Christmas Pointsettia Trip!

It was off to Janoski's Farm & Greenhouse today for our pointsettias. You just can't beat a warm greenhouse full of blooms when there's snow on the ground. Not the record 2 feet or more that blanketed the east coast, but enough to bring out the Christmas spirit! The big wreaths along the building on the left are "BOGO's @ $40. VERY TEMPTING if you've still got a space that can handle a couple of big wreaths. Some of the smaller pointsettias were also bogo's. There are still some of the "Christmas Rose" and the more burgundy colored varieties available, along with the usual red, pink, & white plants.
Don't forget the home grown produce. The sign for the potatoes was buried by the snow plows, but they have a really good deal on them too!

Somerset County Farmers' Market Celebrates!

The Somerset County Farmers' Market celebrated a successful 4th year at their annual dinner. Eight "friends" of the market were recognized. This article in the Daily American popped up in a "Google Alert". It's gratifying to see the documented growth of the market from the weekly vendor receipt tallies. Good luck in year five!

Deep Dish Apple Pie

Deep dish apple pie brought to you courtesy of Oak Spring Farm apples .... pot holder brought to you courtesy of a party grab bag <--- we did not pay for it!

Christmas Greens

Two more Saturdays left to get wreaths & swags at the Beaver Farmers' Market. We got the white spruce swags and they're up on the 2nd story windows. Marty says that these wreaths last so long that he's had customers request a "wreath conversion kit"! They want Valentines Day & St. Patricks Day accessories to switch onto their wreaths ...... There's also one regular customer who brings a brass French horn to have it added to his wreath each year. He dropped it off with Volkar's Farm & will pick it up next week on his own custom wreath. P.S. - Lots of potatoes, apples, cider, winter squashes, kale, turnips, beets, etc. still at the market! Pat's Pastries had some nut rolls, pizzelles, and holiday cookie plates .....

Happy Thanksgiving Family & Friends!

Thanksgiving's coming ....

A quick stop at the Beaver Farmers' Market to pick up some apple cider & cabbage. Our main objective was potatoes for Thanksgiving. Dave is getting down to the last few bushels of his Yukon Gold potatoes. He has plenty of others, but LFLF grabs the Yukon Golds while we can! We had some last week and they are delicious. You can see the golden color next to Dave.More pictures next week, but Christmas wreaths & swags are available at the Beaver Farmers' Market on Nov 28th , Dec 5th, & Dec 12th. Be sure to get your decorations in the next couple of weeks and support our local farmers.

Just 2 More Ambridge Markets To Go!

This is about the best we can do for a picture at dusk ..... even with leaving work a few minutes after 5:00, it's getting pretty dark at the market. LFLF is missing the opening rush of customers now, but the people that are buying seem to be stocking up! Apples, cabbages, squashes, potatoes, carrots, leeks .... all seen going out in big bundles and heavy bags! Here are some squash glamour shots ...... 1/2 bushel baskets of mixed winter squashes and some neat info on neck pumpkins.

Hurry to Market

Since the time change, it's "rush off to the Ambridge Farmers' Market" before dark on Thursday evening. Oak leaves were piled high in the middle aisleway of market today ---> swirling and blowing with the changing wind direction! We saw 2 women carting off huge bags of greens & cabbage .... they say it really cooks down. I sure hope so! Look at the pretty little Kuri squashes. Use them as you would any winter squash. And ..... finally, Pat the baker brought gingersnaps to market for the first time in a long while.

Attention Market Growers !!!!!!

Here's a great opportunity for the market growers out there ..... the 2009 Western Pennsylvania Vegetable & Berry Growers Seminar. Pre-registration deadline is November 11th. This year the program looks like a great one for farmers interested in specialty crops for markets. There's also a heavy feature on blueberries in the berry session. The afternoon business & marketing session (my favorite part from past years) focuses on the "Local Foods Movement" and has speakers from the Big Burrito Restaurant Group ....., East End Food Co-op ....., & Penn's Corner Farm Alliance. If you are a grower, you can't afford to miss this opportunity to speak with an executive chef and general managers about opportunities for your produce!
Here's another tip from folks who've attended in years past ..... take 2 people from your farm and split up. Some will need to take the crops credit sessions and having a partner means your farm won't miss out on the marketing sessions or berry sessions. Just do it!
While checking out the seminar, LFLF found it advertised in
FreshPlaza. This is a fantastic source for local & global fresh produce news. You can sign up for a daily email. Lots of interesting topics relating to all aspects of the industry ...... I used to recieve this when I worked in ag education at PSCE.

Wind & Rain

Wind & "sideways" rain were featured today at the Beaver Farmers' Market. Gusts of wind had all of the farmers holding on to their tents and tables. Tablecloths and displays were flapping & everyone was wearing some sort of slicker or poncho. LFLF picked up 10 mini pumpkins for 10 cents each (!), apple cider, onions, Yukon Gold potatoes, "Buffalo Chip" cookies, and mini decorative ears of corn. No browsing today ..... folks just ran in, grabbed what they needed, and ran back to their cars ..... just like we did before snapping this pic!

UPDATE ON MARKET HOURS FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON:

Beaver Falls will open at 2:30pm on Mondays. The final market is 11/23.

Ambridge will open at 3pm on Thursdays. Note that the final market will be Tuesday 11/24, just before Thanksgiving Day.

Beaver will remain open on Saturdays from 10am to 1pm. The final market will be December 19th! Christmas greens, wreaths, & swags will be available at the Beaver Farmers' Market.

Local Halloween Food!

How's this for an advertisement? LFLF did a double-take while driving down the main street of Monaca, PA. This is a new local shop, the "Original Pita Parlor" ....... looks like a fun place to stop in!

Garlic & Gourds!

No rain Saturday morning at the Beaver Farmers' Market. We were looking for a couple of gallons of apple cider and several heads of garlic. The garlic looked great and we also picked up our last decorative squash of the season. Of course, after enjoying the squash in a fall display, we will have several for cooking.

We had a little treat from farmer Becky --- gourds that her friend had cleaned and decorated. We put them out to share the pictures with our LFLF followers. WOW. They're not for sale, but it gives you an idea of what you can do if you're artistically inclined. Here's a gourd farm site with tons of information and a free download. Interesting how bad the drying gourds look before cleaning ..... Now go out, get yourself some gourds, and go to it!

I Brake for Farm Markets!

We set out for Waynesburg. PA today and took a little diversion off of I-79. We went off onto Route 19 S at the Ruff Creek exit for the last several miles of the trip. Route 19 climbs and winds along a ridgetop before dropping down into Waynesburg and leading right past Waynesburg University in town. While motoring along LFLF stopped (of course!) at this little farm market. The sign says it all! Across the road, they also had a great fall display. We picked up a few large gourds and were on our way ..... feeder pigs anyone?

Sunday Drivers

What a difference a day makes in October. Thursday, Friday, Saturday ..... cold, overcast, with mist & rain all day. Then Sunday came and it promised to be a perfect day for fall leaf peeping. We ended up driving north to Shelocta in Indiana County. Reegers Farm was having their annual fall pumpkin festival. Boy, has this grown in the 2 years since LFLF worked in Indiana! Reeger's is a great local spot for lunch out on the covered patio in the summer. The daily menu changes with what home grown produce is in season on the farm. They also have wonderful baked goods. There was a nice sized crowd there today to enjoy the pumpkin patch, hayrides, etc. & that's during a Steelers game!

On the trip back, we stopped at Brenkle's Farms and Greenhouse just west of Butler on Rt 68 and picked up some heirloom squash & pumpkins. They're really neat to decorate with AND cook with for something different. Today 2 young women were buying pie pumpkins when we came in. They were questioning "how many pumpkins does it take to make a pie?". Seems that one of their boyfriends wants a "real" homemade pie (and pumpkin roll!). LFLF cautioned them that a real pie won't be a perfectly smooth deep orange pie like they're used to, but it will be lighter in color & have "more texture". Told them to "Google it" ..... I wonder how that will turn out? ;~)

It looks like "Pumpkin" the cat was manning the scales. All of the big jack-o-lantern pumpkins were 19 cents/lb! That's the best buy we've seen all season, especially if you need to buy A LOT of pumpkins and you're in the area.

And yes ..... Brenkle's has a large selection of mums out front that still have "blooms opening" for sale.

Another Rainy Thursday

Thursday came and it rained pretty much all day ..... again. It was colder this week too, with the farmers bundled up in hooded sweatshirts, jackets, & rain ponchos. At least by market time, the rain mostly held off, or was a mist/light drizzle. Of course, all of the regulars & die-hard farmers' market fans were there, rain or not. LFLF came armed with a shopping list that included onions, red cabbage, Melrose apples, romaine lettuce, & potatoes.
The cold weather inspires thoughts of comfort foods. I barely got the picture of cabbage & kale taken before it was snapped up right in front of me. Lesson learned ---> buy first .... take pictures later! And yes, there were 3 cabbages, so one came home.

Spring House in October

If you're from the Pittsburgh area, here's a great local stop for October activities. The SpringHouse in Eighty-Four, PA is just a few miles off of I-79. It's a family run dairy farm/restaurant/catering & agri-tourism local favorite in Washington County. What started as an outlet for their own milk has really blossomed over the years!
Stop in for great food and home dairy products. October weekends feature 4-H Hog Roasts and all kinds of activities. There seemed to be lots of families out enjoying themselves on Columbus Day ........ Snow White & the Seven Pumpkins?????

Today after homemade lunch, we picked up some bacon, vegetable cheese, fresh baked cookies, & milk. There were plenty of pumpkins and other fall decorations outside.

Making Progress

LFLF worked a little pumpkin gathering activity into our schedule today. We picked up some pie pumpkins at Jodikinos Farm Market on Rt 18 ...... these small pumpkins are quite reasonable @ $1 apiece. We use them to top our fence posts along the driveway.

After Thanksgiving season is over, we feed them to the sheep! The older ewes, who know what they are, rush right in as soon as we smash them open. The lambs start munching too as soon as they figure out what's going on .....

We still need to complete the main pumpkin & squash display!

Pat's Pastries

There was a light rain/drizzle on & off at the Ambridge Farmers' Market on Thursday evening. Just enough to make picture taking risky ..... but we got one shot in under the tent at Pat's Pastries!

Like last week, there are tons of pumpkins, squashes, gourds, potatoes, cabbage, onions, peppers, leeks, apples, pears, 2nd crop green beans, & sugar pod peas.

Running Around ......

Visited the Ambridge Farmers' Market on Thursday & saw these gorgeous mums ...... then bought some Strawberry Fields gomphrena to dry for winter arrangements. It joins the magenta cocks comb from last weekend --- hanging upside down near the basement dehumidifier!

Our annual fall heirloom pumpkin & squash display got off to a nice start with a Long Island Cheese Pumpkin from Douds-Floyd Farm ..... it's in the bag on the far right in this display of pumpkins & squash. On Saturday morning we picked up a swan neck gourd at the little farmers' market in Lisbon, Ohio. We also got a giant head of cauliflower. It's about a foot wide! The annual search for worthy pumpkins, gourds, and squash continues ............ can you name all of the varieties in this photo??? Come to the market to read the signs & pick out your favorite. The traditional squashes & pumpkins were the ones used for pies & cooking ..... not the jack-o-lantern varieties that we see now everywhere for sale!

Arrived Before the Rain!

The rain held off for at least the first hour at the Beaver Farmers' Market on Saturday. There were plenty of people and the booths were loaded with produce, baked goods, & cut flowers. There were mums and lots of decorative gourds, pumpkins, Indian corn, & corn stalks. The booth above gets my vote for best decorated booth of the market today!

Here's what it looks like from the farmers' point of view ..... lots of happy customers filling their bags.We spotted one young woman with one of those chest style coolers on wheels that you pull around like a wagon. She could have been a chef .....who knows?

Even the Penn State Cooperative Extension folks were there doing a squash cooking demonstration. The food smelled really great ..... garlic in one recipe & brown sugar in another. I'm planning to try the "Spaghetti Squash Delight" recipe on the right hand plate ...... use the orange colored spaghetti squash to get the "look" & the added benefit of higher beta-carotene.

Food From THIS Local Farm

Several years of watching & waiting have paid off. Two years ago, we noticed a self-seeded grapevine on the hill behind the dog kennels. It seemed to have a lot of grapes, but they were rather small. Instead of just cutting it out, the vine was allowed to grow. The ripe grape smell coming from the hillside this year was irresistible. Basket in hand, I went up to see what was there. WOW ....... it must be a good year for grapes. Or a least a good year for grapes growing on dry south facing slopes. The yield was almost half a bushel. Plenty for 2 batches of grape jelly. Here is the first batch. The second batch is cooling overnight so that it can be strained to remove any crystals forming in the juice. BYW, the new Ball Blue Book shown above, now calls for 10 minutes in the boiling water bath canner for this jelly. It used to be 5 minutes, but many of the recipes have been revised. I'd suggest getting the latest 2009 edition ..... it's the 125th anniversary edition. The older copies can be kept as collectibles, but techniques are always being updated.

At the Ambridge Market

Wonderful herbs ..... how about drying some sage for Thanksgiving? We don't see cutting celery very often either! Pumpkins are gathered in the corner of the image. It won't be long now before we get our fall decorations of gourds, heirloom pumpkins & squash, and decorative corn. This year I'll add broomcorn that was grown here on the farm ..... got a free packet of seeds and planted them.

Before & After

It took a few days, but the peppers from Douds-Floyd Farm at the Beaver Farmers' Market are stuffed. In fact, after a few days, the green pepper turned an orange/red color.

A few tweeks of the recipe --> Substitute your favorite spaghetti sauce for the plain tomato sauce. Substitute prepared spanish rice (cooked with stewed tomatoes) for the plain white rice. Vary the cheeses on top .......

Your Roving Reporter in the Field ....

There'll be a little more here than the usual pictures of great local food from the Beaver Farmers' Market. The market is LOADED with great produce right now! The peppers & tomatoes are really colorful ...... we got a beautiful multi-colored selection of peppers to stuff from Doud-Floyd Farm. Each week brings new varieties of apples. We picked up Cortlands this time for a change. This is the apple that LFLF uses for making applebutter every few years --- of course, that family project takes about 7 bushels!

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LFLF arrived at market around 12:15 PM, which is a little later than usual. The market is located in the Beaver County Courthouse rear parking lot. While parking, about 30 people were noted out in front of the courthouse and other people were trickling in to the area. One truck had a Lycoming County decorative plate on the front bumper. Yes, we arrived at the same time as folks were setting up for a Tea Party at 1:00 PM in front of the courthouse. Not one to miss out on a photo op and a nice crowd (after loading down the market bag), your local blogster joined the group out front as it gathered and snapped a few pictures. Seemed to be more than 200 people out there. Lots of homemade signs and a big "tea-stained" American flag in crowd. Kids, senior citizens, bikers, some folks in wheelchairs, etc. Looked like a pretty average crowd on the steps and the lawn ..... didn't see any astro-turf. The first shot is the group bowing their heads in memory of the victims of 9/11. After that are a couple of the signs. Double click for close-ups.

Canfield Fair Leads to Local Food

A favorite stop after visiting the Canfield Fair is Rhodes Farm Market on Ohio Route 46 between Canfield & Columbiana. They had an absolute abundance of cantaloupes on special for $1 each, but I was looking for a watermelon. We got the watermelon, nectarines, and some crab apple jelly from a local producer. This was a "must have" since it's rarely available unless you preserve it yourself.

And what about these great looking peppers? In the excitement(!) of choosing which jelly to buy, and while balancing a watermelon, LFLF walked away without any peppers .... but hey, there's always the Beaver Farmers' Market on Saturday.

As a final tribute to the Canfield Fair, here's a look at the Grand Champion Largest Squash enthroned at the fair! How's that for local farming?

It wasn't that long ago when a giant 1000# squash was the "world class" growers' ultimate goal!

Sweet Corn Trial!

Here's a sweet corn that we planted this year. It's Ruby Queen from Burpee seeds. Personally, the sweet corn recommended as a companion pollinator tasted better to me than this variety. I wonder if anyone has tried planting this for the farmers' markets? Some folks like to experiment, but it's a bet that a lot of customers would steer clear of it thinking that it was a decorative Indian corn.

Local Food Goes to the Fair!

Local food is "happening" all around us at this time of the year. LFLF went to the Hookstown Fair Friday night determined to bring home some chicken! This is the 1st year that the Beaver County 4-H Stockmans Club/ sponsored a Market Poultry Pen class. We've been waiting for this to come to our local fair for some time. These 4-H projects are good "short time" projects for busy kids & you don't need a lot of money to get started. The 4-H'ers buy chicks in a group of 25 from the "Chick Pool"! Chick Pool chicks are sourced from a certified hatchery. Each 4-H poultry project member can then exhibit 1 meat pen of 3 birds at the fair.

At the livestock auction Friday evening, we successfully bid on these chickens! The pen of 3 weighed 22 pounds, so we'll see how much that is after they dress out. Can't wait for a nice chicken dinner this fall!