Orchard Talk

John’s sweetcorn is in and it is AWESOME! Our pickles are coming in by the 1/2 bushel. Come in or call to reserve yours. Garnet Beauty peaches are being picked. These stick to the pit but are sweet and juicy. Nectarines can be mixed with the peaches as they are the same price. Red Havens will be starting end of the week next week. I hope in time for the weekend of Aug 7. Still a few apricots on the tree and plenty in the cooler. Apricot canning workshop this Thur 8/5 call for info. I’m planning a corn freezing party so keep a watch on my blogg for info. I will set date and time when corn is perfect for cutting off the cob. Get a group together, cook cut and bag corn. Then divide the costs between group and divide the bags and all will have corn in the freezer. Watch blogg for info. Anyone want to do a pickle party. I would need a leader but I would have the pickles and the place. Call me 231-544-6479. Betsy

Tags: peaches

PICKLES ARE IN!

Tags: market, pickles, vegetables

Apricots are beautiful! Peak u-pick for the next couple of days. Apricots will be in the market for a good two weeks. Peaches —-Garnet Beauty, the semi cling peach is the first peach to get ripe. I will be opening u-pick Wed 7/28. They are big and sweet. Red Haven peaches we think will be ripe somewhere between the 5th and the 1oth of August. Summer plums are in and delicious. Bay City honey rocks are in and are they great this year. Come into the market soon because King Orchards sweet corn will be ready by the week-end July 30th!!!!

There are so many vegetables in the market this time of year. It’s heaven for a vegetarian like me! We get some of our vegetables from Bay City, MI, but many of them come locally or from our farm as well.  Some of the best things we have right now are the zucchini, summer squash, and potatoes. They’re all cheap, and easy to make for a healthy meal! Right now we’re selling sweet corn from bay city, but in a few days we should be seeing our own in the market. Here’s a little price guide for the veggies, although some prices change time to time, depending on the size of them…

Summer Vegetables

Corn (Bay City) — .45/ear, 5.00/dozen

Potatoes (White) — 1.00/quart, 2.00/5lb bag

Potatoes (Red) — 1.50/quart, 3.00/5lb bag

Cucumbers — .75/slicing cuc, 2.75/quart of picklers

Summer Squash & Zucchini — .75/each

Onions — .60

Tomatoes — 1.99/lb

Green & Wax Beans — 2.00/1lb bag

Fruit-Filled Friday Orchard Tour at King Orchards

Tags: apricots, Cherries, honeycrisp, nectarines, peaches, raspberries, u-pick

Ingredients:

8 c. (2 lbs.) fresh tart cherries, unpitted
2 c. sugar or 1 lb. sugar cubes
4 c. vodka or brandy or bourbon
1 1/2 tsp whole allspice (optional)
1 1/2 tsp whole cloves (optional
2″ stick cinnamon (optional)

Wash and stem cherries. Alternate layers of cherries, sugar and spices, if desired in a sterilized 2-quart jar. Cover with liquor. Store covered in cool dark place. Shake or stir once a day the first week, then once a week for two months. Strain the liqueur, setting cherries aside. Let liqueur stand for 2 hours, pour clear liqueur into sterilized glass containers, being careful not to disturb sediment. Make second batch.

Traditionally, the first batch of Cherry Bounce is served during the Christmas season; the second is served at Easter.

You can make the second batch by adding more sugar and bourbon to the cherries, but traditionally sauterne is used rather than bourbon. Cover the cherries with 4/5 quart of sauterne. Follow the same stirring and storing procedure as in the first batch.

This week we are picking Balaton tart cherries. If you want to make cherry bounce this year these are the cherries you want to use. We are picking with the stems on and they should keep for traveling. Cherry bounce is easy to make and fun to drink come the holidays. Also these are the type of tart cherry we will be shipping. Shipping is happening this week and the beginning of next week. 11lbs for 40.00 plus shipping ( they would need to go next day air). Cherry picking is getting over but you can come out and try. The cherries are big and black but take work to find. Raspberries are great! Apricots should be coming full force Thurs 7/15. Everyone is loving the IQF (individually quick frozen) montmorency and balaton cherries for pies and Jam. We will have these available way into the winter. Good week to come out! Betsy

Tags: balaton cherries, market, tart cherries

Things have been so busy in the market! Our sweet cherry u-pick crop has been small, but it’s lasted through the 4th of July weekend, which is very good. We are expecting it to end by Sunday, June 11th however, so be sure to get out here while you can! Picking is a bit of a challenge if you compare to past years, because of how spaced out the cherries are on the branches. They are delicious though! Betsy is calling this year the “doing, not getting year”, because it’s more about going out and having fun than getting as many cherries as you can in your bucket.

In other news, the raspberries are looking great for this weekend. Our raspberries are “everbearing”, which means that raspberries ripen in batches all summer long. It’s so fun and easy to go out there and pick them, I highly recommend giving it a try.

If picking off of bushes isn’t your idea of u-pick fun,  Apricots may be for you. We’re planning to have apricots ready for picking this weekend, although they will still be quite firm. Hard apricots are perfect for traveling though, so if you’re passing through the area, be sure to take some home with you!

Be sure to stay tuned for the latest U-pick, Market, and general updates on the blog and our facebook!

Things have been getting very busy around the fruit stand. We are still u-picking sweet cherries. We will be u-picking until atleast Tuesday, possibly longer. We will keep you updated on a for sure date in the next couple days.

We got the sweet cherry pitter out today! It is one of the coolest things to watch, so ask about getting some cherries pitted when you pick some. It makes for super easy freezing and eating and saves you a ton of work!

We just got done picking off of our early apricot trees. Our big crop will be coming in about 2 weeks or so. These early ones were amazing so I think it is safe to say we will be expecting many more delicious apricots available for u-pick and in the market.

We got our first shipment of Michigan blueberries in today. They look great and taste even better! Prices on blueberries are as follows:
$3.75/pint
$6.25/quart
$12.00/2 quarts
*We will be getting in 10lb boxes on the 9th and have begun taking orders for those

We have been getting lots of questions about when veggies are going to start coming in. Betsy talked to our Bay City farmer today and we are hoping to get onions, potatoes and possibly sweet corn next weekend!

Unfortunately, we are still thinking that there will be no tart cherries available for u-pick. The good news, however, is that we had a great crop last season and stocked our freezers with pitted tart cherries. Making a cherry pie just became way easier, no pitting or picking necessary

Also, strawberries have ended now. Thanks to our strawberry man for another great season and wonderful berries. We can’t wait til next season!

Tags: apricots, blueberries, onions, pitter, potatoes, strawberries, sweet cherries, sweet corn, tart cherries, veggies