September Color

gourd1.jpg

This is such a beautiful and exciting time of year! Summer and Fall merge, in a glorious display of color.

You can find pumpkins, strawbales, gourds, apples, and apple cider at Kirby's. A great start to the Fall season!

 We love growing a variety of pumpkins and gourds...

This giant gourd variety grows into some very interesting shapes and colors.

 

Little orange and white pumpkins are adorable, in just as many shapes and sizes.

Our large Mums are exploding with color!

And there are a lot of colors to choose from. Complement your mums with some interesting foliage plants from our perennial area. Perennials are all 25% off!

mum.jpg

Produce Update

Tomatoes are at their peak, while peaches are beginning to come to a close. Right now we have Cresthaven peaches, which are a freestone variety that's excellent for baking, eating, freezing, and canning. We also Babygold, a clingstone variety that is our personal favorite for canning. They have excellent flavor, you don't have to peel them, and their firm flesh holds up well in a jar.

matas.jpg
peaches.jpg
applecrates
applecrates

Apple Varieties Available now:

Honeycrisp, Autumn Crisp, Gingergold, McIntosh, Paula Red, and Jonamac

Other homegrown produce in season:

Sweet and Hot Peppers, Eggplant, Lettuce, Kale, Beets, Broccoli, Garlic, Cauliflower, Plums, Pluots, and Nectarines.

Locally grown produce in season:

Potatoes, Onions, Carrots, Parsnips, and Shiitake Mushrooms

pruneplum.jpg
apples.jpg
peppe.jpg

2014 CSA Information

March is here, and that means that Spring is right around the corner. The greenhouse is already toasty warm and filling up with green plants. We're savoring these first moments of warmth and growing things! In July we'll look back and wonder where the time went.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

And now for the news you've been waiting for!  The CSA Store is open and ready to accept your membership for the 2014 season.

Prices are posted on our website (here), along with updated FAQs.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Registration Deadlines

Early Sign Up Bonus: 

All members that register and whose first payments are received by April 1st, will get an early sign up bonus.This year the bonus is your choice of a six pack of annuals. Any six pack we grow - so you can choose flowers, vegetables or herbs! Paying online with your credit card is the easiest way to make sure your payment is received by April 1st (a little more reliable then the mail) but if you would like to send a check, please mail it early enough to be sure we receive it in time.

Regular registration deadline is May 1st. 

(You can still join later in the year if we have space, but a $20 processing fee will be added for all late registrations.)

 

Autumn's Chill

cortland
cortland

The produce on our tables is always a reflection of the changing seasons. Right now we have: Brussel Sprouts; Winter Squash;  Romanesco;  Cauliflower; Cabbage; Apples; Broccoli; Swiss Chard; Kale; and Pumpkins.  We also have Local Potatoes, Carrots, Onions, Grapes, and Pears. It has been a particularly long season for tomatoes and peppers. Plum tomatoes were hanging in there for a while, but no doubt the hard frost last night put an end to them as well.

indiancorn.jpg
grapes.jpg
sage.jpg
romanesco.jpg

Field Update: September at Kirby's

Here's a collection  of snapshots from the farm market yesterday. So many beautiful Fall colors to enjoy! Click the thumbnails to enjoy the full image.

Fresh homegrown Swiss Chard

 

Summer is blending into Autumn, as you can see on our produce tables! Sweet corn is coming to a close soon, and peaches are almost done. We have tons of prunes and tomatoes right now, but we're coming up on the last week of pickles. Sweet peppers are going strong, we just started our last planting of beets (they're beautiful!), our yard is filling with pumpkins and we're getting more squash and gourds every day! Stop by to enjoy those last tastes of Summer. Before you know it, they'll be gone until next year!

 

Strawberry Season!

If there's one thing a rainy Spring is good for, it's nice big strawberries. 

strwberries
strwberries

As of this Thursday, June 20th, you can come by the market to pick your own. Bring your own containers or buy a few baskets from us, and spend an hour or two in our strawberry patch picking berries. It's a great way to save a little money on this delicious fruit, and a great way to relax. Our berry patch is full of nice thick straw to kneel on and it's looking pretty weed free so far (good job Farmer Tim)! We recommend coming in the morning, just to avoid the heat of mid-day.

If you'd rather enjoy some delicious strawberries without having to work for it, you can buy them by the quart and flat in the market.

We also have homegrown beets, lettuce, zucchini, edible pod peas, swiss chard, and garlic scapes.

For an even sweeter treat, grab a fresh cookie, turnover or scone. They come in every Tuesday and Friday from Greg'ry's Bakery in Bergen.

Field Update, May 31st

So far the weather has set us up for a pretty average Spring as far as timing goes. Patches of hot weather got things started, alternating with those cold snaps that slowed everything right back down. The rain we had earlier this week was very much appreciated by the plants, fueling the burst of bloom in our strawberry and pea fields. Read on for more details!

spinach.jpg

Spinach! Now filling a basket on our produce table, it's freshly pulled from a field behind the market and rinsed in clean, cold water. We only have one planting so it will be here for just a short time... but it WILL be back in the fall! Homegrown spinach is so tender and delicious. And full of nutrients of course!

 

 

peaplant.jpg

Next up: Peas! The very first blossom showed up one week ago today. We expect to pick about three weeks after the first bloom, so look for peas around June 14th.



Our strawberries began to bloom right before the coldest weather hit in May. Even with the added protection of a row cover (light-weight fabric that provides a layer of insulati0n) our very first strawberries were killed by the cold. We were sad to lose what is always the biggest berries of the season, but the hundreds of blossoms in our field right now makes us feel a lot better! The strawberries out there right now are already getting some pretty good size to them. We should be picking in about two weeks if Mother Nature continues to be kind.

lettuce.jpg

The quilt of lettuce growing in the greenhouse has been planted in neat rows in the field. When you drive by, you might notice two rows of white plastic next to rows and rows of black plastic. That's the lettuce! White plastic will prevent the tender leaves from burning. Black plastic absorbs heat, which can be great to get plants going in the Spring, but it's just too hot for lettuce. Lettuce will be ready for sale around June 14th as well.

broccolibaby.jpg

Broccoli is the undertaking of the year! Every week for eighteen weeks, our Captain of Seeding, Ron, is planting 15,000 broccoli plants. This photo shows you just a small percentage of what is soon to be acres of glorious broccoli. We'll start picking around July 1st.

New for the 2013 CSA Season

The most exciting addition this year has to be our new software, allowing us to organize packing, orders, and most of all accept online sales! This means convenience for our members, and way less paperwork for us.

To sign up for our CSA online, click here to go to our store.

Thanks to two seasons of wonderful members and great success with the CSA, we've increased available shares to 300! Farmer Tim insists we can do more, but we've convinced him to take it slow. 

We're also trying out some new crops: bok choi; radishes; golden beets; collards; celeraic; celery; kohlrabi; spinach; 5 new varieties of lettuce; patty-pan squash; and chinese cabbage. Selected to fill the gaps, these vegetables will add variety to the beginning and end of the season. There are several things in there that I've never tried (kohlrabbi and celeraic) so I'm looking forward to trying them out, and learning new recipes.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

We have three different pickup locations to make it more convenient for you to get your hands on our delicious homegrown produce:

Kirby's Farm Market; Rochester Public Market; and Bindings Bookstore. The greatest difference between these locations is that the market is the only one with a swap table.

Informational Meetings have been scheduled for all of the pickup locations (except Public Market). We hope you can make it to the meeting nearest you, to learn more about our CSA.

UPCOMING INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS

Kirby's Farm Market (Brockport) on March 28th at 7pm
Bindings Bookstore (Albion) on March 26th at 7pm

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

2012 CSA Season! Highlights and Signup

If you're new to our CSA program, please go to our FAQ page for more, in-depth information.

Sign-up Deadlines

  • Early Sign-up by April 1st
  • Regular Sign-up by May 22nd
  • We will accept late members (as shares are available), with a $20 late processing fee.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Click here for a CSA Membership Form!

Send completed form and payment by mail to 9739 Ridge Rd, Brockport, NY 14420 or email to info@kirbysfm.com. You can also bring your application and payment to the market as of May 1st, during regular hours.

____________________________________________________________________

2012 CSA Highlights

>> 100 shares available for the 2012 season! We've doubled the number of shares we offer after a very successful first season.

>> New Produce! At this very moment, Farmer Tim is ordering seeds for the coming growing season. He's planning to grow a greater variety of greens throughout the year with spinach and lettuce in the Spring, and collards, swiss chard, and kale in the Fall and Winter. I've also heard mention of fennel, green beans, yellow beans, celery, cilantro, basil, celeriac, parsley, and onions. We'll also have more plantings of peas and pickles to create a longer, continuous season.

>> Days and times are staying the same for market pick-ups:  Tuesday or Saturday, 1pm-7pm.

>> Minimal price increase of $22 (short season)  and $26 (long season). Why did our prices go up? We upgraded our CSA box. Instead of reusing cardboard boxes, shares will be packed in a sterilized plastic crate. They're sturdy, fold up for easy storage, and minimize the risk of cross contamination. More info on the new containers coming soon!

_________________________________________________________________________________________

In Progress: Satelite Pickup Locations

Have you been wanting to sign up for our CSA, but you live too far away? We're asked about other pick up locations all of the time. We're very interested in expanding our distribution, and figuring out a way to bring our weekly boxes of fresh, Kirbygrown fruits and vegetables to you!

We will set up pickup locations within about 30 miles of Brockport, for a minimum of 25 members per location. This is a great opportunity for companies interested in helping their employees live a healthy lifestyle!

If you have a group of interested people, contact us to receive an information packet and schedule a meeting or presentation. Phone: (585)637-2600   Email: info@kirbysfm.com

End of the Season Produce

The end of the season is nearly here! Stock up on produce while these quality homegrown fruits and vegetables are still available.

TREE.jpg
TREE

APPLE UPDATE:

  • We'll have Jonagold, Empire, McIntosh, Macoun, Cortland and Twenty Ounce apples until we close on December 24th.
  • Varities we're getting low on: Red Delicious, Crispin, and Northern Spy.

To store apples for a long period of time, it's important to keep them around 33-35 degrees F. Because of their sugar content, apples won't freeze at 32 degrees. If freezing does occur, it will have an affect on the quality so be sure to keep them from temperatures below 30 degrees.

You could also enjoy the flavor and nutrition of apples throughout the winter, preserved as applesauce, dried apples, apple butter or apple juice. Click here for safe, simple recipes from the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

Over the years our customers have told us about storing their apples in large coolers, like the kind you would take to a picnic or on a camping trip. Storing apples in an insulated container like a cooler will help to maintain an even temperature, and keep the apples from freezing. In a cooler, your apples could be kept in a place where they might freeze otherwise, (in a garage, shed, or on a porch). I've also heard of people wrapping each apple in newspaper to keep them from bruising or spreading rot. It is important to make sure all of your apples are free of rot, because it will eventually spread in long term storage.

Fresh picked Romanesco, the perfect Christmas vegetable!
romanesco

VEGETABLE UPDATE

With the mild weather we've had this December, cold season vegetables have lasted quite awhile. As temperatures finally drop into the appropriate December range, crops are experiencing one freeze too many. What we have now is it for fresh vegetables!

As of December 17th, we have a good stock of Romanesco, Cabbage, Broccoli, Kale and Brussel Sprouts, Butternut and Acorn Squash.

To enjoy these healthy veggies throughout the winter, check out the website of the National Center for Food Preservation. They have some great articles on freezing vegetables (like broccoli) and the proper way to blanch.

Locally grown potatoes are another great item to stock up on at this time of year. Right now we have seven 50 lb bags of red potatoes, as well as one 50lb bag and two 10lb bags of white. potatoes.  To properly store potatoes, keep them in a well ventilated, dark place

While your here, be sure to check out our selection of locally made gifts, stocking stuffers, and unusual gift-giving ideas! It's always worth a stroll through the greenhouse to enjoy some holiday color from the poinsettias too.

Cool Weather Vegetables Part 1 : Cauliflower

Delicious Cruciferous!

Members of the highly nutritious cruciferous family include broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, collards, kale, swiss chard, cauliflower and romanesco. Each one contains unique nutrients to keep you and your loved ones healthy, and the entire family has well known health benefits.

Orange Cauliflower

This unique vegetable contains 25 times the level of Vitmain A of white varieties. This trait came from a natural mutation found in a cauliflower field in Canada in the seventies. Scientists have since used the same strain of mutation to develop more nutritious foods (with increased beta carotene) such as golden rice.

Purple Cauliflower

The beautiful purple color is caused by the antioxidant group anthocyanin, which can also be found in red cabbage and red wine. Thousands of years ago, some of the very first cauliflower ever eaten was purple!

This morning as we were packing the CSA boxes, the truck pulled up to the back of the market with the rest of the produce for the CSA shares. It was full of vegetables that had been harvested minutes before the truck left our farm in Albion:  beets with dirt still clinging to the roots and leaves; dewy heads of  cauliflower crowned with crisp leaves cropped short, brilliant purple, orange and soft white peeking through.

There's nothing like standing by the truck as the back door slides up and your faced with giant mounds of perfect vegetables. You immediately want to photograph them, (maybe paint their portrait,) and then cook them up into a number of dishes good enough to pay tribute to their perfection. Here are a few suggestions...

Roasted Cauliflower

1 head medium Cauliflower

2Tbsp Olive Oil

1 tsp Salt, or to taste

2 cloves garlic, minced

Break the cauliflower up into one to two inch pieces. Toss the florets with the olive oil, salt, and garlic. Spread on a cookie sheet in a single layer and bake at 450 for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is tender and golden brown.

 

An alternative method from Orangette, a food blog.

From NPR:  spice up your cauliflower with a recipe from Melissa Clark. And read a Cauliflower love story from Nicole Spirifakis, with the added bonus of an intriguing recipe.

And if you really want to dress up your cauliflower, this Cauliflower and Caramelized Onion Tart from Smitten Kitchen looks phenomenal!

The Peak of Harvest Season!

Below is a listing of everything available from the fields and orchards at Kirby's Farm Market for the end of September and early October! Call to place orders for large quantities (585)637-2600.

Decorate for Fall: Little white and orange Pumpkins, Gourds, Pie Pumpkins, tons of beautiful Mums, and Straw Bales. Soon to come: cornstalks and a fun variety of big pumpkins!

Kirbygrown Vegetables: Acorn Squash, Delicata Squash, Swiss Chard, Kale, Garlic, Sweet Corn(done by Sept 30th),  Eggplant, Cucumbers, Green Peppers, Red Peppers, Sweet Hungarian Peppers, Hot Peppers

Kirbygrown Fruit (done by early October): Tomatoes, Peaches, Nectarines, Prunes, Pluots

Kirbygrown Apples: Honeycrisp, McIntosh, Cortland, Gingergold   (Coming soon, dates are Approximate: Twenty Ounce 9/23, Empire 10/03, Golden Delicious 10/05, Macoun 10/05, Red Delicious 10/08, Jonagold 10/10, Crispin 10/15, Northern Spy 10/15)

Locally Grown Produce: Potatoes, Onions, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

It's Canning Season!

The weather right now couldn't be better for canning. Spend a few hours in a steamy kitchen with baskets of gorgeous fruits and vegetables, putting them up for the coming winter, and you will relish every cool breeze. But you'll relish the satisfaction of putting up your own fruits and vegetables for a delicious and healthy winter even more!

Some of the most popular things to put up this time of year: stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato juice, canned peaches, canned pears, peach jam, applesauce, and apple butter. Every family has their own traditions. Last week the Kirby family canned tomatoes and peaches, this week we're making salsa! What preserving traditions do you have?

Freezing produce instead of canning is a great alternative. Quick, easy and definitely less steamy! You can freeze just about anything, but peaches, tomatoes, peppers, sweet corn, and sauces work wonderfully.

Follow this link to read tons of great information on preserving, canning and freezing fruits and vegetables form the experts at Cornell Cooperative Extension. They have fantastically comprehensive lists that will inspire you to make the most of the fresh fruits and vegetables so unique to WNY!

 

August Snapshots

August is a beautiful month at the market.  Produce, perennials, and great food! Mouse over for captions, click for larger images, and enjoy!

 

Helenium "Copelia"

Hot peppers, eggplant, cherry tomatoes, and sweet pepper combine for a beautiful palette of summer color!

Gentian "True Blue" and Heuchera "Obsidian" are a beautiful summer perennial pairing for your garden!Ratatouille, ready to go in the oven! Eggplant slices alternate with zucchini, tossed with garlic, olive oil and sea salt.Every year we grow a a rainbow of gladiolas in the field. They are usually available right up to Fall!Fresh, Kirbygrown sweetcorn, a summertime essential.Another planting of homegrown beets are here.Sungold yellow cherry tomatoes and Sweet 100's cherry tomato are like a little bowl of sunshine!Rudebekia triloba, an adorable little black eyed susan, frames the entry next to a stationary display.Gladiolas are one of the best flowers we can grow for arrangements. Every bud will open, even the tightest one. Just keep trimming from the bottom as the older blooms die, and keep the water fresh.

A reminder that Fall is right around the corner! Every tree in our orchards is loaded with apples, some of them nearly ready for picking!

Does this cool weather make you think about Fall? It will be here before you know it! Make sure you take full advantage of the wonderful summer produce filling the market throughout August and September!

Sweet, Cold, and Delicious

IQF Cherry Pickup! Call Now to Place Your Orders

637-2600

Pick up Dates Are:  Friday, August 5th 9am to Noon

Saturday August 6th, 9am to Noon

_____________________________

IQF Blueberries - 30 lbs

IQF Sour Cherries - 20 lbs or 40 lbs

***NEW!  IQF Sweet Cherries - 40lbs ***

Please note that we don't have enough freezer space to store frozen  fruit past noon. Come as close to 9am as you can to make sure your cherries thaw as little as possible!

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Do you have a favorite sour cherry recipe? Post it as a comment on this post for a chance to win 4lbs of IQF Cherries! A winner will be randomly selected on August 5th.

 

 

Have you ever seen a cherry shaker?

They look pretty strange. There are two very similar halves that go on either side of the tree, each driven independently by a 'tractor', tucked beneath a large, moveable, piece of yellow canvas stretched on a metal framework. A big pair of retractable pincers is nestled in the middle of one half. The pincers grab the tree and shake it! Ripe cherries tumble onto the canvas and cascade down the angled fabric, while a conveyor belt on the other half of the machine catches the cherries, sending them into a giant bin full of water and ice.  I can totally imagine the thought process that went into designing this contraption!

The Kirby brothers (Francis, George, Bob, and John) invested in a cherry shaker together around 1980. Every year each farm would send a representative or two to help out as the cherry shaker made it's way from orchard to orchard. You need a truck driver, someone to man both halves of the shaker, people to drive the tractor or two moving bins around and loading them on the truck, as well as several people to fill bins with ice and water.

My empathy for trees and the serious demeanor of everyone involved, combined with the activity, noise, and vibrations in a place normally so quiet and tranquil, all added up to make quite the impression on my seven year old mind. Every year we would go out to the orchard to watch. If you're interested, there are some videos on youtube showing how the different parts of a cherry shaker work! I'll try to get some photos up of our cherry harvest this year.

The Kirby clan has sent many tons of cherries to the processor over the years. Only a small fraction goes to market as fresh fruit because they just don't keep that long. (They're fresh picked in the market RIGHT NOW, grab 'em while you can!) The cherries are washed, pitted, and frozen at the processors. From there they go to various companies to be made into pie fillings, juices, etcetera.

For decades large tins of frozen cherries, some of them sugared, were available to retailers and the public. Anyone remember those? My Dad made a trip to Middleport twice a year, bringing back a truckload of frozen cherries to fill the orders. People line up in the front room, pick up their cherries, pay at the register, and whisk them away to their freezers to enjoy a year of pies, cobblers, and other cherry dishes. It goes like clockwork!Sour Cherry Dessert

There aren't too many things that have changed over the years...

Instead of a tin full of frozen cherries that often stuck together in blocks, the fruit is now quick frozen so they pour out like marbles, and packed in large blue plastic bags. After a fire closed the plant in Middleport, we now get our truckload of IQF cherries from Holley Cold Pack, along with IQF Blueberries.

The biggest change is that you can get IQF fruit from Kirby's whenever we're open, May-December. We have a freezer in the market  full of 4-8 pound bags of fruit - sweet cherries, sour cherries, and blueberries. We still have the big IQF event each year (coming up soon!) because as always, you save money by ordering large amounts.

______________________________________________________________________________

(585) 637-2600

 

In Season Now

Dark Sweet Cherries showed up last Saturday.

Freeze them, dry them, blend them with lemonade, toss some onto a salad - if they make it home that is!  When the Sweet Cherries show up, Sour Cherries can't be far behind.

July is fast approaching!

We've had strawberries for several weeks but they won't be here much longer. Now is the time to purchase by the flat for jam, juice, and freezing. Freezing is my favorite way to preserve strawberries for the winter. Last year I somehow ran out of time and only got around to making jam. Let me tell you, I missed them alll winter. And I learned my lesson - there are eight quarts in my freezer right now!

Our lettuce is grown right behind the market,

so we can take a short walk out back and pick more whenever we need to. We keep at least two heads of each type available (Green Leaf, Red Leaf, Ithaca, and Buttercrunch), and you know it's fresh! I didn't know what good lettuce was until we started growing it ourselves. It is so sweet and tender and beautiful!

Regular Peas are still going strong!

We'll have them for a few more weeks, so take a few pounds home to enjoy a little pea-shelling meditation on the front porch.