A Rough Guide (2013 Outlook)

If you're curious about what the heck we're growing around here, I hope this post will be helpful.  I've listed the items that we plan to bring to market this year, as well as their approximate availability (emphasis on "approximate").

Due to the nature of our schedule and micro-mini workforce (Ben may be a tall drink of water, but there are only two of us), Fat Bear Farm produce is only available at farmers market at this time.  All of our items (along with artisan cheeses, local meats, baked goods, soaps, and other excellent produce) will be conveniently available at the Cobblestone Farmers Market in Old Salem this year.  We hope to see you there!

ASPARAGUS

The Dawning of the Age of Asparagus has come!  Our asparagus is available right now.  We will continue to harvest through the beginning of July.

SPINACH

It's available now until Mother Nature says tells us that it's too warm.

STRAWBERRIES

We've got lil'greenies on the plants right now!  It looks like they'll be red and ripe by the end of May.  We grow three varieties that mature at different times.  We hope to offer strawberries through the rest of spring, most of summer, and autumn.

LETTUCE

We are growing green, light green, and red varieties of head lettuce.  They will be harvested this month and next.

FRESH HERBS

Basil, cilantro, and sage are growing in the high tunnel.  We'll be bringing them to market from late May through autumn.

LEEKS

The leeks have been transplanted and are growing strong.  I have to admit that I'm only guessing that leeks will be harvested late June through early July.  This one will be a surprise!

GARLIC

Scapes will be coming in the next several weeks.  We'll harvest the roots beginning in June.  We expect to offer garlic at market from late June or early July through autumn.  Our varieties are: Elephant, Music, Purple Glazer, Chesnok Red, Persian Star, Kettle River Giant, Mother of Pearl, and Georgian Fire.

MORE THAN JUST "CHERRY" TOMATOES

This year's varieties of salad tomatoes include: Gold Rush Currant, Egg Yolk, Tommy Toe, Black Plum, Yellow Pear, Red Fig, and Brown Berry.  The names are great, but the flavor is even better!

BLUEBERRIES

The start of July through the beginning of September is blueberry season.  Dig out those pie and jam recipes (we will gladly taste-test your creations for you)!

RED PIMIENTO PEPPERS

I grew these last summer, and we ate them all in grilled pimiento cheese sandwiches with tomato soup.  They were so good that I had to grow more to share with the world!  Maybe July through late autumn?   It should be a long season for them because they're growing  in our high tunnel.  Pimiento cheese, anyone?

SWEET POTATOES

We've sold out of our winter storage supply, and we just planted this year's slips yesterday.  We will offer Beauregard (deep orange flesh) and white yams.  We'll dig them up at the end of August (they grow very quickly in our soil) and begin bringing them to market in September.

FRESH GINGER

My fingers are crossed that this year will be as good to us as last year was.  We're growing ginger in our greenhouse and high tunnel.  It will be available at the end of summer.

MISCELLANEOUS

Life is no fun without surprises.  

Honey Bees, Butterflies, and Blueberry Bushes

We can't let the bumble bees take all the credit (though they are a lot easier to photograph).  On this day, the butterflies and honey bees were hard at  work!

The blueberry bushes are absolutely loaded with blossoms this season.  I walk through the orchard almost everyday, trying to wrap my mind around the fact that each and every flower is slowly making the transformation into a sweet, plump, complexly-flavored fruit.  

Oh, thhe joys of farming!

Weekend Getaway

Ben and I had a ball at Foggy Ridge Cider last Saturday.  The day was cloudy, but the atmosphere was  festive.  We reconnected with old friends and even made some new ones.  Nothing brings people together like great cider and fantastic food.

Fresh pea soup alongside asparagus bread pudding with watercress sauce were served in the tasting room.  Fat Bear Farm offered asparagus, spinach, seedlings, and eggs out on the crush pad.

Ben was left on his own for a bit while I enjoyed the offerings in the tasting room.

 You can see some of the beautiful equipment used to crush the apples and mix the cider in the background.

We were lucky enough to catch some of the apple trees in bloom.

The orchard is breathtaking, even on the cloudiest of days.  In the background to the left, there are even more trees in full bloom.  

We want to thank Foggy Ridge for hosting us again.  It was our pleasure to help kick-off their Farm Days series for 2013!

We'll be back at the Cobblestone Farmers Market this coming Saturday.  

Farm Days At Foggy Ridge Cider

Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 27 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and come join us at Foggy Ridge Cider for Farm Days this weekend!  What could be better than spending an afternoon in scenic Dugspur, VA with great food, drink, and company?  Fat Bear Farm will offer asparagus, seedlings, and other spring goodies for sale. If you'd like to do a cider tasting and gnosh some snacks, $8 will cover it.

If you've never visited Foggy Ridge before, I highly recommend bringing a camera.  The apple orchard is gorgeous this time of year, and I wouldn't want you to regret missing the opportunity to capture some incredible springtime photos.  See you there!

Best Ever

We had some incredible ingredients on our hands after farmers market, so we fired up the mud oven last night.  We had a little pizza party with Thurgood Morsel and Miles Giles as our invited guests (they said the pizza bones were to die for).

Cobblestone Farmers Market finds: Mediterranean flavored lamb sausage from Border Springs Farm, Fat Bear Farm spinach, and shiitake mushrooms from Myers Mushrooms and More. 

These pizzas were officially declared "our best pizzas ever."