Farm News

Wednesdays
Oakton – Oak Marr RECenter
May 6 – November 18
8:00 AM – Noon

Annandale – Wakefield Park, Braddock Rd.
May 6 – October 28
2:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Saturdays
Fairfax – Behind old Fairfax Co. Courthouse
May 2 – October 31
8:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Vienna – Beside the Red Caboose
May 2 – October 31
8:00 AM -Noon

Washington DC – 14th and U Street, NW
May 2 – November 22
9:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Sundays
Lorton – VRE Parking Lot
May 3 – October 25
9:00 AM – 1:00 PM

The weather is turning cooler and we’re in the first weeks of the major part of apple harvest, which means that Fall is arriving! Each week you’ll see more and more varieties of apples appearing at market, including what seems to be everyone’s favorite; Honeycrisp! To find out when your favorite variety will be at market, check out our Apple Variety Availability chart online, or at one of our markets. We also welcome the purchase of larger quantities of apples by the half bushel box at a price that is approximately half price per pound. If you know ahead of time that you’d like a half bushel of a certain variety the next week, please let us know at market, give us a call or send us an email.

We’ve also pressed our first batch of cider for the fall season entirely out of our own Elstar apples. The flavor is crisper and a little tarter than what you might find in the grocery store. Stop by for a sample!! Peach season is winding down, but with our late season varieties, we hope to continue to have peaches at market through the end of Sept.

Early this week we earned our second annual certification by the US Department of Agriculture for employing the use of “Good Agricultural Practices” also known as GAP. We completed a voluntary audit that verifies our adherence to the Food and Drug Administration’s “Guide to Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables.” We want to ensure our customers that they need not worry about the safety of our fresh produce!!

Please note that the majority of the farmers markets continue through the end of October. We’ll continue to offer all kinds of apples, cider, and a wide variety of pumpkins and winter squash.

Sincerely,

David, Mary Margaret, and Sidney Kuhn

Sandy Lombardi and Rusty Lamb

At the Market

Sweet Apples, Tart Apples, Cooking Apples, Eating Apples, Red Apples, Yellow Apples, all kinds of Apples………………………..

During the month of September, we will have the following available for sale:

*  Apples – Many, many varieties. To find out when your favorite will be available at market, check out our Apple Variety Availability chart online or at market.

*  Peaches – Our late season varieties:  Encore, Laurol and Ouchita Gold through the end of the month

*  Plums – Stanley Blue Italian plums (prune-type).

*  Bartlett Pears 

*  Asian Pears – Sweet, juicy and crunchy!

*  Red Raspberries – Our fall-bearing varieties will continue to produce until first frost.

*  Onions – Sweet white ‘Candy’ and spicy red ‘Mars’.

*  Apple Cider – A brand new batch pressed from our own Elstar apples for a crisp, tart taste, this cider is not the sweet syrupy kind you would typically find at the grocery store

*  Sweet Peppers – An array of Italian Frying peppers that are also great roasted, plus Round of Hungary (perfect for making Pimiento Cheese)

*  Winter Squash – Acorn, Delicata, Butternut, Mini Blue Hubbard, Pink Banana, Tennessee Sweet Potato, Zapalo Plomo and Kabocha (Green, Blue and Red) to name a few

*  Pumpkins and Gourds – A rainbow of colors and shapes for your fall decorating needs

*  Tomatoes – We grow a wide variety of fresh slicing tomatoes on raised black plastic beds. Many of our tomatoes are “heirlooms”, and the rest are the best of the more recent varieties. Unlike the baseballs you will find in a supermarket, we bring our tomatoes ripe to market, so you can savor that day!

*  Cucumbers – Primarily the long-fruited, slender Asian types; most of which are burpless

*  Okra – Clemson Spineless picked young and tender

*  Tomatillos – Great for salsa verde!

*  Cherry Tomatoes – Sweet orange ‘Sungold’, firm red ‘Juliet’ and rainbow mixes

*  Herbs – Basil, Italian Flat Leaf Parsley, and Sage

*  Fresh Cut Flowers – Zinnias, Sunflowers and others from Mary Margaret’s garden!

Pears continue to ripen off the tree (indeed, they really have to ripen off the tree to avoid a woody texture). So we bring our pears to market a little green and firm, so that they won’t bruise. Just leave them at room temperature and they’ll finish up nicely. Then you can refrigerate them until they’re ready for a delicious snack!!

Pear Trivia: Did you know that the Bartlett pear actually dates back to the 1770s? The Bartlett, called the Williams pear in England where it was first found, gets its name from Enoch Bartlett, who was the first person to sell the trees in the U.S. in the early 1800s.