan, it was introduced to the US in 1948.  In Japan, Mutsu is known as the Million Dollar Apple, and sells at very high prices.  Individual fruits are often grown in paper bags on the tree, causing them to develop a crystal yellow or pinkish color, but the bagging diminishes flavor.”

Pick your own Golden Russet apples.  A prized heirloom for fresh eating and cider. Also known as American Golden Russet and Bullock. 

“Golden Russet is vigorous, productive, and a reliable annual cropper (an uncommon quality for an heirloom).  It is resistant to scab and cedar-apple rust, but susceptible to fireblight.  Care should be taken when pruning, as this is a tip-bearing tree.”

“This apple is one of the most prized among apple connoisseurs, ranking with Cox’s Orange Pippin in terms of flavor quality.  It is a medium-sized apple that is russeted bronze over greenish gold and speckled with white lenticels.  The flesh is creamy and dense, yielding a rich, aromatic juice that is high in sugar and acid and low in tannin.  Golden Russet is highly esteemed among cider makers for its ability to reliably produce excellent juice, and it is often used for single-variety ciders.  The fruit stores exceptionally well, remaining crunchy and flavorful throughout winter.  Tasters often describe the flavor of Golden Russet as ‘nutty,’ but this doesn’t even begin to capture the delightful intensity of its honeyed sweetness.  [Per Washington State University:  Tannin (percent tannic acid): 0.10; Acid (percent malic acid): 0.66; pH: 3.58; SG: 1.061; oBrix 15.4.]”

“Golden Russet is one of the more difficult varieties to pin down. Over the years, dozens of different apples have been so named and contradictory descriptions of the various Golden Russets abound.  In Apples of North America, Tom Burford says that he once made a list of more than twenty apples that have been referred to as Golden Russet.  These days, there appear to be two commonly sold variants in North America.  The Golden Russet at Indian Creek Farm ripens later than the other variant—at the end of October in Upstate NY.  The russeting is extensive, with almost no smooth patches.  It is closest in form to what Beach in Apples of New York calls ‘Bullock’ or ‘American Golden Russet.'”

Pick your own Roxbury Russet apples.  One of America’s oldest apples, good for storage, baking, and cider. Also known as Belpre Russet, Boston Russet, Hewe’s Russet, Putnam Russet, Leather Coat. 

“A cold-hardy, high vigor, open-spreading tree, Roxbury is triploid and will require two diploid pollenizers for full fertility.  Reports on disease resistance vary wildly; in our orchards we find that it is mildly susceptible to all major diseases, but that its vigorous growth tends to outpace these problems.  It has a slight tendency (easily managed by thinning) to biennialism.”

“This late-season apple is large, green-gold, and covered with a fine russet that thickens toward the stem.  The flesh is hard, granular, and crunchy.  Almost inedibly tart when first harvested, it will sweeten and mellow in storage.  Roxbury is an excellent baker, and it is a favorite with cider makers.  It needs to be harvested promptly as it has a tendency to drop, but it will store well through the winter.”

“Along with Rhode Island Greening, this is one of the oldest varieties native to America.  It first grew on the farm of Ebenezer Davis in Roxbury, Massachusetts, early in the 1600s.  In the late 1700s, it was brought to Marietta, Ohio, and sold by Putnam Nursery under the names Putnam Russet and Marietta Russet.  It was also known as Shippens Russet in New York for a brief period, when it was cultivated by Chief Justice Shippen.”

Pick your own Ashmead’s Kernel apples.  An intensely flavored heirloom apple prized by connoisseurs and cider makers.  Also known as Ashmead, Ashmeads. 

“The tree has an upright-spreading habit.  It has moderate disease resistance and blooms late enough to avoid most frosts.  The fruit needs to be thinned to maintain annual bearing.  Ashmead’s has been confirmed to be triploid; it should not be used as a pollenizer, and two diploid pollenizers are required for full pollination.”

“Ashmead’s is an old variety that is reputed to have been first cultivated from a seedling in Gloucester, England, in the early 1700’s by the lawyer William Ashmead.  The appearance of the fruit is interesting; it is a small to midsized apple with a russeted honey-green skin that ripens to an orange blush under the russet.  At our farmstand, some customers comment that “it looks like a potato.”  Biting into an Ashmead’s, however, reveals a dense, nutty flesh bursting with honeyed zing.  The flavor is intense and complex, high in both sugar and acid, and the juice is prized by cider makers.”

“Steve Wood of Farnum Hill Ciders describes Ashmead’s as ‘a delicious trip to that fine line between pleasure and pain,’ and he finds that it adds ‘mad florals’ and tropical notes to cider blends.  While the acidity of the fresh-picked fruit might not agree with some tastes, Ashmead’s mellows with age, and an October harvest is best stored for eating around Christmas, when notes of pear, spice, and orange blossom will emerge.  This extraordinary and versatile apple has recently enjoyed renewed popularity among apple aficionados and is one of our best sellers.” 

If you have read this far, maybe you are an apple aficionado, too!  And now, on to sprouts.

Cut your own Brussels sprouts.  Also known as BROUTS for short.  Stirfry with bacon or fakin’ and feel the nutrients flow.  In one of our best signage decisions ever, you will find the sprouts in the patch marked “SPROUTS.”  We have removed the leaves from the stalks that are ready.  Cut the whole stalk; don’t pick individual sprouts since that wrecks the plant.  Don’t be a plant wrecker.  Be a sprout lover.  You can also find stalks at the farm stand if you don’t want to cut your own.  These are a great party trick – who shows up with sprout stalks?!  They work almost as well on Zoom parties.

There are no pumpkins on the farm.  You PICKED EVERY SINGLE ONE and you also CLEANED OUT THE FARM STAND PILE. A person might say, “You ‘Creekniks went all ‘Creeknik on those pumpkins.”  Thank you and sorry to the late-comers.  Just to be clear and avoid disappointed little faces, there are no pumpkins here for the rest of 2020 – no biggies, no tinies, no carvers or painters.  A few thousand found their forever homes.

Get CIDER every day.  This is the 8th week of “Orchard Ambrosia” – our 100% unpasteurized, old-fashioned, nothing-added cider.  You can get gallon and half-gallon jugs.  Freezes great.  It’s just apples and maybe a few pears, cold-pressed into juice.  It gets better every week as the apple blend complexifies. 

Homebrew cider fans, get your carboys filled NOW.  Bring your 5-gallon carboys to Indian Creek and we will fill them with 100% unpasteurized cider for $35 each (only $7/gallon) OR $6/gallon when you buy 10-45 gallons (2-9 carboys) OR $5/gallon when you get 50 gallons (10 carboys).  As of today the ever-changing blend includes Cortland, Gala, Spy, McIntosh, Liberty, Fortune, Honeycrisp, and more.  Leave your carboys inside the double doors at the farm stand with your name and number attached.  We will call you when filled.

Please BRING YOUR OWN BAGS for picking fruits and vegetables.  You can fill your bags as you wander the orchards, then set them on the scale at checkout, and we will ring you out without touching your bags.  You can also buy our totes which you might have seen around town.

Amidst the stress and strife of this year, we hope you all can find some fall feels.  Thank you @mellcasey.

Love to y’all.  Hope to see you at The ‘Creek.

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SUMMARY

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Farm is open 7 days a week 8:00 to 7:00 rain or shine • Pick your own Mutsu, Cortland, Red Spy, Rome Beauty apples • Cut your own Brussels sprouts • Find pumpkins around the farm and stand (u-pick patch is picked out) • Eat fresh cider DONUTS Fri, Sat, and Sun 11:00 to 6:00 • Now filling cider carboy orders, details below • Goodies at the stand = pumpkins, apples, pears, sprouts, squashes, ginger, turmeric, garlic, honey, syrup, slushees, hot spiced cider • COVID rules include (1) Keep SAFE distance, (2) wear MASK in closer quarters, (3) monitor your KIDS, (4) BYOBags for picking produce • Drive slowly on the farm • Thank you for being first-class Farmketeers

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FULL STORY

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DEAR FARMKETEERS:  This could be the last weekend of major apple picking.  If the weather is pleasant and the turnout is robust, your fellow ‘Creekniks will draw the u-pick apple crop down to a modest remainder – enough perhaps for a final week or ten days of quieter picking.  So the next few days might be your chance to have a vigorous October harvest experience.

Pick your own Mutsu apples.  It is a beautiful abundant crop this year, and these are prized dessert apples.  Head south to find the Mutsu Orchard beyond the Dwarf Orchard.  Also known as Crispin, Mutsu is perhaps the most versatile apple on the farm.  It is a dessert apple.  A pie apple.  A bake-it-right-in-the-oven apple.  It is the little black cocktail dress of apples.  Appropriate for any occasion – and irresistible with that fetching hint of Mutsu blush. 

Mutsus get as big as pumpkins.  Or pumpkins get as small as Mustus.  Dad planted the Mutsu orchard back in ’84.  We could rhapsodize about the Mutsus for weeks.  The British call them “oven busters” since a couple of old orchard ladies could pick one giant Mutsu and bake it in the oven and split it as dessert for their afternoon stitch-n-bitch.  But – as we have opined before – boys can do that, too.  Ovens and stitching and b*tching aren’t just for girls.  Same with dessert.  And feelings.  And sharing.  And little black cocktail dresses.  All welcome at The ‘Creek.  Hooray.

The u-pick Pumpkin Patch got picked clean last weekend, but you can still find pumpkins at the farm.  We have set pumpkins around the farm, priced individually with labels, and also you can get them at the farm stand.   They will probably get cleaned out this weekend.

Pick your own Cortland apples.  Yes you can still find Cortlands in the Vintage Orchard, scattered around on big old trees with yellow ribbons.  These are the apples that don’t oxidize (turn brown) quickly after cutting, making them ideal for fruit salads, lunch boxes, and food art.

Time to pick Rome Beauty (pictured) and Red Spy apples.  These are our traditional harbingers of the late phase of apple harvest season.  Everything is early this year, so pick Rome (blue ribbons) and Red Spy (red ribbons) starting now!

Cut your own Brussels sprouts.  Also known as BROUTS for short.  Stirfry with bacon or fakin’ and feel the nutrients flow.  In one of our best signage decisions ever, you will find the sprouts in the patch marked “SPROUTS.”  We have removed the leaves from the stalks that are ready.  Cut the whole stalk; don’t pick individual sprouts since that wrecks the plant.  Don’t be a plant wrecker.  Be a sprout lover.

Get sprouts at the stand.  You will find stalks at the farm stand if you don’t want to cut your own.  These are a great party trick – who shows up with sprout stalks?!  But until parties are allowed again, these work almost as well on Zoom parties.

Get fresh cider donuts every weekend.  Donuts are rolling off the Mark 2 Donut Robot every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 11:00 to 6:00.  Nick the Donut Kid is churning out these freshly fried toroids of fructotic splendor – optionally sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.  Just whisper, “A sprinkle of SIN, SUGAR.”

Get CIDER every day.  This is the 7th week of “Orchard Ambrosia” – our 100% unpasteurized, old-fashioned, nothing-added cider.  You can get gallon and half-gallon jugs.  Freezes great.  It’s just apples and maybe a few pears, cold-pressed into juice.  It gets better every week as the apple blend complexifies. 

Homebrew cider fans, get your carboys filled NOW.  Bring your 5-gallon carboys to Indian Creek and we will fill them with 100% unpasteurized cider for $35 each (only $7/gallon) OR $6/gallon when you buy 10-45 gallons (2-9 carboys) OR $5/gallon when you get 50 gallons (10 carboys).  As of today the ever-changing blend includes Cortland, Gala, Spy, McIntosh, Liberty, Fortune, Honeycrisp, and more.  Leave your carboys inside the double doors at the farm stand with your name and number attached.  We will call you when filled.

Get local GINGER and TURMERIC.  You only need to taste an itsy-bitsy slice of fresh ginger root to be a convert for life.  Good enough to eat out of hand, not to mention bringing life to your cooking creations.  Same with the fresh turmeric root.  Sharon and Dean from TreeGate Farm around the corner have been delighting farm fans with these tropical roots grown here in the Finger Lakes. 

Please BRING YOUR OWN BAGS for picking fruits and vegetables.  You can fill your bags as you wander the orchards, then set them on the scale at checkout, and we will ring you out without touching your bags.  You can also buy our totes which you might have seen around town.

Love to y’all.  Hope to see you at The ‘Creek.

---

SUMMARY

---

Farm is open 7 days a week 8:00 to 7:00 rain or shine • Open Monday holiday 10/12/20 • Pick your pumpkins fast, the small 2020 patch will be picked clean in a couple days • Pick Mutsu, Cortland, Northern Spy, Prairie Spy, Spigold, Sir Prize, last Fuji, last Spartan, last Splendour, and more • Cut your own Brussels sprouts • Cut last flowers • Eat fresh cider donuts FRI, SAT, SUN, MON 11:00 to 6:00 • Now filling cider carboy orders, details below • Goodies at the stand = apples, pears, sprouts, squashes, ginger, turmeric, garlic, honey, syrup, slushees, hot spiced cider • COVID rules include (1) Keep SAFE distance, (2) wear MASK in closer quarters, (3) monitor your KIDS, (4) BYOBags for picking produce • Drive slowly on the farm • Thank you for being the best Farmketeers since sliced bread

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FULL STORY

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DEAR FARMKETEERS:  You probably think of pumpkins as the whales of the vegetable world.  Jumbo and blubbery and slow, undulating languidly through the depths of our collective agrarian unconscious.  Well, good thing you have come to Farm School this week, so we can dispel two faulty notions in one swoop:  Pumpkins are not vegetables, and they are not slow.  They move faster than you think, faster than some ‘Creekniks can blink.

The Pumpkin Patch is now open for u-pick, and the pumpkins will disappear very fast this year.  Our 2020 patch is much smaller than usual, and earlybirds snuck around the gate last week to grab their dream gourds before you could even dream your dream.  As it is in life, so it is in Pumpkinland.  Anyway these fruits are moving fast and the patch might not last the weekend.

If you don’t find pumpkins in the u-pick patch, you might find others scattered around.  We have piled hundreds of pumpkins around the farm for easy picking as you wander by.  They are priced individually with labels. 

It is high season for some of the very best apples on the farm:  Prairie Spy, Northern Spy, Spigold.  Time to pick your favorite members of the Spy family in Rows 16 and 17 of the Dwarf Orchard.  These October apples are prized by pie makers and lovers of old-fashioned American apples.  Great for fresh eating, baking, and putting up – beloved “winter” apples.  You might also find the last of several varieties in the Dwarf Orchard (Sir Prize, Fuji, Spartan, Splendour) and Vintage Orchard (Cortlands on big trees with yellow ribbons).

It is also the start of Mutsu season!  Some people wait all year for this moment.  You can pick your own Mutsu apples now in the Mutsu Orchard south of the Dwarf Orchard.  Also known as Crispin, Mutsu is perhaps the most versatile apple on the farm.  It is a dessert apple.  A pie apple.  A bake-it-right-in-the-oven apple.  It is the little black cocktail dress of apples.  Appropriate for any occasion – and irresistible with that fetching hint of Mutsu blush.  Plus they get as big as pumpkins, their fellow fruits.  Dad planted the Mutsu orchard back in ’84.  We could rhapsodize about the Mutsus for weeks.  The British call them “oven busters” since a couple of old orchard ladies could pick one giant Mutsu and bake it in the oven and split it as dessert for their afternoon stitch-n-bitch.  But – as we have opined before – boys can do that, too.  Ovens and stitching and b*tching aren’t just for girls.  Same with dessert.  And feelings.  And sharing.  And little black cocktail dresses.  All welcome at The ‘Creek.  Hooray.

Cut your own Brussels sprouts.  Also known as Brouts for short.  Stirfry with bacon or fakin’ and feel the nutrients flow.  In one of our best signage moves ever, you will find the sprouts in the patch marked “SPROUTS.”  We have removed the leaves from the stalks that are ready.  Cut the whole stalk; don’t pick individual sprouts since that wrecks the plant.  Don’t be a plant wrecker.  Be a sprout lover.

Get fresh cider donuts every weekend – including the holiday Monday 10/12/20.  Donuts are rolling off the Mark 2 Donut Robot Friday, Saturday, Sunday, AND Monday 11:00 to 6:00.  Nick the Donut Kid is churning out these freshly fried toroids of fructotic splendor – optionally sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.  Just whisper, “A sprinkle of SIN, SUGAR.”

Get CIDER every day.  This is the 6th week of “Orchard Ambrosia” – our 100% unpasteurized, old-fashioned, nothing-added cider.  You can get gallon and half-gallon jugs.  Freezes great.  It’s just apples and maybe a few pears, cold-pressed into juice.  It gets better every week as the apple blend complexifies. 

Homebrew cider fans, get your carboys filled NOW.  Bring your 5-gallon carboys to Indian Creek and we will fill them with 100% unpasteurized cider for $35 each (only $7/gallon) OR $6/gallon when you buy 10-45 gallons (2-9 carboys) OR $5/gallon when you get 50 gallons (10 carboys).  As of today the ever-changing blend includes Cortland, Gala, Spy, McIntosh, Liberty, Fortune, Honeycrisp, and more.  Just leave your carboys inside the double doors at the farm stand with your name and number attached.  We will call you when filled.

Get local GINGER and TURMERIC.  You only need to taste an itsy-bitsy slice of fresh ginger root to be a convert for life.  Good enough to eat out of hand, not to mention bringing life to your cooking creations.  Same with the fresh turmeric root.  Sharon and Dean from TreeGate Farm around the corner have been delighting farm fans with these tropical roots grown here in the Finger Lakes. 

Please BRING YOUR OWN BAGS for picking fruits and vegetables.  You can fill your bags as you wander the orchards, then set them on the scale at checkout, and we will ring you out without touching your bags.  You can also buy our totes which you might have seen around town.

Did you pick any of the last peppers of the year?  Did you “put up” some in September?  See what Farmketeer @katnessharriet did with her jalapeños.  “Kitchen experiments in keto:  bacon wrapped, cheese stuffed, jalapenos 😋 Farm fresh peppers from @indiancreekfarmithaca were made for this kind of exaltation 🔥🧡”  Yummmmmm.

An apple thought:  “For nearly a thousand years a small orchard was a part of nearly every viable farm in northern Europe, and later in the northeastern United States.  Apples being the hardiest fruits, the apple orchard would hold at least a dozen trees of several varieties — some for fresh eating, some for cooking, some for making cider.  Most of those trees were grafted onto full-size rootstocks that could grow to a height of 30 to 40 feet,” (Frank Browning, Apples) which put much of the fruit out of reach without huge ladders and considerable strength.  Today at Indian Creek you will find some 1,500 apple trees on dwarfing rootstocks which keeps the trees short and plump for easy picking – allowing folks to pick a few fruits with kids and elders for a lazy afternoon of local fooding.  So we can pat ourselves on the back for that, but meanwhile…

Remember that there is more to the story of local food in America.  It is good to think about the nature of this holiday in all its complex dimensions.

Love to y’all. Hope to see you at The ‘Creek.

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SUMMARY

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Farm is open 7 days a week 8:00 to 7:00 rain or shine • Pick Fuji, Liberty, Fortune, Spartan, Snowsweet, Jonagold, Macoun, and more apples • Cut your own Brussels sprouts • Find first pumpkins • Pick winter squashes • Cut last flowers • Eat fresh cider donuts Fri-Sun 11:00 to 6:00 • Final tomato canning/saucing sale, see details below • Goodies at the stand = Honeycrisp apples, heirloom apples, pears, tomatoes, peppers, Brussels, squashes, ginger, turmeric, garlic, honey, maple syrup, cider slushees, hot spiced cider cups • COVID rules include (1) Keep SAFE distance, (2) wear MASK in closer quarters, (3) monitor your KIDS, (4) BYOBags for picking produce and set them on the scale for checkout • Drive slowwwly on the farm • Thank you for being the best Farmketeers forever

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FULL STORY

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DEAR FARMKETEERS:  Do not fear.  There will be a peaceful transition of produce in November.

The orange ones have promised it.  The red ones too.  Yes, the pumpkins and apples will yield the limelight to the sprouts and squashes when the hour has come.  Nobody cares about the poor pumpkins after October 31, and apples will be a sweet memory.  But sprouts and squashes really shine in late autumn.  So, lord willing, we can all look forward to a more or less orderly chronology in the forward slog of farmocracy.

Anyway, for now, you can enjoy them all together.  Starting with U-PICK APPLES.  It is high harvest season and apples still own the day.  You can pick Fuji, Liberty, Fortune, Spartan, and Snowsweet.  You might find the last few Jonagold and Macoun.  Get an orchard map at the farmstand and ask what’s ready when you get here.

Cut your own Brussels sprouts.  Also known as Sprussels brouts.  Stirfry with bacon or fakin’ and feel the vitamins flow.  In one of our best signage successes ever, you will find the sprouts in the patch marked “SPROUTS.”  We have removed the leaves from the stalks that are ready.  Cut the whole stalk; don’t pick individual sprouts since that wrecks the plant.  Don’t be a plant wrecker.  Be a sprout lover.

Grab the first PUMPKINS.  The U-pick patch is not officially open yet, but we have piled hundreds of pumpkins around the farm for you to find your dream gourds.  They are priced individually with labels.

Last blast final Roma TOMATO canning/saucing sale!  While supplies last, get Roma tomatoes in 25-pound boxes for $25 each, and peck boxes for $16 each.  This sale is for prepicked (not u-pick) tomatoes.  They come from Jackman Vineyards, our very next door neighbor.  A fantastic deal as it ends up being cheaper than u-pick!  Locavores, take action:  time to “put up” (or shut up?!) for the winter.

SEED GARLIC SALE – Saturday, October 3, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.  Our neighbor Paul will be selling his organically grown garlic bulbs at the farm stand.  You can find the likes of Georgia Fire, Italian Easy Peel, Tochliavri, Persian Star, Romanian Red, Chesnok Red, Georgia Crystal, and others.  Soft necks and hard necks.  Large bulbs and cold-hardy.  Paul has grown these lines of garlic for over 10 years in his home garden on Indian Creek Road.  Come support a local gardener and get your own garlic patch planted!  He will also have utility garlic for sale and specials at his table.  For questions or preorders, please call, text, or email Paul at 607-279-4866 or paulcooper360@gmail.com.

Get DONUTS every weekend.  Donuts are rolling off the Mark 2 Donut Robot Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 11:00 to 6:00.  Nick the Donut Kid is churning out these freshly fried toroids of fructotic splendor – optionally sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.  Just whisper, “A sprinkle of SIN, SUGAR.”

Get CIDER every day.  This is the 5th week of “Orchard Ambrosia” – our 100% unpasteurized, old-fashioned, nothing-added cider.  You can get gallon and half-gallon jugs.  Freezes great.  It’s just apples and maybe a few pears, cold-pressed into juice.  It gets better every week as the apple blend complexifies.

Get local GINGER and TURMERIC.  Sharon and Dean of Tree Gate Farm, our friends around the corner next to Coy Glen, are trying to keep us supplied for a third year.  Last year, Farm Fans hoovered up the rhizomes as fast as the farmers could deliver.  It’s great for ginger tea and myriad culinary uses.  Sharon explains how they grow it:  “The seed comes from Hawaii, arrives in March, and using a greenhouse and a lot of compost, we spend 7 months working to convince it that the Finger Lakes region is almost as wonderful a place to grow as the tropics.  Unlike what you find at the grocery store, our uncured ginger is snappy and sweet, roughly the texture of an apple or a slice of water chestnut.  And no peeling required!  Just be sure to use or freeze within a week; it’s perishable.”

Please BRING YOUR OWN BAGS for picking fruits and vegetables.  In the B.C. era (Before Corona), we had gotten rid of single-use plastic bags and everyone was happily bringing their own bags or getting our reusable farm totes.  We had to make some adjustments for the early corona period, but let’s get back to that good practice:  Bring your bags for picking, set them on the scale at checkout, and we will ring you out without touching your bags.  You can also buy our totes which you might have seen around town.

A ‘Creeknik creation from @rebeccakimnyc:  “First apple, er, ‘pie’ ever — didn’t have as many apples as the recipe called for and ended up folding the edges down like a galette since they were so tall. Topped with a brown sugar crumble.  Unconventional, but delicious!  Perfect on a cloudy fall day 🍂🍎  We picked the apples at @indiancreekfarmithaca which is a lovely you-pick farm with the most amazing fresh cider donuts you’ll find anywhere!!!”

And how about this DOUBLE ‘Creeknik creation from @happiestdaydesigns:  “So the craziness of the world got to me today.  Coping mechanism — baking hand pies.  I got a little creative & swapped maple syrup for sugar & added vanilla. Yum!  I used Elstar & honey crisp apples from @indiancreekfarmithaca.  We went apple picking last week.  Another safe & happy way to connect with the good in my life ❤️  Have a great weekend!  Oh, and the serve board is our textured lace.”  The hand pies are pictured atop a hand-made ceramic platter.  Double nice!

Love to y’all.  Hope to see you at The ‘Creek.

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SUMMARY

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Farm is open 7 days a week 8:00 to 7:00 rain or shine • Pick McIntosh, Cortland, Sweet 16, Holiday, and Early Fuji apples • Pick tomatoes and peppers • Find first pumpkins • Eat fresh cider donuts Fri-Sun 11:00 to 6:00 • Roma canning/saucing sale now, see details below • Goodies at the farm stand = apples, pears, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, honey, maple syrup, lemon and cider slushees • COVID rules include (1) Keep SAFE distance, (2) wear MASK in closer quarters, (3) monitor your KIDS • BYOBags for picking produce and set them on the scale for checkout • Drive slowwwly on the farm • Thank you for being the best Farmketeers in all of Farmdom forever and everywhere

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FULL STORY

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DEAR FARMKETEERS:  These three apples were blushing on Monday morning.  Musta been a wild weekend.

And it was.  Y’all picked every last Honeycrisp on the farm – left the trees cleaner than a candidate’s tax returns.  Then you annihilated the Empires.  Demolished the pears.  Devoured the flowers.  Pummeled the peppers and thumped the Donut Robot.  Truly, quite the splendid bumrush.

A citizen driving by mighta thought Tay-Tay and Justin and Billie were here.  Crooning their tunes and shaking their booties.  Bringing out ‘Creekniks in record (widely spaced) numbers.  Turns out, it was just for the fruit.  Turns out, you only need a global pandemic to get people going on local food.  So that’s a squint of silver in the lining.

Anyway who needs pop idols when you got Cortland apples?  Pick them now.  Not sure about Cortlands?  See this email we got recently and we’re not making it up:  “I live in [town redacted], WA, and was talking to [a person] from [a Washington orchard] today about how much I miss Cortland apples.  I grew up in upstate NY and as far as I’m concerned there is no apple like a Cortland.  They aren’t grown out here in WA.  I was wondering if you would be willing to ship Cortlands to me.  There is no cost too high for me to be able to enjoy Cortlands this fall.”  THERE IS NO COST TOO HIGH.  And that’s from the apple capital of America.  Can’t say THAT about a pop star.  There’s definitely a cost too high to ship a box of them to your house.  (You get to decide how much.)

Fact:  Cortland apples don’t oxidize (brown) when you cut them.  They stay blindingly white.  Perfect for fruit salads and lunch boxes and just looking at.  Come pick your own Cortlands in the Vintage Orchard.

Also pick your own McIntosh, Early Fuji, Holiday, and Sweet 16 (pictured).  Look at that dimple.  And they taste like cherry Twizzlers.  This is high apple season and time to pick a bunch of varieties in a single visit.  These will be gone soon, followed by the October apple lineup.

Pick your own TOMATOES & PEPPERS.  You can still pick your own tomatoes – several varieties ready and ripening.  Hard to tell you which types you will find in abundance when you arrive.  You can also pick peppers.  Sweet and hot.  Same deal as tomatoes, you have to come explore.  What you find depends on how many pickers got here first.  But certainly these crops will wrap up soon.

Roma canning/saucing sale!  Starting today, and going while supplies last, get Roma tomatoes in 25-pound boxes for $25 each, and peck boxes for $16 each.  This sale is for prepicked (not u-pick) tomatoes.  WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!  Time to “put up” for the winter.

Get donuts every weekend.  Donuts are rolling off the Mark 2 Donut Robot Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 11:00 to 6:00.  Nick the Donut Kid is churning out these freshly fried toroids of fructotic splendor – optionally sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.  Just whisper, “A sprinkle of SIN, SUGAR.”

Get cider jugs every day.  This is the 4th week of “Orchard Ambrosia” – our 100% unpasteurized, old-fashioned, nothing-added cider.  You can get gallon and half-gallon jugs.  Freezes great.  It’s just apples and maybe a few pears, cold-pressed into juice.  It gets better every week as the apple blend complexifies.  Last week you Orchard Ambrosians burned through 220 GALLONS by Saturday at 4:00 PM so Farmer Steve had to spend Saturday night in the barn pressing enough to get through Sunday.  Nothing will put an apple farmer in a proper panic like the threat of a No-Cider-Sunday.  Sacrilege.

Cut your own Brussels sprouts.  Yes it is that time of year.  Things ARE early this year but still it’s almost October and sprouts are ready to cut and stirfry with bacon or fakin’.  If you’ve never seen sprouts on a stalk, now’s your chance.

Local ginger continues.  Sharon and Dean of Tree Gate Farm, our friends around the corner next to Coy Glen, are trying to keep us supplied for a third year.  Last year, Farm Fans hoovered up the rhizomes as fast as the farmers could deliver.  It’s great for ginger tea and myriad culinary uses.  Sharon explains how they grow it:  “The seed comes from Hawaii, arrives in March, and using a greenhouse and a lot of compost, we spend 7 months working to convince it that the Finger Lakes region is almost as wonderful a place to grow as the tropics.  Unlike what you find at the grocery store, our uncured ginger is snappy and sweet, roughly the texture of an apple or a slice of water chestnut.  And no peeling required!  Just be sure to use or freeze within a week; it’s perishable.”  Ginger now, turmeric in October!

SEED GARLIC SALE – Next Saturday, October 3, 10 AM to 5 PM.  Our neighbor Paul will be selling his organically grown garlic bulbs at the farm stand.  You can find the likes of Georgia Fire, Italian Easy Peel, Tochliavri, Persian Star, Romanian Red, Chesnok Red, Georgia Crystal, and others.  Soft necks and hard necks.  Large bulbs and cold-hardy.  Paul has grown these lines of garlic for over 10 years in his home garden on Indian Creek Road.  Come support a local gardener and get your own garlic patch planted!  He will also have utility garlic for sale and specials at his table.  For questions or preorders, please call, text, or email Paul at 607-279-4866 or paulcooper360@gmail.com.

Please BRING YOUR OWN BAGS for picking fruits and vegetables.  In the B.C. era (Before Corona), we had gotten rid of single-use plastic bags and everyone was happily bringing their own bags or getting our reusable farm totes.  We had to make some adjustments for the early corona period, but let’s get back to that good practice:  Bring your bags for picking, set them on the scale at checkout, and we will ring you out without touching your bags.  You can also buy our totes which you might have seen around town.

Love to y’all.  Hope to see you at The ‘Creek.