Farm Stand Info for 31 July.

Dear valiant and discerning customers of the Serenity Valley Farm Stand,

This Saturday, 31JUL10, we will be operating in our normal location in front of the Veteran's Memorial at the corner of Freeport Rd. and North Ave. in Blawnox from 9AM-1PM. Click HERE for a map.

We will be selling our first Ancho Poblano peppers of the season so you might wanna dig up your favorite recipe for those now, or click HERE for some repertoire expanding suggestions.

I know I said I was gonna get some pics up but I was a bit pressed for time as I had to accompany Kristie to a certain doctor's appointment that marked the end of a certain first trimester that allows us to deliver certain news that means not only are we growing crops but we are now growing future human labor to help raise those crops. That's right, Kristie is pregnant with our first!  Come say Hi! And buy some tasty treats from us this weekend!

Next weekend, 07AUG10, we will be attending a wedding so there will be no farm stand.

The FOLLOWING weekend, Sat. 14AUG10, we will be setting up at the Blawnox Community Park (click HERE for a map).

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Upcoming crops

So... it's been crazy busy between getting the farm stand off the ground and trying to beat back the continuous onslaught of weeds so I haven't been able to get a camera out into the fields to show you the deliciousness that is ripening on the vines/plants.  But stuff that is ripening includes jalapenos, eggplant, and TOMATOES!!  I don't wanna jinx anything but I think we mighta beat the blight this year.  I'll try and take some pics tomorrow.

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PA Farmers Market Nutrition Program

To better serve our community we have applied for permission to accept the Farmers Market Nutrition Program and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program checks from the USDA and PA Department of Agriculture.  You can read about the program by clicking HERE.  We'll let you know if/when we're approved!

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Produce Available for 24JUL10 Market

So, we'll try and post this every Wednesday or Thursday to let you know what tasty and delicious treats we'll have for that Saturday's market. We'll also try to post an approximate number of units that will be available so if you just gotta have some fresh beets and you see that we'll only have 4 units available you'll know to get to the farm stand sooner rather than later.

Keep in mind these crops and figures are approximate, it's entirely possible that between the time I do the 'inventory walk' on Wed or Thur. and Friday morning's harvest time that all of crop such-and-such could be wiped out by a roving horde of groundhog-deer-hail-rabbit-monsters.

Update (7/23/10): We figured out we were pretty off with our units, so we're just going to include the list. 

Crops 

Green Beans
Dill
Lettuce
Rainbow Chard
Carrots
Flat Parsley
Raddishes
Basil
Lime Basil
JALAPENOS
Raspberries

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How to store fresh basil

Sooo, we're selling fresh basil this month and one of the challenges of market farmers is knowing all the different quirks and requirements for keeping individual types of produce the freshest and best looking. Some crops are best harvested as early in the morning as possible (unless on the cusp of a cold-front) like lettuce, some are best harvested after the morning dew/dampness has dried off (beans). Some plants, once harvested, prefer cold damp storage conditions and some, like basil, do not.  Here's a great Chowhound discussion on how best to keep your tasty and delicious Serenity Valley Farm Lime-Basil fresh for the longest amount of time.

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Serenity Valley Farm Farm Stand

We had our first farm stand today at the corner of Freeport road and North Avenue in the borough of Blawnox in Pittsburgh, PA. We'd like to give a great big thank you to the warm welcome we received from the people of Blawnox. As residents, we look forward to bringing fresh, nutritious, organic produce to the neighborhood for many years to come. If you'd like to come say 'Hi!' and partake in the tastiness, we'll be at the Veteran's Memorial  at Freeport Rd. and North Ave. in Blawnox on the 1st, 3rd, and 4th Saturday of every month from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. On the 2nd Saturday of each month we will set up at the Blawnox Community Center providing easier access to the highrise residents. For the most current information including available produce, check back regularly or call 724-954-3238.

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Rain Glorious Rain

3" before I left for home today.  We needed it.

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Kubota B2920 Starting Issues...

Pro-Tips: Tractor Maintenance #243

So, those of you out there who ALSO own Kubota B2920 HST tractors (hereafter known as the FarmAssaultVehicle-29 or FAV-29) may one day come upon a situation where you can't get your tractor to start after you've been operating it in some 'challenging' conditions.  Seems that one can get enough dust on the hydraulic arms that return the HST 'Forward-Reverse Pedal' back to neutral thus preventing the pedal from cleanly reaching the 'rest/neutral/stop position'.  If the pedal isn't perfectly in the neutral position, when you try to re-start the engine, it won't work as that is a "safety" check (you can't start the engine is the pedal is depressed in either direction) that the engine checks on before it allows the starter to turn over.  So, if you find yourself with a Kubota B2920 that won't start and you can't figure out why, try putting the key in the ignition, heating the coils, then turning the key to start it as you normally would except at the point the engine would normally try and turn over, rock the "HST go-reverse" pedal back and forth till the engine turns over.  Worked for me and saved me having to have the B2920 shipped back to the dealer for warranty work.

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How Hot is it?

My CamelBak holds 100 oz. I drank two of them today.  That's 12.5 lbs. of water.  My weight is the same as when I got up this morning.  I wonder how much salt it takes to push 12.5 lbs. of sweat in a 6 hour period.  Dunno but I'm gonna go suck on some rock salt till it doesn't taste good any more.

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