Summer Crops coming despite the rains

With all the rain this past week, at least the temperatures have been held down. We are nearing the end of our black berry harvest with perhaps a week to go. Customers are stopping in who have been to other local farm stands, with bags of sweet corn, watermelons, peas, and butterbeans, so there is still plenty to enjoy. There are also plenty of red ripe tomatoes to be found and soon there will be okra for frying.

Okra does not like wet, cool, weather so this past week's rains will slow it down some, but the heat will return along with some drier days to allow it to catch up and start flowering soon. The cooler night time temps, in the lower 70's, have meant my tomatoes are blooming again to set on a new crop. Now if I can just keep the stink bugs off them till they redden up.

The Start of Summer and Summer time treats

Its time for enjoying some of the best of the early summer fruits. We now have our You pick Blackberry patch open and it is full of nice ripe blackberries for jelly making, jams, desserts, and just eating out of hand. We open at 7 am. and that is the best time to pick these beauties before the heat really gets turned on. We are open everyday of the week except for Wednesdays and Sundays, so come and fill your buckets. We also offer berries that we pick for $3.00 a lb/ $2.00 a lb you pick. Our plants are thornless.

Hillcrest Farms has blueberries coming in as well as other fresh produce like tomatoes, squash, and fresh herbs. They are open for those wanting to pick blueberries on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays and their stand is open daily except for Tuesdays.

Cassebaums sweet corn is coming in, with fresh pickings every morning. They are closed on Sundays. Get there early for a bushel to fill the freezer.

Right now at local farm stands you can find tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, squash, peppers, onions, garlic, and eggplants. I have been picking fresh tomatoes, when I can save them from the stink bugs, and have already put up green beans and corn in my freezer. Two of my banana trees are flowering so by this fall I will have some delicious bananas for making puddings and breads.

Well, I am finally back to let everyone know what's growing and ready to harvest here in Baldwin County. I see the sweet corn up the road is starting to tassel so it will not be long before those delicious roasting ears are available. Cassebaum's sign says they will be opening in June and I am sure they will be having the same high quality produce that they always have. Hillcrest farms is getting ready for the soon to start blueberry season and the Peebles' farm will be having sweet mouth watering blackberries before long.

I have green tomatoes the size of baseballs on my vines and will soon be picking the first of my pole beans. Strawberries are already being harvested along with potatoes, peaches, and butterbeans. I put up my first batch of peach jam today and soon will be filling jars with blackberry and grape jams and jellies.

We have had a really nice long spring this year with an ample supply of rain, but now it looks like we may be in for an extended dry spell, so the best part of the spring harvest may be the first crops. We have also been enjoying a nice harvest from our asparagus patch, getting about 1 to 2 lbs a week, for our Sunday dinner.

Fall Treats

  There are still plenty of fall goodies to be found even though Halloween is long gone. Jeta farms still has fresh field peas available, pink eyed purple hulls, and they are beautiful. I just put up some 3 gallons in the freezer so we can enjoy some big pots of peas and okra this winter. If you decide to put up peas and need directions for to how to freeze them, check out my article describing the process. http://www.infobarrel.com/Freezing_Field_Peas
  Citrus fruits are ripening in the area and many of the area farm stands and markets will have satsumas, lemons, and kumquats for sale. Hillcrest farms has signs out for citrus, persimmons, and other fall produce.
  The local pecan crop is not abundant this year and the quality is down for most folks. The Cassebaum farm is one of the few places where I have seen pecans for sale this fall.
  Since we have not had a freeze yet, there are still locally grown tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins, and cucumbers to be found. If you are not sure where to find any of the local growers that I have mentioned or need to find others, check out my list of growers by clicking on "Growers List" near the top of the page.

Oct. 19, 2012

Well now that the late summer heat has died down and fall temperatures have made life along the coast more bearable, it is possible to find fresh, locally grown produce again. The Elberta Farmers Market is open again on Saturdays from 8 am till noon. It is located on State St., on the south side of US. 98, just after you pass the red light going west. Local produce of all kinds can be found there from honey and pecans, to fresh vegetables and eggs, depending on who shows up to sell things.
Hillcrest Farms has their own crop of grapes coming in right now along with persimmons and home made jellies and preserves. They also have a Baldwin county corn maze for the family to enjoy now that the weather is so nice. They have signs out along hwy 98 so you cannot miss them as you head east from Lillian.
While traveling down hwy 98 toward Elberta, I am sure everyone will notice the beautiful fall colors of the large tree that is located just on the west side of the pond, just before you get to Elberta. That would be a true Golden Rain tree and it was in full bloom a few weeks ago. Now it is changing from the golden yellow of its flowers to the pink and red colors of its seed pods. I saw it as the morning light hit it the other day and it was a beautiful sight to see.
Fall here in Baldwin county means a constant array of eye catching colors from the blooming golden rod covered fields to the large patches of our native daisies and feverfews that are flowering along the roadsides. My own yard is filled with blooming orange torchinas or Mexican sunflowers that are drawing in the butterflies in profusion. Next the wild grape vines will be turning yellow and they will look like garlands hanging from every live oak and wild persimmon.

Hi all, well the dog days of summer are upon us with the gardens and farm stands showing it. The Elberta farmer's market has closed down until later this fall and if you did not get some of the local sweet corn, it is gone now also. In the heat okra is about the only thing still bearing a crop. Pictured is some that I am preparing for freezing. It is time to start planning for the fall garden if you haven't already. If you planted indeterminate tomato varieties this spring and can keep the vines alive through the summer heat and bug, they will set a new crop when the weather cools again.Visit my vegetable gardening site, Growitveg.com to get all kinds of information on having a fall garden of your own.

There looks to be a fairly nice pecan crop on the trees this year but first we have to make through the hurricane season without any big blows. You can find figs and fresh pears at the local produce stands right now. Down on county road 20, just east of hwy 59, the Little's farm still has produce to sell.

There are even more fresh vegetables and fruits to be found at the local farmer's markets and stands. Here are some that I have seen available now, green peppers, okra, figs, peaches, melons, blueberries, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, sweet corn, cucumbers, squash, egg plants, strawberries, and green beans. The hot weather means shoppers should get out early to get the freshest produce and to get it home while it is still cool. It is important to either can or freeze vegetables and fruits quickly for the best flavor and crispness in the end products. Enzymes start to break down the sugars and nutrients in the produce right after they are picked. The blanching or freezing processes will stop the action of enzymes and act to preserve the vegetables or fruits. You can also make wonderful homemade jellies, jams, and preserves with the current crop of fruits or vegetables. I just put up some 12 pints of grape jelly and will be making fig preserves tomorrow. My loving mother put up just over 16 pints of blackberry jam and 10 pints of grape jam before her passing a few weeks ago.