Strawberries and other updates

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Beth

Strawberry Update:  With these nice warm days, the early strawberries are beginning to ripen.  We should be able to have some picked quarts available for sale on the market sometime the week of May 21st.    They will be $3.00/quart.  Depending on the weather, we expect most of our strawberries to be ready the week of May 28th.  Please continue to check our website www.coreylakeorchards.com or call us at 269-244-5690 for the latest information.

Picked Berries will be $3.00 a quart; a flat of 8 quarts is $22.00 ($2.75 quart) ; a case of 16 quarts is  $40.00 ($2.50 quart) , when available or ordered in advance.  We are now taking orders for flats and cases, and will call you when they are available.  Please call us on 269-244-5690 to order.

U-Pick Strawberries will be  $1.50 quart.  Please bring quart containers if you have them.  If not, you may borrow ours to pick in, but bring containers such as boxes, buckets, tubs, to take your berries home in.

Last year when we had fewer strawberries we tried a scheduling/reservation system.     Feedback from our customers on this was mixed and so after listening to you, we are going back to the previous method of first come–first serve.

Unfortunately this year we again are going to have fewer strawberries due to frost damage.  Essentially we lost the “first picking.”  The picking that remains will still be good, the season will just not be as long.  In the past several years, we have had more customers than strawberries, causing us to be picked out some days within 30 minutes and having to turn customers away.  This is frustrating for us and certainly for those of you who took time off work or got the kids up early to pick berries.

In order to accommodate all of our many local, loyal customers who want to pick here each year, we may to have to limit the quantity you can pick on some days to 16 quarts per group in order to allow more customers to have a chance to pick.

We know we have some customers who do a lot of preserving and want to pick 5 – 10 cases, for these customers I would recommend the following.  Call us and tell us how many you want to pick and we will try to accommodate you on a day when we have a lot of berries.

If we don’t have enough berries this year for everyone, there are  several other local farms with U-Pick  which we can give you the information on.

U-Pick times:  We will open the field each day at 8:00 am  and it will remain open until we are picked out or until noon.  We plan to open  each day weather permitting (closing only for berries to ripen if the weather turns cold. ) If we close the field for ripening, we will make that decision the day before, so please call us the day/night before you plan to come to make sure we are picking that day.   For safety, we will close the field during a lightening and thunder storm.

Asparagus:  We are winding down the asparagus season and will have it for about one more week.    Please call in advance to make sure we have it before you drive out.  269-244-5690.  Thanks for another great asparagus season, we all hate to see it end.

Greenhouse tomatoes:  We have a good supply of greenhouse tomatoes now.

Garden plants:  We have added squash, melons and cucumbers to the plants we carry this week.  We still have a good selection but they are going fast, so please come out soon to get your plants.  Besides, this wonderful weather is the perfect time to be planting.

Thanks as always for buying local.  We hope to see you this weekend.

Beth and everyone at Corey Lake Orchards

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Yeah! Our GreenHouse Tomatoes are ready! Don’t Forget Mother’s Day

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Beth

Greenhouse Tomatoes:  This past week of sunny days has pushed the greenhouse temperature up (some days over 100 degrees!) and finally the tomatoes are ripening.   So the wait for the “first really good BLT for 2012″ is over  as they are now for sale  at our market!    Just be aware they do tend to sell out quickly each day as we are not picking at full yield yet.  Call ahead if you want us to save some for you.

Greenhouse Tomatoes Picked on 5-8-12

Mother’s Day Weekend:  Mother’s Day is this Sunday, it is a time for everyone to remember where they came from and to thank their mom for everything she has done for them!  We have a number of items you can choose from to put together a lovely gift for Mom with local products.   Besides our  fresh picked asparagus and rhubarb we have reusable “Corey Lake Orchards” tote bags,  honey, Ruth’s pecan and cashew brittle.  Our bakers are bringing pies, cinnamon rolls, bread,  and cookies.  They will have specially-decorated flower sugar cookies for Mother’s Day.  This weekend I highly recommend the rhubarb or strawberry- rhubarb pie.  Since rhubarb is in season, this is the time to enjoy it.  If one of my son’s was going to get me a Mother’s Day gift, I would want a mini-rhubarb pie that I could eat all by myself (Hint, hint….).    If you have never tried their rhubarb pie, you really should, of all the pies they make it is my favorite.

The Brandy House is open this Saturday from 1 -4.  Bruce will be here at the brandy house for tasting and tours.  Be sure to ask him about some great drink recipes he has perfected using our brandies.  I highly recommend the peach, cherry or pear brandy as a Mother’s Day gift!

Plants and Hanging Flower baskets:  We will have many plants for sale this weekend, including hanging flower baskets.  If your mother is a gardener, consider mixing up a flat of various vegetable and tomato plants and helping her get them planted this weekend.

Plants available this weekend will be:

  • Pepper plants (Sweet bell, Sweet Banana, Hungarian, Jalapano and Cayenne)
  • Herbs:  Thyme, Basil, Oregano, Chives, and Parsley
  • Note:  we are just getting our pepper plants and herbs in for the first time this year and will have them available on Friday afternoon (May 11th)
  • Cabbage
  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Lettuce
  • Brussel Sprouts
  • Tomato plants (cherry and grape tomatoes, Biltmore, Mountain Fresh, Mountain Glory, Rocky Top, Red Defender, Primo Red, Scarlett Red)

Plants which are still yet to come will be watermelon,  cantaloupe, eggplant, cucumber, and both summer and winter squash plants.  Check back around May 15th to see if we have a date yet for when they will be ready.

Flower Plants:  We usually don’t sell flower plants but as I did my cutting garden this year, I over estimated how many I needed so we have zinnias, cosmos and snapdragons for sale.  So if you have ever wanted to try a cutting garden, this is a good way to start by using actual plants versus seeds.

Everyone here at Corey Lake Orchards is hoping you have a great weekend and we look forward to seeing you.

 

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Finally! Warm Weather and LOTS of Asparagus!

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Beth

We have plenty of asparagus now with the recent hot weather and rain.  So this is the perfect time to stock up your freezer.

Asparagus is really easy to freeze, you can simply toss it in the freezer in a plastic bag and wash it well when you take it out.  Buy 10# or more at $1.75/lb.

So please come on over this weekend to enjoy this delightful crop which will only last a few more weeks if it stays this warm.

Beth and everyone at Corey Lake Orchards

 

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Asparagus, Rhubarb, and Brandy House Update

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Beth

Asparagus Update:  With the warm weather the past few days, the asparagus is really taking off!  We currently have some for sale in the market, if you would like some please call us at 269-244-5690 and we will save it for you!

Rhubarb:  With the great weather, we finally have rhubarb for sale in the market!!  If you would like to order some, please call us at 269-244-5690 and we will save it for you!

Plants for sale:  What a beautiful start to the month of May!  With weather this nice, it’s a great time to plant your garden.  We have a vast array of plants for sale including; Tomato, Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Kale, Lettuce, Shallots, Spinach, Cabbage, potato sets, and Chives.  So it’s time to till up the garden and get to work!

Hubbard’s Brandy House:  This weekend will be the first of many to come this year in which you can come sample the fruits of our brandy maker’s labor.  Bruce and everyone here at Corey Lake Orchards would like to invite you to come spend your Saturday’s from 1-4 with us, tasting the brandy and polecat wine.  Bruce will also give you a special tour so you can learn the process of making brandy!  So bring your friends and enjoy a relaxing afternoon here on the farm.

Simply Sweet Baked Goods:  Many of your have been asking when we will have baked goods for sale in the market again. The bakers will begin on Mother’s Day Weekend 5/11/2012 (Friday thru Sunday).  They will be offering Strawberry Rhubarb, Rhubarb, 2 crust Apple, Blueberry, Cherry, Dutch Apple, and Peach Pies.  They will also have chocolate chip, monster, chocolate crinkle, and special Mother’s Day cut out cookies!  If you would like to place an order for baked goods, please call us at 269-244-5690 and we will save them for you!

Michaela and everyone at Corey Lake Orchards

 

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End of April Update

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Beth

Another month almost gone and what strange weather we have seen.    We would normally be very busy with our field plantings around this time, but the weather has us in a holding pattern.

Update on Frost Damage:  Unfortunately we have had some damage to our fruit crops.  Among the worst hit are pears, tart cherries, and plums.  There is minor damage beginning to show up on grapes, apples, sweet cherries, peaches, and strawberries. For those of you who can, freeze and make jellies/jams, you may want to ration your items in case you can’t replenish this year.  As most of you probably know, the entire state of Michigan has been hit very hard with frost damage in the fruit belt.  We really won’t know the extent of the damage for a few more weeks as the fruit tries to “set” and we can see what really made it.   Many of you who have driven past our strawberry field in the mornings have wondered what we are doing with our sprinklers going….it is how we protect them from frost damage.  Many thanks to Jay who is the one who stays up during these frosty nights to watch over our greenhouse and keep the irrigation going.

 

Irrigating strawberry plants through the night to protect them from frost damage

Asparagus Update: Due to the cold nights,  there is very little asparagus growing right now.    Please call us at 269-244-5690 to see if we have any left before you drive out or order in advance so we can save it for you.  Based on the weather forecast, we hope to pick again at the beginning of the week.

Tomato Plants:  We have tomato plants available now in our market.  If you would like some this year,  but you are not quite ready for them yet, please call us at 269-244-5690 or email us so we can save them for you.  Due to the storm out east, we are supplementing a greenhouse in Pennsylvania that lost their plants.  We would like to make sure our customers get the plants they want as many of you like the variety of tomato plants that we have.  The types of tomato plants available are:  Biltmore, Rocky Top, Scarlett Red, Mountain Fresh, Mountain Glory, Red Defender, and cherry and grape tomatoes.

Cold Crop Plants:  We still have cold crop plants for sale.  These are plants that you can plant right away and not have to worry about the cold weather.  These include; Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Kale, Lettuce, Shallots, and Spinach.  We still have seed potatoes for sale in the market.

Other vegetable plants:  We will have other vegetable plants later and hanging flower baskets, check with us mid-May.

Brown Eggs:  We are pleased to announce that Norma and David Yoder, from Leonidas, will be selling their farm-fresh, grass-fed chicken eggs at our market this summer.  They will have  Pullet eggs (pullet eggs are from chickens that are just beginning to lay, so the eggs are a little smaller) or  regular-large eggs.  They would very much like any egg cartons you have, so please help by bringing them back.

Rhubarb:  If the weather cooperates, we hope to have rhubarb this coming week.

Ruth’s famous pecan and cashew brittle is back, along with local honey!!  Come stock up!

Here’s hoping that we can soon get some “normal” weather back.  Have a great weekend.

Beth and everyone at Corey Lake Orchards

 

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