We certainly have the heat of summer (and maybe a bit more than any of us would like!) plus the market chock full of summer produce coming in.   The only thing we need to declare it officially summer is sweet corn…..and we hope to have that within a week.   The heat is making everything ripen quicker than normal so we have lots of everything all of a sudden.  Fresh vegetables, raw or cooked, are perfect for a lighter meal and snacks on these miserably hot days.  Keep the heat out of the house by grilling a bunch of them!  Nothing like grilled vegetables tossed into a salad or use them in sandwiches.

Save the Date!  Our 3^rd Annual All Things Local “Downtown to Down Home” festival is Sunday, August 4^th from 11 am to 3 pm.  Come join us for art, food, music, and displays from a variety of local vendors and organizations.  More details to follow…but save the date.

Blueberry season is in full swing!

Blueberry picking!  We are open from 8 until 1 for U-pick blueberries.  We have lots of beautiful blueberries to pick.  Since we currently have so many, we are allowing folks to pick as many as they would like (no limit) and if you pick 10 pounds ore more, the price is $1.50 a pound.  If you pick under 10 pounds, the U-Pick blueberry price is $2 a pound.

Picked Blueberry update: We are bringing picked blueberries in to sell at the market from Brookside Farms as we have for many years.  These are available by the pint, quart, 5 lb box or 10 pound box.

Here’s what is on the market now:

• Fresh broccoli, zucchini, kohlrabi, cabbage, cucumbers, yellow summer squash, fresh dug onions, cauliflower, kale, lettuce, swiss chard, garlic scapes, cucumbers, snow peas and sugar snap peas, new potatoes, green beans, brussel sprouts
• Greenhouse tomatoes and cucumbers
• U-pick herbs are ready.  There are bags and scissors for cutting around the neck of the bird overlooking the herb garden.

Tart/Sour Cherries:  We have some already picked on the market that we are picking at Schultz’s Fruitridge Farm in Mattawan. We will only have them for a few more days, then cherry season comes to a close.

Lodi apples are coming!  These are many folks favorite for making a green/tart applesauce, the first of the season.  We have a good crop and are taking orders for them now!

Are you looking for larger quantities to can, pickle or freeze?  Just call or stop in the market to get on the lists we keep for bushels of pickling cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes, peppers, sweet corn and other produce.   Many of our staff members can, freeze and pickle produce, so seek them out with your questions.

Also in the bakery you can find:

• Local Gluten free items
• Local Plainwell Ice cream to scoop out with pie.
• Jake’s Country Meats,  pork products
• Welch’s juice products, from Lawton
• Local chocolates —we are restocked now on dark chocolate!

Alcohol offerings:

• Brandies:  Pear, Grape, Apple, Cherry, Peach, and Grappa
• Rye Whiskey
• Wines: Double Cherry and Kaiser Cyser
• Hard Cider flavors: Standard Dry, Standard Sweet, Preach, Bark Bite, Blueberry, Hometown Hero, Cortabella, Currant/Cacoa, Elves, United Squash Federation, Ginger, Strawberry and Brunch. 
• Brandy tours and tasting is available every Saturday from 1 until 3 pm, in the Brandy Barn/Distillery.   Bruce, our brandy maker will be there to welcome you, talk with you about our process, offer sample brandy and some hard ciders as well!  It’s always an interesting and fun experience.
• Welcome back to Happy Hour! Happy Hour, with free cider samples for the tasting, happens on Saturday from 3 to 6 in the breezeway.  If you want to taste more than the three free samples, ciders can be purchased for continued enjoyment here or to take home.

Happenings on the farm:  Finding ways to stay cool and keep our produce cool 🙁  Everyone at Corey Lake Orchards thanks you for buying local.  We hope to see you soon and remember, eat your fruits and veggies in this heat, please!  While keeping hydrated….

Reminder:  Corey Lake Orchards is closed every Tuesday.  We will continue to share this notice since it is a major change.  As a small family business, we have begun to realize that to best serve our customers with an exceptional product and experience, we need a down day once per week to regroup, reorganize, and re-energize.

 

 

 

Finally, blueberries are ripening  across Michigan and we have them picked and for you to pick!  With strawberry season over, that has been the most frequently asked question is when they would be available.  The other most frequently asked questions are about green beans (we should have them this weekend) and sweet corn (still around 10 days away!)  We are really excited about what is happening in downtown Three Rivers, make sure you see the update at the end of this post.

Blueberry picking!  We are open from 8 until 1 for U-pick blueberries.  Our small bushes are ready now along with many of our large ones, they are large, sweet berries!  Since we have a small field, we are limiting picking to 10 pounds per family right now so as many as  possible can enjoy picking locally.  Our U-Pick blueberry price is $2 a pound.

If you are looking to pick a lot of blueberries, we recommend you try Brookside Farms, located in Paw Paw. They supply our picked berries and have a delightful farm for you to visit and pick at – 269-657-3500 or check their website:  https://brooksidefarmsmi.com/

If you are in the blueberry field, please smell the milkweed blooms (a most fragrant/lovely smell) and please don’t hurt them even though they are considered a weed.  We have left them there on purpose to help with the national monarch butterfly problem.  We have not seen a monarch butterfly here this year, which is incredibly sad.  Last year we did this, and got many butterflies since this is one of their favorite foods.

Picked Blueberry update: We are bringing picked blueberries in to sell at the market from Brookside Farms as we have for many years.  The season is starting up slow with rains and heat, but we hope to keep a steady supply here available in pints, quarts and 10- and 5-pound boxes.  If you are trying to freeze blueberries, we’d recommend you wait a few weeks for some of the later varieties.  Since they are just starting, you may want to call ahead to make sure we have 10 pound boxes on hand.  269-244-5690.

Here’s what is on the market now:

• Fresh broccoli, zucchini, kohlrabi, cabbage, cucumbers, yellow summer squash, fresh dug onions, cauliflower, kale, lettuce, swiss chard, garlic scapes, cucumbers, snow peas and sugar snap peas, new potatoes
• Greenhouse tomatoes and cucumbers
• U-pick herbs are ready.  There are bags and scissors for cutting around the neck of the bird overlooking the herb garden.  A list of what is ready is posted at the market.

Sweet Cherries:  These are now gone for the season.

Tart/Sour Cherries:  We have some already picked on the market that we are picking at Schultz’s Fruitridge Farm in Mattawan.  They are very nice, we will have them for about 1 week.  If you are looking to get quite a few, please call the market and place an order so we can get it picked for you.  269-244-5690.   If you are looking for a place to pick cherries, we recommend going there.  They have about 30 acres of beautiful tart cherries.   You can call them at 269-668-3724 or find them at https://schultzfruitridgefarms.com/.

Lodi apples are coming!  These are many folks favorite for making a green/tart applesauce, the first of the season.  We have a good crop and are taking orders for them now!

Also in the bakery you can find:

• Local Gluten free items
• Local Plainwell Ice cream to scoop out with pie.
• Jake’s Country Meats,  pork products
• Welch’s juice products, from Lawton
• Local chocolates —we are restocked now on dark chocolate!

Alcohol offerings:

• Brandies:  Pear, Grape, Apple, Cherry, Peach, and Grappa
• Rye Whiskey
• Wines: Double Cherry and Kaiser Cyser
• Hard Cider flavors: Standard Dry, Standard Sweet, Preach, Bark Bite, Blueberry, Hometown Hero, Cortabella, Currant/Cacoa, Elves, United Squash Federation, Ginger, Strawberry and Brunch. 
• Brandy tours and tasting is available every Saturday from 1 until 3 pm, in the Brandy Barn/Distillery.   Bruce, our brandy maker will be there to welcome you, talk with you about our process, offer sample brandy and some hard ciders as well!  It’s always an interesting and fun experience.
• Welcome back to Happy Hour! Happy Hour, with free cider samples for the tasting, happens on Saturday from 3 to 6 in the breezeway.  If you want to taste more than the three free samples, ciders can be purchased  for continued enjoyment here or to take home.

Happenings on the farm:  With no strawberries or cherries to pick, we are finally getting back to so many things we had to let go for a bit:  mowing, weeding, pruning, thinning apples, maintenance, replanting where the rabbits ate the plants, and getting a little deserved downtime, especially in the hot afternoons!

Everyone at Corey Lake Orchards thanks you for buying local.  We hope to see you soon.

Reminder:  Corey Lake Orchards is closed every Tuesday.  We will continue to share this notice since it is a major change.  As a small family business, we have begun to realize that to best serve our customers with an exceptional product and experience, we need a down day once per week to regroup, reorganize, and re-energize.

Update from Three Rivers:

DISCOVER DOWNTOWN AGAIN!

Three Rivers is the place to be!  With so many new and exciting things popping up everyday, we invite and encourage you to EAT, SHOP, PLAY and DINE in Downtown Three Rivers.

Just a friendly reminder, we now have six wonderful, unique dining establishments right here in the heart of Main Street.  Roosters, Landmark Taphouse and Grille, Main Street Café, Venue 45, Kelsey Block and the Riviera’s doors are wide open and ready to welcome you and serve up some delicious, mouth-watering entrees!

It is with great excitement that we also announce a new crowdfunding campaign to convert our east side walk thru into an East Alley, with outdoor seating, market lights, a stage for live music and of course ART!  The campaign is being offered in partnership with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.  If our campaign reaches its crowdfunding goal of $25,000 by September 1^st, the project will win a matching grant with funds made possible by the MEDC’S Public Spaces Community Places program.  For project details and to donate, please visit:  patronicity.com/eastalley.

Ladies….Come Get Your Sass On….Friday, July 12^th, 5 – 8 p.m. in Downtown Three Rivers.  Special Events, Promotions, Music, Giveaways, and MORE!  $5 participation fee includes commemorative wine glass and goody bag!  Follow us on facebook at Sass in the City for more details!

If you have any questions or want more details on any of these exciting opportunities or you just want to get plugged into the fun, please feel free to email me at threeriversdda@gmail.com or call me at 269.535.5145!

See you Downtown!

Tricia Meyer

Corey Lake Orchards Dog Policy

We love dogs, too!  Especially well-behaved, socialized dogs, but please keep them on a leash and pick up after them.  Due to Federal Food Safety regulations, no dogs are allowed in food retail areas including the farm market, bakery and brandy distillery, as well as pick-your-own areas.  During some of our peak season activities which draw many folks out to the farm, we would encourage you to leave your dog at home where they will be more comfortable than around large groups of people.  We have many open areas surrounding the main farm complex where you can be with your dog and designated areas near the you-pick locations.  Any of our staff will be happy to help you with this.  Poorly behaved dogs causing issues will be asked to leave.

Pat, Mary Anne, and their cute dog Sandy are frequent visitors to the farm.  Sandy waits patiently while each of them take turns shopping, often greeting customers!

We thank you for your understanding, Corey Lake Orchards

Here’s wishing everyone a great and safe holiday weekend/weekday, or whenever you have a chance to celebrate the 4th of July and just kick back.  Please consider a trip to our farm over the Holiday to enjoy our relaxed atmosphere.  We’ve got fresh produce, baked goods, local meat, cheese and eggs, and our own wine and hard cider selections.  We recommend you pair these with good weather, family and friends (and since the weather seems out of our control this year–go for 2 out of 3!)

All good things must come to an end and we are winding down the strawberry season, especially with this heat.  We irrigated this week and now hope we can keep them going maybe, maybe through this weekend.

The Strawberry Experience Continues with:

• Picked Strawberries:   They are $4 a quart and we are no longer taking orders for 8-quart flats.   We have been in contact with everyone on our order list, if you have not been called, please call us.  If you know you are coming out to get some, we are happy to hold them for you if you call us at 269-244-5690.
• U-Pick Strawberries:  We had a great week with U-Pick Strawberries; the berries are plentiful, nice and sweet!  We will be open for strawberry U-Pick as long as the berries are holding.  Right now we plan on having U-Pick on Wednesday and Thursday (July 4) from 8 until noon, and then Wednesday evening, from 5 until 7, if you are checked in to pick by 6.  Please check our website, Facebook or call us to see if there are still berries to pick after Thursday, we are keeping our fingers crossed.   We pick by the quart, so please bring containers (bowls/tubs) to take your berries home.  We will loan you quart boxes to pick in.  We will be open every day except Tuesdays from 8 until 12 noon, unless we get picked out before then (which hasn’t happened yet!)  We do not have afternoon picking due to the afternoon heat.   U-Pick pricing is:  $3.00 per quart up to 7 quarts; $21.00 for an 8 quart flat; and 16 quarts or more are $20 per flat.
• In the Bakery:  Strawberry muffins, strawberry cookies, strawberry bars, strawberry juice, strawberry milk, strawberry cheesecake
• Strawberry items:  Toddler strawberry hats, strawberry journals, “Life is Good” strawberry shirts, berry bowls, strawberry honey straws, strawberry dog toys, and numerous other fun strawberry souvenirs to purchase for yourself or as a gift.
• Free fun kid stuff:  Check out the small shopping cart where you can find cootie catchers, stickers and temporary tattoos.
• Adults may want to check out our strawberry hard cider.
• And the strawberry purist can simply buy a quart of strawberries, wash and indulge!
• All things strawberry in our market breezeway, with tables and chairs for you to sit and enjoy your treats.  What is All things strawberry?  It’s Beth’s large personal strawberry collection she is sharing during strawberry season.  Sorry, it is not for sale.

Parents, Nutritionists, Doctors, Farmers, Chefs and so many others have coined the phrase:  Eat your vegetables!  And you should!  The market is beginning to overflow with many great vegetable choices.  With this heat, just enjoy cut up veggies as a snack, or with a dip.  (We have dip mixes, sour cream and yogurt for sale).  With the abundance of zucchini, try spiralizing them into noodles (yes, we have spiralizers for sale as well, and they’re widely available at supermarkets because of how great zoodles are).  And of course, everyone’s favorite: grilling them (outside of course to keep the heat out of the kitchen!).

Here’s what is on the market now:

• Fresh broccoli, zucchini, kohlrabi, cabbage, cucumbers, yellow summer squash, fresh dug onions, cauliflower, kale, lettuce, swiss chard, garlic scapes
• Greenhouse tomatoes, cucumbers
• U-pick herbs are ready.  There are bags and scissors for cutting around the neck of the bird overlooking the herb garden.  A list of what is ready is posted at the market.  If you haven’t tried using freshly picked herbs you will be amazed at how they punctuate your food.  So bring your recipes and pick away.

Blueberry update: These are running about a week late.  Check back with us around July 5th and we will know more about when we will have them on the market for sale and when our small U-Pick field will open.

Sweet Cherries:  With a small crop due to the rough winter, followed by all of the rain, there is no U-pick this year.  We will be picking the few we have and will have them for sale by the quart this weekend.  Due to our small crop, we are working on bringing some in to sell from the neighboring farms around Coloma next week.  Once we have confirmed quantity and quality of the cherries, we will be able to take orders.

• While we were optimistic about having a good tart cherry crop, the past rains have now damaged about 70% of them.   The rain drops collected at the bottom of the cherry, they couldn’t dry, and caused the skin at the bottom to turn bronze.  The discoloration while not pretty, doesn’t go into the cherry.  We will be picking some next week (which are not affected by this condition) to sell by the quart and then we will be working with a farm in Mattawan to bring in already-picked tart cherries for sale.   Once we have confirmed quantity and quality of the cherries, we will be able to take orders.  Check back with us around July 5th for an update on picked cherries.
• This situation has caused us to have to reduce our tart cherry U-pick activity for this season.  We will only be able to have pickers who want large quantities, over 25 pounds.  If you are trying to pick a lot for wine, let us know and we are happy to work something out with you.   If you are interested in picking tart cherries, please call the market and leave your name and phone number (269-244-5690).  Brenda or Beth will call you back, discuss our situation and then schedule you in to pick where there are good cherries.
• If you are looking for another place to pick tart cherries, we recommend Schultz’s Fruitridge Farm in Mattawan.  They have about 30 acres of beautiful tart cherries, which are not quite ready yet.  You can call them at 269-668-3724 or find them at https://schultzfruitridgefarms.com/.

Welcome Faith in Flora: Faye brought her beautiful bouquets and other special plants to our farm last weekend and she will be here this coming Saturday at 9am.   We love what she does with flowers and think you will, too.

Also in the bakery you can find:

• Local Gluten free items
• Local Plainwell Ice cream to scoop out with pie.
• Jake’s Country Meats,  pork products
• Welch’s juice products, from Lawton
• Country Home Creations herb and spice packets to make your own dressing or dip
• Local chocolates 

Alcohol offerings:

• Brandies:  Pear, Grape, Apple, Cherry, Peach, and Grappa
• Rye Whiskey
• Wines: Double Cherry and Kaiser Cyser
• Hard Cider flavors: Standard Dry, Standard Sweet, Preach, Bark Bite, Blueberry, Hometown Hero, Cortabella, Currant/Cacoa, Elves, United Squash Federation, Ginger, Strawberry and Brunch. 
• Brandy tours and tasting is available every Saturday from 1 until 3 pm, in the Brandy Barn/Distillery.   Bruce, our brandy maker will be there to welcome you, talk with you about our process, offer sample brandy and some hard ciders as well!  It’s always an interesting and fun experience.
• Welcome back to Happy Hour! Come to happy hour on Saturday from 3 to 6 held in the breezeway or “Strawberry Land” in its current configuration.  Sip a strawberry cider as you check out Beth’s large collection of strawberry themed items.  Raise a toast to the first fruit of the season and pair a cider with one of numerous savory and/or sweet snacks.  Free cider samples will be available to get you started.

Check out several new gift items that we have:

•  Maple Candles. New in the market are maple scented candles from Maple Row Sugar House.  They are located with the other yummy maple syrup products and are guaranteed to lift your spirts (and not your blood sugar) with their lovely aroma.
• Life is Good Strawberry Tees. Pick up a souvenir tee shirt to celebrate the strawberry season that will remind you of the sweetness of the berries and life long after this short season is over for the year.  The shirts make great gifts as well.

We welcome those who wish to use Corey Lake Orchards as a backdrop/setting for any professional photography.  We invite you to capture the beauty of our farm and enjoy the scenery for family photos, engagements, weddings, and more.  We have extended hours and non-public areas of the farm available seasonally.  For fees and more information, please contact Brenda at Brenda@coreylakeorchards.com

Reminder:  Corey Lake Orchards is closed every Tuesday.  We will continue to share this notice since it is a major change.  As a small family business, we have begun to realize that to best serve our customers with an exceptional product and experience, we need a down day once per week to regroup, reorganize, and re-energize.

Corey Lake Orchards Dog Policy

We love dogs too!  Especially well-behaved, socialized dogs, but please keep them on a leash and pick up after them.  Due to Federal Food Safety regulations, no dogs are allowed in food retail areas including the farm market, bakery and brandy distillery, as well as pick-your-own areas.  During some of our peak season activities which draw many folks out to the farm, we would encourage you to leave your dog at home where they will be more comfortable than around large groups of people.  We have many open areas surrounding the main farm complex where you can be with your dog and designated areas near the you-pick locations.  Any of our staff will be happy to help you with this.  Poorly behaved dogs causing issues will be asked to leave.

Pat, Mary Anne, and their cute dog Sandy are frequent visitors to the farm.  Sandy waits patiently while each of them take turns shopping, often greeting customers!

We thank you for your understanding, Corey Lake Orchards

• We pick by the quart, so please bring containers (bowls/tubs) to take your berries home.  We will loan you quart boxes to pick in.
• We will be open every day except Tuesdays from 8 until 12 noon, unless we get picked out before then. We will open Wednesday evenings from 5 until 7, but you need to be started by 6pm. We do not have afternoon picking due to the afternoon heat.
• Our goal is to always have good picking for our customers so we close the field when all the picking for that day is complete.  If it was to rain for days on end or get cold, we may have to close for a day.
• If you are trying to pick more than 40 quarts, please call us and we will put you on our “large picker” list and arrange a picking time with you, 269-244-5690. 
• Our website, our facebook page and our answering machine will always have the latest picking information so you can call the night before or the morning you are trying to come to make sure we are open.
• U-Pick pricing is:  $3.00 per quart up to 7 quarts; $21.00 for an 8 quart flat; and 16 quarts or more are $2.50 a quart.

Cherry update:  We have a very small crop of sweet cherries this year due to the harsh winter.  We will not have any  U-Pick available.  We have a good crop of sour/tart cherries and we will have these available for U-Pick.  Check back with us toward the end of June for an update on when cherries will be ready.

Available on the market now: