Indian Creek Farm

There’s a berry nut in every bunch.

Are you one?

If so, you’ll heed the clarion call — come pick strawberries and raspberries while they are all here together.

See, there’s a little thing called the INEXORABLE MARCH OF TIME which makes strawberries go from GREEN to RED to GONE in a few short weeks.

And the summer solstice has already happened. Those solstices aren’t just for druids anymore — they’re a sciency thing. Like, facts and stuff.

The salient fact being, the strawberries will soon go poof! So bring your party out to picking country, and leave with a mess of magical orbs.

Don’t forget to include fresh raspberries in your haul.

We’re seeing the Juicy Reds, Sunny Goldens, and Purple Poppers. Rapidly ripening and ready to serve you.

And the Black Cappers. Mysterious, delirious.

We have also been working on a new breed of Cow-Lamb-Dog. Just a side project. This model is almost perfect, only a tad too much cow in the mix.

Speaking of novel creations, whoever in your group can summarize this sign first — well, they’re probably the nuttiest. Hope to see you soon at The ‘Creek!

Y’all! It’s that dope time of year when the strawberries and raspberries are hanging on the farm together.

Strawberries are entering their second week of heavy action, while the raspberries are just getting started.

There are some real juicy giants to be picked.

Our signage department is up to their usual tricks — just follow the “Orchard” sign to find the strawberry patch.

Then turn left where it says “Tomatoes, Eggplant, Peppers.”

Keep your eyes peeled for the “Strawberries” arrow.

Finally you’ll see the Strawberry Fields — but they’re not forever, just for this year. There is a new patch in the works for 2013, way up on the hilltop.

People have been going nuts this week, picking 8, 12, 16 quarts at a time!

Big Max let his pet human off the leash to pick berries, while he practiced his yogic tongue poses.

Meanwhile, up in raspberry land — heading north on foot from the parking lot — you’ll discover the early season Preludes in the top row.

Each one is like a l’il burst of sunshine. Come pick yours!

Last stop is the wagon by the road — you can use the self-serve pay box and supplement your haul with some of our premium pre-picked berries.

Cheers to you all, and see you at The ‘Creek!

Friends, fans, foodies, and farmies… Strawberry u-picking begins now!

The first berries are ripe and ready for picking. (And eating.)

You’ll find reds mixed in with greens.

Just turn into the lot on Route 96. Can’t miss the sign.

You’ll find details under the front porch. Prices and maps and whatnot.

Plus a few inside tips from the strawberry watchers.

So get out here and pick! It’s all self-serve for now, and just strawberries. Stay tuned for more crop alerts — and more fun to come!

Farm fans, we live in a winner-take-all society.

Luckily there are many ways to win. You don’t have to plant a 1,600 tree orchard that showcases 60 varieties of apple. We got that covered.

A single tree for your yard will do. And right now, you can pick out your dream tree with expert consultation from our fruit men, all trained at Har-Var.

Yes, now is the time because the peach buds are popping and our 14th Annual Fruit Tree Sale won’t last long. Come weekends 10 AM to 4 PM, and weekdays 10 AM to 5 PM. Get years worth of family fun and fresh fruit for only 20 bucks a tree — and $15 if you order 10 or more!

You’ll see our humble, jumbled sign on Route 96 — just pull into the parking lot as if you were coming to the farmstand.

Thing is, don’t actually go to the stand…

The sign there will just redirect you to the new barn, built before the winter.

At the north end of the parking lot, you’ll find a forlorn little stone wall and a half-finished driveway.

Like we always say, if you can follow our signs, you are winning the game of life. If you plant an apple tree — or peach or plum or pear — well, that will just be extra credit. The Joneses will go green with envy.

Take the gravelly road up to our loading dock, homemade from local locust posts.

Pop inside and you’ll find about 20,000 baby fruit trees — down from 35,000 a few weeks back and dropping fast. They’ll be gone lickety-split. Seriously, we’re shipping trees all over the country ’til the barn is empty.

When you meet our tree specialists, try not to be too cheerful or chipper. They have not been outside the barn in over a month, so a subdued attitude is probably best.

But do ask questions. It’s a rare opportunity to geek out about Esopus Spitzenburg, Cox’s Orange Pippin, or Summer Rambo. Or Red Delicious if you must. Then we’ll wrap your babies in swaddling clothes for the trip home from the nursery.

We’ll even weigh them on our Detecto scale. Write it down in your baby book.

Call the gang at 607-227-1799 and find us online at CumminsNursery.com — that’s the sister business to Indian Creek Farm. Also check out our ad in the Pennysaver. Happy planting and stay tuned for this season’s crop alerts! Won’t be long now!

Friends, the cold times are here in Finger Lakes apple country.

Wintry evenings are descending on the farm.

During the short days, we are loading Wood Wagon One with fuel for the stove.

And just in time, we’ve turned the corner on construction of the barn. A long winter’s work remains, but most of that will be inside the building — what a notion!

We second that emotion! After 15 years of being a barnless farm, we’re dizzy with ideas about how we’ll be able to offer you better crops and funner visits.

Anyway, here we are, it’s December 20th, and we’re pressing cider TODAY! Our latest date ever. That’s just one of the things we gain by adding the barn.

So just because the farm stand looks windblown and forlorn…

And the strawberries are hunkered down beneath the first snows…

And the sandwich board says apocalyptic things…

Don’t think we’re hibernating! Sign says “OPEN” and it’s true.

(Actually this furry farmer and her cohort do appear to be on winter break, but it’s not like we have any say in the matter…)

Just come in the double doors. We’re open self-serve 7 days a week, and the Orchard Ambrosia will flow all winter! We will be working in the cider room every Saturday starting January 7 — bring your jugs and get bulk rates on the gnarly gnectar.

You can contact The Cidermeister directly with any questions at 607-793-3560. He’ll entertain your thoughts about cider and/or The New York Yankees.

Aside from cider you’ll find lovely apples, only a BUCK A POUND. Jonagold, Ida Red, Northern Spy, Spygold — all #1 eatin’ apples. Plus pie apples a-plenty.

And cooking squash for 50 CENTS A POUND! Decorative gourds, too!

Finally, let’s not forget the u-pick sprouts. Bring Grandma’s old garden saw or some other way to hack these hardy stalks. And if Grandma isn’t sharing her legendary recipes, there’s this thing called The Google that will give you “about 183,000 pages” of sprout recipes in “.17 seconds.” Take that, Grandma!

More news in the new year. Til then — be well, safe travels, happy apple sauce.

Don’t do it! Don’t pull a Linus van Pelt! If you wait for your dream pumpkin to appear on Halloween night… they’ll all be gone!

Pumpkins are moving like crazy — come get yours.

Pie, pie, pie. Never too much pie.

And cider! We’re prepping the tractors for fall field work, fueled by fresh-pressed Orchard Ambrosia.

“Good enough for machine, good enough for you!”

Down at the stand, you can still find famous New York State apples.

If you are following our daily updates on Facebook and Twitter, you’ve seen a barny miracle unfolding. Here’s the first nail.

We engineered this rig to take construction photos every hour, to document what is surely one of the most momentous moments in Indian Creek Farm history.

By the time the rig was ready, the crew had blown through half the project! The roof was up just hours before the first snow of the year.

More news on the barn in the coming weeks… Gotta run! Time to muck around in the barn slop and prepare to build the floor. See you at the ‘Creek.

Testing, testing, 1…2…3! Time to fire up your Jacks-o-Lantern! Got to make sure things are just right for Fright Night – only one week away.

What? You haven’t secured your pumpkins yet? Okay, Tardy McTardyson. You don’t have to be the neighbor with all the fun flags and lawn gnomes and garden balls. But at some point your pumpkin procrastination will border on downright impertinence. Like, now!

Luckily we can tell you where to get pumpkins and other fall goodies – including raspberries, squash, plums, peppers, onions, garlic, and even duck eggs!

Same place you can get a NINE POUND jug of cider. Aww haw. Nine pounds, fresh-pressed, pure fruit. Here on the farm, of course.

There aren’t many apples on the trees any more – but we’ve picked bushels and bushels, meaning the cider will keep on flowing.

You can still get apples at the farm stand, and have a free taste of Orchard Ambrosia. The presses are getting crisper and tastier as the late-season varieties are blended in.

What else is fresh this week? We let the farmhands out of the coop! They are playing a show at Da Westy in downtown Ithaca tonight. You can listen to real farmers play original “Americoustic” tunes at 7 PM under the name Riputa Pirjelli. (We’re not sure what it means, either, but these fellers can sing!)

Anything else? Oh yeah, there’s the small matter of us BUILDING A BARN! A farm without a barn is like a horseman without a head. Just plain WRONG!

We’re fixing to fix that. Over the next few weeks you’ll see us playing in the dirt like a bunch of yahoos with overgrown Tonka Toys. Next spring you’ll see a barn.

The big idea is to create a place to store equipment and vehicles out of the harsh elements. A place to repair machines and work through the winter. A place to store 30,000 baby fruit trees!

We were most thankful and humbled to receive offers of volunteer help from fans on our Facebook page. Just like an old-time barnraising. As you can see from the photo, we have everything under control, nothing to worry about!

Back to the Crop Alert. This week we have even MORE dead flowers than we did last week! Perfect for your costume if you’re some kind of wicked gnarly evil undead zombie. Pumpkins and costumes, all in one visit.

See you at the ‘Creep, er, Creek!

Hi, everybody. It’s almost time to panic! But don’t trust us kids, listen to Mother Nature. She’s right like 93% of the time. That’s an A minus for Mom.

Take apples, for instance. How do we know when to pick the mutsus? When they outgrow their nests, of course!

Yeah this week we harvested 80 bushels of mutsus because they were starting to drop. Cold nights and blustery days. Hear them plopping?

We picked the high stuff and left low-hanging fruit for you. The trees might look empty from a distance, but you have to think like an intrepid apple scout.

Zoom in close, peak behind the leaves, and sure enough you’ll bag some beauties.

Rome Beauties and Red Deliciouses are ready, too. Find the trees with blue ribbons and pick with a passion. Or wait 12 long months til your next chance!

Yes, it’s true. The inexorable march of time is reflected in the colors of Old Faithful.

Even the tractors have taken on autumn’s burnt sienna.

And the giant sunflowers are sleepy. But check out that double-spiral seed pattern based on the optimal space-filling geometry of the Fibonacci sequence! (Extra credit for Mother Nature, biggest geek of all.)

We have myriad dead flowers for your goth parties. Spooky decorations and whatever. You can even make like a Rolling Stone and send dead flowers to somebody’s wedding. (Creep!)

But the amazing thing is, we still have bumblebeezillions of these pretty things.

And late-season hot peppers. Like tongues of flame, little Thai Dragons.

Day-glo sweet peppers of the pumpkin persuasion. Orange is the new green. We have buckets of peppers at the farm stand.

And, incredibly, eggplant in the field, plus eggplant at the stand. A freakish opportunity to pick summer veggies late in the year. Mother always said we was different.

Of course we’ve rolled out the fall classics. Butternut squash and stripey dumplings. Hard as rocks but supposedly you can cook them.

Concord grapes, growing right over your head as you walk into the farm stand, and the last of the fall raspberries. Mush them together.

Naturally we have pumpkins. Two weeks til Halloween. Don’t be THAT household — put a pumpkin on the porch. It’s your sociocultural obligation. Conform!

Otherwise we’ll be that OTHER family, with 300 pumpkins on the porch. Help!

And remember, in the game of life, it’s not whether you win or lose… it’s how many shiny baubles you can collect and hide from Wall Street.

On the subject of winning, here we spy Zorro in a rare trot. Even His Royal Highness The Duke of Marrowbones feels a little urgency this time of year.

Of course we might have yelled “Bacon!” to get him going.

Then we felt bad because Zorro’s look of disappointment melts a stone-cold heart.

Nonetheless he made one final check to see if there was bacon inside.

Speaking of which, you can find a box of Indian Creek apples at our friends’ awesome place – The Piggery! It’s a fantastic new farm-to-table deli and cafe. They have local products from their own farm and a dozen others every day. Trendsetters, they are. And kindfolk. And right here in Ithaca.

Okay, last pic. Cider is good. See you at the ‘Creek!

Okay, one more. This is your brain on cider. Wheeeeee!

Hello, all. Great time of year. Won’t you help us celebrate Mutsu season?

The giant Mutsu apple famously appears in this postmodern still life by the artist Lila McBalto. The plastic diver holds real strands from a Japanese silkworm. The many-sided dice were used in a vintage fantasy game called “Dungeons & Dragons,” circa 1982. The piglets aren’t real.

Perhaps an even better use of the wonderful mutsu is edible art. This marvelous pie was baked by our own Allie, the scholar and farmer, and everyone’s favorite Saturday stand operator.

Here is the nom-nom-nom view. You can see as much drama in this pie as in any great work. And one must suppose it tastes better than the Mona Lisa.

Inside each of us is an artist – and your chance has arrived. You can pick your own Mutsus starting now! The Mutsu orchard is along the southern border of the farm, opposite the long rows of corn. Feels very farmy.

The fruit hangs low and easy to pick.

And the trees are absolutely jammed with huge apples.

This one is kind of spooky, lurking in the shadows. But really it wants to be picked, just like everyone else.

Follow the signs to the Mutsu orchard. If you can understand our signs you are winning the game of life. Everything is going great for you, and you will soon be picking oversize apples to impress friend and foe alike.

You’ll also be picking pumpkins! That’s because the pumpkin patch is just above the Mutsu orchard, seen here in the background behind the soccer mom cars.

Did you know there is a pumpkin shortage up and down the whole east coast? And Halloween is just 3 weeks away?

Well we got pumpkins, so your success is guaranteed!

On your way to the pumpkins and Mutsus, you might end up walking through the Dwarf Orchard. Pretty cool place, and here’s the deal: There are 1,600 trees and 60 varieties of apple!

Of course you can pick whatever you like, but we pruned them back this year to encourage growth, so there is very little fruit right now. The whole idea is that next year the Dwarf Orchard will be in full production, and it will be off the chain! That’s the REAL news about 2012.

Meanwhile, back in the Vintage Orchard, the Rome Beauty and Red Delicious apples are ready to pick. Just find trees with blue ribbons and have a ball.

When the apples are too high to reach, you can use an “apple basket,” one of the poles you’ll find around the orchard or at the farm stand.

Or grab an orchard stool. Please practice your dismount and don’t pull a Jasper.

Please do not use the tall orchard ladders. Even if you happen to see one around, please remember that they are for orchard staff only, and they can be real dangerous when you have an arm full of apples and the ground is tilty. Have a safe visit and let’s finish the season with everybody feeling fine!

Well that’s about it for this week, folks. We’d be remiss if we didn’t remind you that the flowers won’t last much longer. Cold nights are here.

So pick your own bouquet or grab one at the stand. Amanda arranged these beauties. They make an easy 5-buck gift for a friend. See you at the ‘Creek!