Indian Creek Farm

What the Puppy Found in the Peach Orchard, and Encouraging Words from the Crops.

Posted on June 26, 2015 by Indian Creek Farm

DEAR FARM FANS: Our new summer intern, called Turbo by humans and Woof by dogs, is finding tons of baby peaches rotting on the ground.

Which is a good thing! We’re “thinning” down a bountiful crop to help the remainders grow juicy and sweet.

Despite a b-tchy winter, ALL the crops are looking jolly. Peaches, apples, vegetables—all good so far.

Raspberries, too. We have 1 field this year, and light picking started yesterday, as our Facebook friends already know. It’s a soft launch to the season. If you get here before the Joneses, you might find good picking in Row 1. You can get daily mini-updates on our Facebook and Twitter. Assume the Joneses already do.

Do you have a strawberry-shaped hole in your heart this year? (See why some fans do.) Maybe raspberry picking will help. Or how about these encouraging words from delicious fresh crops that are coming soon…

We will holler when the stand is open and stocked with blubes. Got a new field that we’ll be picking for you.

Farmer Steve says, “We’re gonna have peaches to move.” You’ll see 3 peach orchards going in parallel this year!

For many people, it’s the taste of summer: fresh tomatoes. Farmer Allie has been tending them real nice.

Peppers, eggplant, summer squash… good stuff you can pick starting in July. Stay tuned for weekly Fresh Crop Alerts and daily updates on Facebook and Twitter.

Farmer Steve again: “Apple crop looks awesome!” You never know after a b-tchy winter, but we’re on track for best ever.

Pumpkins, squash, cider, donuts… all kinds of great stuff ahead. But let’s not talk about fall stuff yet! Yeesh.

Okay, back to work, knocking perfectly good peaches off the trees. (Farming can be counterintuitive.) The season will officially begin soon when you hear the trumpet sounding chicken playing piano. Hope to see you at The ‘Creek.

Posted in Crop Alerts & Farm Buzz | Tagged apples, country life, crops, Farm Life, Food Art, Food Photography, Food Writing, Fruits and Vegetables, Local Food | Leave a comment

Berry Report and Crop Calendar: “At least you are not a strawberry…”

Posted on May 30, 2015 by Indian Creek Farm

LOYAL FARMKETEERS: This year we look to the children for signs and omens. Will we have a crop? Will life be buttercups or bitter cups? In the guileless, apple-cheeked faces of our young, much is foretold.

Of all the oracles, this lad—son of a Farm Fan—may have unwittingly spoken for the masses with his silent scream. He was lamenting the long wait for berry season to begin, but little did he know the news would get worse. Much worse for strawberry worshippers.

There will be no strawberries this year. The first crop will be raspberries in July. That’s when the farm stand will open and you can come picking. Great stuff will follow.

You see, a couple years ago we planted 10,000 strawberry plants by hand. It was a pretty field, and well-loved.

But recently we faced a classic farmer’s dilemma: How best to use the land? Berries again? Or fruit trees?

Strawberries were voted off the island—at least for this year. We are retooling the field for orchards and nursery. You will still find a big variety of crops on the farm, including annual vegetables; but, strawberries had to give way. Fruit trees sustain us here at The ‘Creek. They give back year after year, and you guys devour every piece of fruit we can grow! Apples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots…

Tough news for strawberry lovers. Well, like Mother always says, “At least YOU are not a strawberry. The life of a strawberry is nasty, brutish, and short.” Mother often cribs from Hobbes’ Leviathan while sniffling and chopping onions.

So, we soldier on. And, lo! Raspberries grow! Even as we dilly-dally. Yes, even as we shilly-shally.

But, wait, there’s more! After raspberries, you’ll find peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and peaches!

Then, an awesome apple crop! Best ever?! We’re getting ahead of ourselves. You will be first to hear about raspberry picking if you stay tuned to these Fresh Crop Alerts and follow along on Facebook and Twitter. Meanwhile, have a look at the annual crop calendar.

Been a long time since last season. The dogs need something to think about. They hope to see you at The ‘Creek.

Posted in Crop Alerts & Farm Buzz | Tagged country life, crops, Farm Life, Food Photography, Food Writing, Fruits and Vegetables, Local Food, strawberries | Leave a comment

Oh, What We Have in Store for You! Big Spring Ideas from The ‘Creek.

Posted on April 11, 2015 by Indian Creek Farm

DEAR ‘CREEKERS, let’s catch you up on farm country news. Basically, farm country has become a real HUSTLE. Everyone is manic about local food. There is a constant hubbub about field-to-table stuff. And certain farms are always one-upping us with their splashy headlines. cel Like a certain cidery south of here. They are famous now. Maybe you’ve heard of them. They’re getting ridiculous reviews and they went digital this winter so that you can buy their amazing cider online. melissa And another farm north of here. They’re all like, “Yeah, we work our fields with HORSES.” These very same do-gooders are being notably bad-ass by opening a new cider tasting house just off the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail. Coming soon! pepp Meanwhile, what do WE have to offer you? Nothing but a skanky old pepper that dangled here all winter. Or perhaps you would like to buy a fruit tree which will bring you a nice crop… in 4 years. We know what you’re thinking: “Snore.” 640 Well, we are tired of being second banana, so we surveyed you guys for new ideas. You sent brilliant suggestions, and we’ve been racking our brains for how to pull them all together. Here is what we have in store for you this year… uni We got a unicorn. That’s right. A fricking UNI. Go big or go home, right? Whatever about horses and cider. We’re going for timeless and magical. You will see this wondrous beast in the orchards come summer. Boo-yah! cat We’re not stopping there. Can you say PEGASUS? Yep, we ordered one of them, too. Came in last week. She’ll be giving free rides to children under 12 on Tuesdays. tino Did we mention our new CENTAUR? Grass-fed, free-range. If you squeeze peaches on the trees, you’ll be dealing with Old Stomp-n-Snort. Better to follow the rules. P1210599 Not impressed? How about a Finger Lakes first — a real live GORGON. If you bite an apple and throw it on the ground, you’ll be turned to stone before you can say, “Honeycrisp.” As you can see, we’re hoping for a big year. We’ll send you a crop update next month, but meantime you can visit our nursery web site to buy baby fruit trees for spring planting, such as Bubblegum plums on Myrobalan rootstock or Novaspy apples on Antonovka. Hope to see you soon at The ‘Creek.

Posted in Crop Alerts & Farm Buzz | Tagged apples, country life, crops, Farm Life, Food Art, Food Photography, Food Writing, Fruits and Vegetables | Leave a comment

All Hail the Most Important Person in the County; News of the Farm Stand’s Hibernation.

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Indian Creek Farm

THERE ARE LOTS of hardworking folks here in farm country. And like Farmer Steve says, whoever is working on the farm RIGHT NOW is doing the most important work of all. Yes, we are all important people doing important work.

But none of us will ever measure up, if you believe this old thing hanging in the County Planner’s office. You can try til you are periwinkle in the face and you still won’t top this fellow. How does that make you feel?

Farmer Tino isn’t one to say much about stuff like that. Just keeps on working. He’s more the type to sing you a song.

You can hear him play LIVE this Saturday night at the Silver Line Tap Room in Trumansburg. February 7 at 7 PM.

Get your exclusive sneak preview by listening to this YouTube of his live gig on WVBR FM, “The Salt Creek Show.”

If you follow that old map in the Planner’s Office, you’ll find Indian Creek just past the orphanage… now the School of Massage.

When you get here, you’ll find it pretty quiet and snowy. The farm stand is closed for the winter — all sold out of apples and cider.

But please do come out to ski or hike. Some folks have been out this week just trekking around the orchards.

Say hello if you see us, or ignore us as you like. Ski right on through. That’s something old Ezra can’t do.

Happy winter and hope to see you at The ‘Creek.

Posted in Crop Alerts & Farm Buzz | Tagged country life, crops, Farm Life, Food Photography, Fruits and Vegetables, Photos, small farm | Leave a comment

An Epic Farm Fail, and a Winter Lesson in Winning.

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Indian Creek Farm

LIFE IS NOT a zero-sum game, but when somebody messes up, you can usually seize the chance to profit from their blunder. “Outrageous!” you cry. “Repugnant!” Maybe. But, still.

Last week all 3,000 of you messed up. All except one—the lady who seized the day. Yes, the nice person in this picture was THE ONLY FARM FAN to answer our 2015 Call for Ideas. We were so moved by her earnestness, while the rest of you were being too cool for school and just totally messing up, that we awarded her a bottle of Kingston Black hard cider from our chums at Eve’s Cidery. As luck would have it, she had answered “hard cider” to all of the questions.

You really have no ideas to send? That means there is nothing to improve on the farm. You want 2015 to be just as dubious and discombobulated as 2014. You want the dogs to be just as fruitless. You want the signage to be even less helpful…

Thing is, you really should send ideas. We try to come up with ideas on our own, like ibuprofen toothpaste and eco-friendly cider fracking. But these have long R&D times. Can’t you bring us back to earth with practible suggestions?

Speaking of earth-n-space, behold this apple spiral. It had pride of place at the Solstice Party of farm fan Wendy. Those are her kids being the “Starry Guides.”

They used mutsus for candleholders. The next day, apple crisps! Go Team Locavore. Winning.

We still have mutsus. Still pressing cider. Still open. The little farm stand that could. Apples and cider. That’s about it. But every visit helps. A few bucks here and there is better than zero bucks everywhere.

Thanks for reading and sending your ideas. We won’t email every week through the winter—just here and there to keep in touch.

You can come out to the farm any day. Ski around. Hike around. Whatever. The views are long with the foliage down.

Some of the sights are mesmerizing. Watch this intrepid soul. Take heart! Hope to see you at The ‘Creek.

Posted in Crop Alerts & Farm Buzz | Tagged country life, Farm Life, Food Art, Food Photography, Food Writing, Fruits and Vegetables, Photos, Small Farms | Leave a comment

Farm Year in Photos: Your Local Food Zeal Means The ‘Creek is Rising.

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Indian Creek Farm

DEAR FARMKETEERS, you ate everything we grew in 2014. It was our best year ever. That’s the good news.

The bad news: Now the bar is set really high. In 2015, how will we top the worldwide debut of the Indian Creek theme song?

How can we top the new playground, with swingset and sandbox and tractor fort? Got ideas for 2015? Send ’em here.
To spark your ideas, you can see all 39 crop alerts from 2014 on the news page. Here are a few highlights. Spring kicked off with inspiring crayon masterpieces from local schoolkids.

The strawberries were inspiring, too, echoing the message of diversity that World Cup stars were promoting.

We opened a brand new raspberry field, and launched an educational campaign about how to pick them ripe.

By August, you were picking the first vegetables, plus early peaches and Yellow Transparent apples.

Soon the cynicism of American politics reared its pointed, eyeless head—but we heard a message of hope nonetheless.

When Mac season began, we revealed one of our biggest marketing secrets. We never said farming was rocket science.

Ithaca’s Orchard Playground reached Version 3.0 just in time for its autumn debut.

The 3rd Annual Pigs-n-Apples Party was upon us—with new farm shirts to boot. At least 1,000 people shared the day with us.

Deep fall brought pumpkins and sprouts to the farm. After Halloween, diehard fans kept the stand going.

Then winter happened. Enough said about that. Thanks for being farmy. Hope your new year is off to a halfway decent start.

Posted in Crop Alerts & Farm Buzz | Tagged apples, country life, crops, Farm Life, Food Writing, Fruits and Vegetables, Local Food | 2 Comments

Once Upon a Time in Agrarian America, Homemade Apple Cider Was the “Default Buzz.”

Posted on December 28, 2014 by Indian Creek Farm

DEAR ‘CREEKERS, happy almost new year. We are still open every day. You can get cider, apples, and squash. Sprouts are dwindling. And now for a wee history lesson from our winter reading, Apples of Uncommon Character by Rowan Jacobsen.

“Apple culture was a huge part of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American life. There were few national apples, but endless regional ones, each adapted to the local climate and needs. Each one had been propagated because it did something superb. Some came ripe in July, some in November. Some held their shape in pies. Some started off hard and sour, but sweetened outrageously after a few months in a root cellar. Some had red flesh so full of tannins that eating one was like biting into a bar of soap, but if you pressed it and let the juice ferment in your basement all winter, it produced a dry, fragrant cider—the default buzz of agrarian America.”

Henry Ward Beecher—the celebrated New York minister, abolitionist, and bro’ of Stowe—described a typical home cellar of the mid-1800s: “On the east side stood a row of cider barrels; for twelve or twenty barrels of cider were a fit provision for the year, and what was not consumed for drink was expected duly to turn into vinegar, and was then exalted to certain hogsheads kept for the purpose. But along the middle of the cellar were the apple-bins; and when the season had been propitious, there were stores and heaps of Russets, Greenings, Seeknofurthers, Pearmains, Gilliflowers, Spitzenburgs, and many besides, nameless, but not virtueless.”

Most of you Creekers know that you can find these strange apples—over 75 varieties, in fact—in our Dwarf Orchard. You know you can become a DIY moonshiner by bringing your carboys to get filled with Ambrosia. And you know you can order some of the best hard ciders in America from our friends at Eve’s Cidery. Yes, folks, cider is here in a big way. It’s the new craft beer—almost. Check out the infographic.

In other farm news, this fabulous painting of our old blue Ford tractor, by the Boston architect John Rufo, just appeared on the cover of Cornell’s literary magazine, Epoch. Suddenly our whole ramshackle operation feels dignified.

Speaking of the Ivy League, millions of readers have been asking about the glassware pictured at the top of this Crop Alert. The red and green glasses were blown by a Harvard astrophysicist especially for extracting the optimal flavor profile from unpasteurized cider. Heady stuff. Meanwhile, back on earth, these are the last sprouts in the field. They’ll be gone by the time you get this message. Stop by anyway. Hope to see you at The ‘Creek.

Posted in Crop Alerts & Farm Buzz | Tagged apples, country life, crops, Food Art, Food Photography, Food Writing, Fruits and Vegetables | Leave a comment

Fresh-Spilled Xmas Cider, 3 Words About Mutsus, and 2 Gifts for the Apple of Your Eye.

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Indian Creek Farm

YESTERDAY THE GANG shipped out heaps of Apple Gift Boxes. Each box will go over the river and through the woods, carrying 18 tasty Finger Lakes fruits toward an apple-friendly home somewhere across our country tis-of-thee.

Meanwhile, the Cidermeister is pressing her weekly batch of Ambrosia. She will promptly spill it all over the bottles, and the bottles will go on display for your immediate consumption.

That’s how you know it’s fresh—the labels are freshly mucked. This is no mechanized factory. This is your local spillery.

Last press before Xmas. Come get yours. (Sorry, the Cidermeister’s identity will remain secret for yet another week.)

Got a new book: Apples of Uncommon Character by Rowan Jacobsen. It was a gift from our friend at the Finger Lakes Land Trust. They are a cool organization. Their mission is, “To conserve forever the lands and waters of the Finger Lakes region, ensuring scenic vistas, local foods, clean water, and wild places for everyone.” They protect farms, forests, gorges, wetlands, and lakeshores—over 16,000 acres so far.

Let’s have a look inside. On page 79, we find an apt description of Mutsu: “monolithic green behemoth.” It continues, “Like the Incredible Hulk, Mutsu is huge, green, and strangely lovable. That massive bulk hides a sweet demeanor. You wouldn’t call it complex, but Mutsu is reliably great. You are guaranteed a joyous crunch fest…”

We got lots of Mutsus still. And big ones. “Famously good fresh, but equally excellent in pies.”

You can get Mutsu bushels with a phone call. Otherwise, the stand is stocked with value bags. Plenty of sauce-grade Macs, too.

You can also get QUASH and B RU SSS SPROUT S every day. If you need a gift for your favorite local foodie, help them geek out on the harvest with Apples of Uncommon Character. And if you want to connect them to the land on another level, get them a gift membership to the Finger Lakes Land Trust. You can join, too, and help save our region from unchecked development. Hope to see you at The ‘Creek.

Posted in Crop Alerts & Farm Buzz | Tagged apples, country life, Farm Life, Food Art, Food Writing, Fruits and Vegetables, Local Food, Photos | 1 Comment

Nudity in the Orchard, Foul-Weather Friends, and Our Drive for Five.

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Indian Creek Farm

IT’S PRETTY SIMPLE: You got local foodies and local foodists. The foodies talk the talk. They yammer on about parsnips and capons. But local foodists, they simply eat lots of stuff from local farms. Part of their daily routine. Come heck or high snow.

We love our farmie foodists. They are foul-weather friends. They shop here in a blizzard with a crooked smile.

They are not scared off by farmers in coverups. They are on a mission. They will have their fruits and vegetables.

They come for the fresh, unpasteurized, verrrry cold cider each week. Plus apples, sprouts, and squash.

Yes, the stand is open every day—indoors now—no matter how forlorn it looks from the road. Self-serve all day.

Five customers a day—that’s our goal. “Drive for Five.” Even 50 bucks a day in winter helps sustain a small farm.

So come all ye foul-weathered friends and see mass nudity in the orchards. The fruit trees are naked.

You can see their spindly limbs and structural sinews. Pretty marvelous, just standing there all winter.

The playground is open daily. A snowfort with lookout tower, hidden room, and climbing wall. Ski in, ski out.

The snowbox awaits your youngsters. Really, come up here, get outside, bring a thermos of hot choc.

We’re as ready for winter as we’ll ever be. When old apple trees die, they make the best wood for the stove.

Peaches the Piano sends you holiday greetings. “O when the black keys turn white…,” you know the song.

Thank you for supporting local farms. Almost forgot, you can still bring your carboys to make hard cider. Hope to see you at The ‘Creek.

Posted in Crop Alerts & Farm Buzz | Tagged apples, country life, crops, Farm Life, Food Art, Food Writing, Fruits and Vegetables, Local Food, Photos, Small Farms | 3 Comments

How to Be a Winter Farmie, How to Compute Your Sprouts, and What is a “Carboy,” Anyway?

Posted on December 3, 2014 by Indian Creek Farm

YOU DESERVE a local food commendation if you shop at the farm in December. (Trophies are reserved for January diehards.) Come get apples, sprouts, and squash. Bulk cider is only $5 a gallon.

You got the run of the place in winter. Your visits bolster us against the off-season slump and fortify us for spring planting.

The farm is kind of nice in winter. Good for you city slickers to see. The sandbox becomes a snowbox.

You can still get a dozen varieties of apples, from the ordinary Mac to the extraordinary Ashmead’s Kernel.

BIG CIDER SALE: You can drop off your carboys and we will fill them at our Friday pressings for $6/gallon—and only $5/gallon if you get 20 gallons or more! Send an email to cumminsnursery@gmail.com with your phone number, how many gallons, and which Friday you want to have your carboys filled. The rest of you can still buy gallons and half-gallons of Orchard Ambrosia every day of the week.

What is a carboy? It’s a big jug for making hard country hooch. Some carboys have fun-looking science stuff attached. In The Sign of the Four, Sherlock Holmes said to Watson, “You can see the outline of his small foot here at the side of this evil-smelling mess. The CARBOY has been cracked, you see, and the stuff has leaked out.”

The word carboy comes from the Persian, karaba, which is defined as a large glass flagon. Great, so now we have to look up “flagon.” A flagon is a large bottle in which wine or cider is sold. Thus, carboy, flagon, demijohn… they all mean bottle. Bring yours.

For our next lesson, we move from Persia to Greece. As always, we have consulted the ancients when devising our pricing model. Pythagoras taught us the “right” approach to Brussels Sprouts: 3-4-5. For a family of four, we recommend the hypotenuse.

If that blows your mind, or if you find the stalks “too real,” grab the $2 option. Pre-stripped and ready for your wok.

The family that squashes together, sloshes together. WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?

Everyone is like, “BOOOORING, what am I supposed to do with these little squash?” Well, did you know that farmers use acorn squash in place of bobbleheads and snowglobes? Try one on your desk at work. They are very calming. Hope to see you at The ‘Creek.