Next market- What's available

This Saturday July 4th, there will be no market at Valley City, due to the holiday. The next market at Valley City will be on Saturday July 10th. Here is what we are expecting to have available:

~Beets- Regular and Forono (longer than regular beets
~Radishes- Regular and French Breakfast
~Bagged Salad Mixes- I will post what types of mixes when it is closer to the market date
~Loose Leaf Lettuce Heads
~Head Lettuce- Should have some ready for next market
~Red Russian Kale bunches
~Collard bunches
~Sweet Basil bunches
~Red and White Scallions
~Red Cherry Tomatoes- may possibly have some ready for next market, if not we will have them soon after
~Bell Peppers- coming very soon, not sure if we will have any for next market, but will be coming soon
~Zuchinni and Summer Squash- coming very soon

Summer Greens

This year I hope to have bagged greens for salads and stir fry mixes available throughout the summer. Right now I have spinach, butterhead lettuce, baby romaine, collards, red russian kale, swiss chard, and radicchio planted. They are all suppose to be heat tolerant, so I am keeping my fingers crossed, and hoping I will have a nice selection. I also plan to plant some dinosaur kale and Tatsoi (a type of mustard green). I think I will also replant some mizuna and possibly some arugula. We will see how it goes.

So hopefully I will have salad mixes and mixed greens available all summer. I will let everyone know how all my summer greens are doing and of coarse will have to post some pictures.

Collards- July Topic of the Month

I have decided to make Collards the next Topic of the Month for July. I have really come to love both Collards and the Red Russian Kale that I grew this year. Before I grew both of them I had never used them before, and really had no idea what to do with them. But since I have read so many things about others who love them I decided to give them a try. I am assuming that everyone else also does not know what to do with them since they have not been selling well. I really want to grow them again next year so I am hoping the sales of them begin to pick up. So in an effort to let everone know about Collards, it will be the Topic of the Month.

I just thought I would mention that you can use Collards to make Collard Rolls. It is just like Cabbage Rolls but instead of using cabbage you use collards. In one way, it is actually better because the collards are not tough like the cabbage can sometimes be, when you make Cabbage Rolls. It is very good!

Pictures from the market

I just thought that I would share some pictures from our market on Saturday.

Diakon Radishes, White Scallions, French Breakfast Radishes, Looseleaf Lettuce Heads, and Garlic Scapes

Picture of some of our bagged salad mixes. Just Lettuce Mix, Spicy Salad Mix, Red Sails Leaf Lettuce, and Black Seeded Simpson Leaf Lettuce.

Red Russian Kale Bunches, Collard Bunches and Some of our potted plants we have available for sale (such as Dahlias, Tomato Plants and Fairy Tale Eggplant).

Berry Bread

We also had Berry Bread available, which was made with strawberries and mulberries, and was very good. I am hoping to be able to make some more Berry Bread for this coming weekends market. I may actually have some raspberries to add to the strawberries and mulberries. I am not sure but am thinking that next week may be the last week for the Berry Bread because the mulberries and strawberries may not be producing for the following week, but we will see. I am almost positive that I will be able to make it this weekend.

First market of the year

Valley City Farmers Market

First Market of the year

We are the first table on the right

Yesterday was our first market of the year. We had lots and lots of lettuce available, and still have lots that we did not have time to pick.

Sadly we did not have any spinach available since it decided it wanted to bolt. Sometime within the next couple of days I plan to get rid of the row of spinach that I have planted and plant some spinach that I just bought the other day that is suppose to be heat tolerant. It will be the first time I try this variety, but we shall see. Hopefully it last longer that the one I have planted now. I almost forgot that I also have some Malabar Spinach planted. This will be my first time trying this also. It is actually a vine and it suppose to love the heat, should be interesting.

I also plan to pull the last of my arugula, since some of them have just started to go to flower. I am not sure what I will put in its place yet. Maybe some more kale and collards to be picked for bagged greens during the summer.

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For next week I should for sure have more Red Russian Kale and Collards available, which I must say they both are very very beautiful.

Of coarse we will for sure have red and white scallions available.

I am thinking that I should also still have available my bagged lettuce mixes.

I should also have some beautiful full heads of leaf lettuce available.

The radishes should hopefully be ready just in time for next weeks market also.

Some of my dahlias are just beginning to bloom so I should have some of them to bring next week.

I am also hoping to get together some of my extra tomato plants.

If we get some rain this week like I believe we are suppose to things should get a growth spurt, so we may have other things available also.

What's Available (Market date 6/13/09)

Valley City Farmers Market
Saturday June 13th, 2009
First market of the year!!!

I will be posting updates as we get closer to market day, so be sure to check back.

Our main thing that we will have available for sale for this week is our bagged salad mixes. Everyday when I walk through the gardens I notice that it seems as if the lettuce and greens are getting more and more beautiful by the day. I think one of the most beautiful things are the collards. They are getting so big and beautiful. I am dieing to pick them and make some collard rolls with them. I am hoping that I have some collards left after the market on Saturday to make some collard rolls with.


Vegetables:

• Red Scallions
• White Scallions
• Bagged Salad Mixes: Just Lettuce Mix, Mild Spicy Mix, Super Spicy Mix, and A Little Bit of Everything Mix
• Red Russian Kale
• Collards
• Bagged Spinach (possible, depending on how much we have to pick)
• Bagged Arugula (also a possible, depending on how much we have come Saturday)
• Garlic Scapes
• Broccoli Raab
• Mulberries

Plants:
I am not sure exactly what I will be bringing, but I do know that I have lots and lots of plants. Listed are some of the possibilities.

• Large potted Dahlias (depends on which ones may be blooming by Saturday)
• Geraniums (also depends on which ones may be blooming by Saturday)
• Hanging baskets (with Sweat Peas and Carnations in them)
• Tomato plants (many different kinds)
• and others
  

Bakery:
I am not positive yet but I am thinking about making pizzelles (maybe mulberry, vanilla, and or almond). I am also thinking about some kind of bread (maybe mulberry).


We should have radishes available for next week also, if not this week. We have 4 different types of radishes growing right now. The beets are also getting closer to being ready. The head lettuce is growing bigger and bigger every day.


I have not posted any pictures in awhile, (been pretty busy) so hopefully I will get a chance soon to get out there and take some pictures, especially of what we will have available to sell.

June- Product of the month- Greens and Lettuce Mixes

I figured what would be better to make as the topic of the month than Greens and Lettuce Mixes, since most of what we will have available for the month of June is going to be just that.

I just picked my first few bowls of greens and lettuce the other day, and had my first salad of the year. I must say everything was very delecious!

Here is what mixes I plan to have available for the first market at Valley City (which I must add, is coming very, very soon):

Just Lettuce Salad Mix

~The Just Lettuce Salad Mix will consist of lettuce only. Some of the types of lettuce will include Red Sails, Black Seeded Simpson, Red Oak Leaf, Salad Bowl, Prizeleaf, and others.

Mild Spicy Mix

~This mix includes about half lettuce and about half mild spicy greens. Such as Red Oakleaf Lettuce, Salad Bowl Lettuce, Mizuna, Mustard Spinach, and others.

Super Spicy Mix

~This mix contains mostly spicy greens and a little bit of lettuce. Such greens include Arugula, Mizuna, Mustard Osaka, Chicory Red Treviso, Salad bowl lettuce and some others.

A Little Bit of Everything Mix

~The name of this mix says it all, includes a little bit of everything. Such as all the different types of lettuces we grow, spinach, and some spicy greens such as Mizuna, Endive, some Arugula and others.

Plus I also plan to have availabe:

Bagged Spinach

Red Russian Kale

Collards

~I also plan to sell a stir fry mix with greens such as Kale, Collards and Swiss Chard. You can also add this mix to your favorite salad mix.

I may also have some other Mixes available. I will know for sure when it is closer to the first maket. I will be posting (when it is closer to the first market) what we will have available at Valley City on June 13th.