What’s Next?
Late Summer Update 2019

The next few months will be filled with bushels of delicious fresh fruits and wholesome grains and dry goods. Here’s what’s in sight.

Dry Goods & Whole Grains

Each of these upcoming truckload sales will offer a great selection of whole grains and dry goods.

Apples

Our Michigan orchard has produced a bumper crop of apples for us. Beginning with Galas in late August or early September, we plan to haul in several truckloads of crisp, juicy apples throughout the fall and into December.

Stanley Plums

These European gems are unlike the plums we commonly find at grocery stores. Wildly popular in Germany and eastern Europe, the Stanley plum’s firm, sweet-tart flesh makes it an excellent choice for canning, kuchens and other baked delights, and for drying. Of course, they are wonderful enjoyed fresh as well.

Stanley plums will be available only once in early September.

Bartlett Pears

Juicy, sweet, and speckled, Bartletts are the quintessential fall pear. Put them up in jars, gobble them fresh, and bake a simple pear tart that looks and tastes like gourmet.

Bartlett pears will be available only once in early September.

Baby Gold Peaches

If you’ve ever tasted commercially-prepared cling peaches in a can, you’re probably familiar with their terrific firm texture and delicate sweetness. Those are Baby Gold peaches, or some very similar variety.

The Baby Gold is unmatched for putting up in jars. This peach also stays firm in all kinds of baked sweets; pies, cobblers, tarts, and muffins.

However, be forewarned: Baby Gold peaches are not well-suited for fresh eating. Their flesh is almost rubbery when raw, certainly not juicy. Furthermore, this is a cling stone peach, so be prepared to cut it away from the pit for processing and cooking.

Baby Gold peaches: unsurpassed for baking and canning. Not so good for fresh eating.

Baby Gold peaches will be available only once in early September.

Concord Grapes

We’re not sure about the grapes for this fall. It takes a good sized group of people to hand pick Concord grapes for us, and fewer pickers than usual have signed on to help at the orchard where our grapes come from. If we are able to offer grapes, they should be available in late September, early October, or both.

Did you ever wonder why grape flavored candies taste almost nothing like common grapes? Those grape candies are made to taste like Concord grapes – the deep purple, slip-skin, sweet grapes that Welch’s purple grape juice is made from.

These grapes make awesome juice – easy to do in our Mehu Liisa steamer juicer. Turn ’em into wine, freeze the grapes whole (mini ice pops, right?), or eat Concord grapes straight out of the box, which is what most people do.

Tim & Erin

Organic Blueberries, Grown With What?

While other Kentucky growers struggle to farm blueberries organically, our grower, Travis, is using some interesting practices that make his farm one of the healthiest – if not THE healthiest – in Kentucky. The reason is that Travis’s clever family also runs a worm farm for the very purpose of harvesting an abundance of castings, which they use on their blueberry plants.

Castings, or worm manure, are packed with minerals that are essential for plant growth, such as concentrated nitrates, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium and calcium. The castings stimulate plant growth and enrich the soil more than any other natural product on the market, making them the most nutrient dense natural fertilizer a farmer can use. As little as one tablespoon of pure worm castings supplies enough nourishment to feed a 6-inch potted plant for over two months.

Thriving on the rich castings, our grower’s plants easily produce big delicious blueberries without the need for chemical sprays. The berries taste better, the plants are strong, and the whole system is marvelously sustainable.

These, my friends, are some excellent berries!

Order organic blueberries here in season or sign up to be notified when we’re taking orders.

Concord Grapes: The Good and the Bad

Bad Things About Concord Grapes  (Seriously…)

I’d really hate to start this message off on a negative note since there are so many positives about Concord grapes, but for the sake of being utterly clear, you must know the facts before you place your order.

Concord grapes are not table grapes. The skin is more fragile, and the flesh is much softer. They are picked by the cluster directly into the boxes we receive without any culling process, which is a good thing because it minimizes handling, which reduces the opportunity for damaging the delicate grapes. But because they’re not combed through, some of the grapes may have splitting, you’ll certainly see some leaves and green immature grapes in the box, and the boxes may leak with juice and condensation.

Bottom line: Concord grapes can be untidy.

We offer Concord grapes once or twice a year, in late September and/or early October. Check our current order form to see if they’re available now, or sign up to be notified when we start taking orders next.

But They’re In High Demand

The main reason for their popularity is not because folks eat them fresh (although many people do), but because of all the wonderful grape things that people make… homemade wine, grape jelly, artisan vinegar, grape cider, and even just canned purple grape juice, which is easy, fun to make and absolutely delicious. Some of these grape crafters offer their jams, wines, and juices as neat gifts for special occasions.

Even this near-flawless box of grapes has a few squished berries near the back left corner and at least one split grape close to the front right. Not every box is this perfect.

How we improve our quality and care about your experience:

If you’ve ever ordered from us you may have noticed that a few days after you get your things, you receive an email requesting feedback about your order.

Naturally, we are encouraged by many positive reviews that come in, but the negative reviews give us insights as well and help us understand what kind of changes need to be made. This enables us to respond to any problems and to refund folks if necessary too.

Concord Grapes:  Popular… But Not Perfect

We only offer Concord Grapes once or twice a year in late September and/or early October.  And there are many enthusiasts who buy them.  These are the kind of grapes that deliver that classic grape taste like nothing else, and a lot of people are wild about them.

And yes, they can be drippy and messy, so it’s important to attend to them right away.  Some of the grapes may be split, and the bottom of the box may leak juice.
Although these grapes are very popular they are generally not very perfect, so we get a wide range of both positive and negative feedback about them.

Here are a few Concord Grape comments from years past.

I am loving eating the concord grapes fresh each morning. I washed them in a little vinegar water to keep them firm and fresh. My husband and I are loving eating them.

About half of the concord grapes I received were smashed and unusable. We set the box on the kitchen counter, and the juice leaked all over the counter.

The order was excellent. We processed the grapes into juice & made jelly after I ate a pound of grapes. Some were split but that is normal. I ate lots of them & they were excellent. The apples are absolutely amazing. God bless your service.

I ordered the Concord grapes. They were nowhere near as sweet as last year, and they were much smaller. They were already starting to leak juice everywhere, and smell fermented. I washed them and boiled them down the same afternoon, but have to add sugar to the juice to use it for jam. Last year’s were so sweet and good I could just drink the juice and it was the best I’d ever had. I made jelly without adding sugar last year, too. I am able to use the juice, but I’m sad because I was looking forward to that same wonderful sweetness, and it wasn’t there.

…The Concord Grapes were wonderful, too. We washed them, blended the grapes in our Blend-Tec Blender, poured into 8 oz canning jars leaving a little space at the top, and froze them. We will enjoy this very nutritious juice all winter long.

I don’t usually complain but there was about 1/3 of the box of grapes that were mushy. When I got home, the box had leaked in the car too. The other two thirds of the box are wonderful and we are making jelly tomorrow.On the other hand, the apples are AMAZING! We have ordered two more boxes for the next delivery. A friend told me about your company and we are thrilled to have found the good quality for fresh fruit.

Most of the grapes were crushed and mushy. When I tried to pick out the few good ones, even they cracked also. It was so much work to pick out a handful of good grapes that I eventually gave up.

I purchased Concord Grapes and Apples. This was my second order for Concords this year and both were really good. I had almost no waste grapes as I sorted them immediately but this year there were not even many split grapes. I made grape juice in my steam juicer which is incredibly easy. We are Messianic and every Friday evening we celebrate the start of Sabbath and our Messiah with Bread and Grape Juice. I have canned enough homemade Concord juice for one small jar for each week of the year.

Once again–love the grapes! Made wonderful freezer jam with them, and are we are all enjoying just eating them fresh too.

The concord grapes were wonderful!! I have made 10 pints of grape jam and 4 gallons of grape juice concentrate! So yummy!!

I ordered two kinds of apples and some concord grapes. The apples are wonderful and I’ve been making applesauce and we are eating them also. This is the first time I’ve ever gotten concord grapes and I am not really impressed. They spoil very quickly! I did make jelly with about a third of them and I am hoping to use the rest for juice today, but I did already have to throw many out because they were molding quickly. I am guessing that this is just how grapes work since they are such a soft fruit… I probably wouldn’t order them again since they are hard to use that quickly!

About a half of the grapes were “cracked” and mushy. I have purchased grapes for about 3 years and they have never been this messy.The grape juice had leaked through the container box making it sticky and messy. We had to wipe the box dry before we could pick it up.

The grapes were fantastic! There were some mashed ones, but no more than expected. They taste delicious, and have made fabulous juice and jelly. I shared some with family to make jelly, and they are equally as thrilled.

… by the way, the grapes this summer made the BEST jam. First time in 40 years we made wild berry/grape jam! I have also made a lot of Low Sugar Concord Grape Jam using Pomona Pectin. My children will eat this in endless PBJ sandwiches that they love so much.

We had some friends over for lunch today. We had a Mexican dish, then afterwards I put some grapes and cookies on the table. The guy grabbed a grape, ate it, and said, “”WHOA! These grapes are AMAZING!! I have NEVER tasted grapes like that before.”” The wife had one and she loved it too. They had a few more, and a few more, and enjoyed them immensely. I told them they were Concords. They said now we know what kind of grape to look for. They’re from Louisville, and she said she thought there was a co-op there, so she would check it out. There is just nothing like a Concord.

Concords. Are. Fabulous!

My kids were so excited when I came home with the grapes, and have been enjoying eating them very much. And I made several jars of grape freezer jam so we’re looking forward to enjoying that as well. Concords are always a huge hit around here. Thanks so much for making them available.

I had the best grapes ever. The man that filled my order was so sweet and helpful The grapes were made into grape juice that night and it is the best we had ever had. I noticed that the grapes this time were much fresher and CLEANER this year which helped us in the products that we were making. Made our job quicker and eaiser. And I ordered a box of JONAGOLD apples. Cant recall ever getting that breed before but they are great so thank you young man for your suggestion. I will be ordering again when grapes are available Thanks

My order was perfect. I got grapes and apples. There was not 1 bad grape in my order and the apples were just perfect. Thanks for what you do.

Beautiful grapes and apples!! I have been slow about doing anything with them, but plan to dehydrate the apples and make some pies and jam with the concord grapes. We have been enjoying them raw…yummm! And we are happy with the Ottos, who have them ready for us on pickup day!

We Want You To Have A Good Experience With Grapes!
Of course, we’d like to sell a boat load of Concord grapes. But more than that, we want you to have a good experience with what you order. An excellent experience.

We encourage you to order grapes if you want ‘em as long as you understand what you’re getting:  hand-picked purple grapes that may contain some split, leaky skins…  potentially messy, but they have equally been known to generate some of the most enthusiastic “oooooo’s” and “aaaahhh’s”  and “yaaahhh-baby’s”  we’ve ever heard.

On our end, we will continue to pursue feedback about your experience with the Concord grapes and other great stuff we offer.  And we won’t be difficult to work with if refunding is needed.

Just-picked grapes returning from the field in Michigan.

Stanley Plums

This elongated European plum is a bit different from plums you’ll commonly find in stores. The Stanley plum is often used for canning, jams and preserves, drying, and baking, especially traditional European dishes. Stanley Plums are sweet-tart and so full of flavor, we love to eat them fresh, and we can’t get enough of them when they’re baked in a crumble like this one.

This is the only time this season that we’ll offer Stanley plums.

Bartlett Pears

One of the juiciest pears you’ll find, we love the Bartlett for it’s outstanding flavor. Bartlett pears are great for canning, and if you’re careful to put them in the fridge when they’re still hard, they can be stored fresh like that for a few extra weeks. We’ve had good success storing ours for about a month in the fridge.

Unlike most other fruits, pears are best when picked green (unripe) and allowed to ripen off the tree. Otherwise they become mealy. Our pears are picked mature, but green, so you can store them under refrigeration and ripen them when you’re ready to can them or eat ’em fresh.

How To Store Pears

Baby Gold Cling Peaches

Baby Gold peaches are a classic for canning. They’re unique in that they stay nice and firm when you can them. Ever have store-bought canned peaches? You know the way they feel in your mouth when you bite into one – firm, but soft, and almost a little chewy? Well, those are made from cling peaches like these. You’ll need a sharp knife or spoon to cut the pit away from the flesh, but patience has its rewards… Come mid-winter, those pretty canned peaches will make a lucky fellow a nice breakfast or dessert.

New to canning? This blog post is one of the most helpful guides we’ve found on canning peaches.

 
Allstar Freestone Peaches 

As the name implies, freestone peaches have a pit that comes away from the flesh easily. These really are the very last peaches of the season. If you need to fill a few more bags for your freezer supply of fall smoothies, this is your last chance.