Well, it's been crazy once again! It's been raining too often to get anything much done in the fields, Kayla's finishing up recovering from her appendectomy, and now Schaeffer's come down with something new (more on that in a minute).

We WILL be out at the store tomorrow (Saturday) from 10 until 2. This will likely be your LAST CHANCE at least through the end of the year to stock up on honey and eggs.

The fall squash are looking nice, but they're not producing as much as we'd hoped, so there will be little if any beyond what we will eat
ourselves. The rain and assorted other things have kept us from getting the remaining winter greens in the ground, so there might be none of those for quite a while, if at all this year.

Tomorrow, there will be fresh eggs and honey, a few summer squash, swiss chard, basil, other herbs, and possibly some okra.

Thanksgiving is coming up, followed closely by Christmas. The in-between times are now looking very busy - and not due to the farm.  Schaeffer has been diagnosed with something called LCPD or "Perthes Disease". Don't want to spend too much time on it here, you can google it if you like. Basically it's a short-term degenerative problem of the hip (both hips, in his case). Lord willing, he'll be fine in a couple of years, with no lasting effects except a significantly increased risk of developing arthritis of the hip. In the meanwhile, the next couple of years will include a lot of physical therapy and excercise, coupled with quite a bit of pain on his part (which means on our part as well).  As far as we can see at this point we expect to have little time for farming. We have always said family comes first.

We do expect to still make our yearly trek to south Texas for citrus fruit around the beginning of December, and we'll email everyone about that when it gets closer, but we do not expect to be out at the store often for quite a while.

Well, we had *planned* to have the store open this coming Saturday (October 17), but things don't always work out the way we plan them

McKayla was complaining of a stomach ache on Monday and was up all night Monday night.  We took her in first thing Tuesday morning and she ended up needing an appendectomy!  She is doing fine, and came home this morning.

What this means for us, however, is that Heidi will be very busy taking care of her the next couple of days and we will not be able to get things ready for Saturday as we had planned.  We *expect* that we'll be able to have the store open the *next* Saturday, October 24.

The fall squash are coming in nicely, though we haven't seen very many pumpkins out there   Still a few weeks off, I imagine, for all the fall squashes.  We're getting some summer squash from the reinvigorated old plants as well as some new plants we put in a couple of months ago, and the swiss chard is looking fantastic.  We're still getting plenty of eggs, the basil is awesome, and the girls' patch of eggplant should have produced a few sellable fruit by the time the 24th rolls around.  Looking forward to seeing everyone in a week and a half!

Take care!

Heidi and the kids are back from vacation safely.  It's been a week and things still aren't back to normal yet, but all of us are happy they're back home

We will have the store open tomorrow - Saturday - from 10 until 4.  However, the forcast calls for rain, so if it's raining and we can't be working in the fields, we will likely close early, so if you're looking to come out in the afternoon, call if it's raining - 254-630-8494 to make sure we're still there.

There's not much left of the summer stuff, and most of the fall stuff isn't producing yet, but there will be a very few veggies.  Please don't be disappointed if it's gone before you get here, but there will be a few baskets of okra, a couple of summer squash, some swiss chard, and a fair bit of basil (now's your chance to get enough basil for pesto).  The perennial herbs are still happy, so there will also be oregano, rosemary, and sage.

Of course there are *plenty* of fresh eggs, and honey and salsa.

See you tomorrow!

Well, this has been a busy fewe weeks!  Heidi and the kids ar on their way back from their big looooong vacation in Portland and should be back this weekend.  I was able to get up there myself for the better part of a week, and it was wonderful. 

We last had the store open on Saturday August 29th, so it's been four weeks and we're really due to be open this Saturday so people can stock up on eggs and such...

However, it's not going to happen this week. I have been somewhat incapacitated for the past eight days.

I have an artificial knee in my left leg.  I have had it since I was a teenager (for those of you who are counting, that's over 20 years).  Anyway, last Friday morning I put my foot on the clutch of my truck and when I pressed down, something tore loose.  To make a long story short, I am currently on crutches and Heidi has forbidden me to try to maneuver around out in the field

I did get a few things weeded last weekend (sitting on the ground) and the fall squash are really starting to look pretty.  The swiss chard has come back since the weather turned cooler as well.

After Heidi gets home, we'll try to make some plans and hopefully she will be able to have the store open next week before we run out of room in the refrigerator for eggs

I should be sending out an update next week to let you know when we'll be out there and what we'll have...

Take care!

Boy I sure hope this rain is coming down at the store and the house.  It's raining pretty hard here at work, but it could be missing Kempner completely.

Heidi and the kids are in Portland visiting lots of family.  They're having tons of fun and the boys are helping their Grandpa run the irrigation on his 80-acre alfalfa field.  They're also getting in a second fruit season All the stuff that burned up out here months ago is just coming ripe out there, so they're picking wild blackberries and canning applesauce from their grandparents' apple trees.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I'm planning to be out at the store Saturday to put more fall seedlings in the ground, do some brush-hogging, and fix some odds and ends.

If you are in need of honey, salsa, or eggs, please come by.  I should be there from at least 10 - 2, and probably later than that.  We're fully stocked on honey and have plenty of eggs, but there's little-to-nothing in the field.  I *might* find a few squash, and I think Schaeffer's cantaloupe plants have produced another couple of small cantaloupes, but basically it's just an opportunity for those of you who are running out of honey and eggs and keep emailing me in desperation (you know who you are) 

See you Saturday!

Well, we're back from our vacation.  It was really great.  We got to spend time with some good friends who moved away, camp in tents for a week, go to lots of museums, and drive all night!  Now I need another vacation.

It's definitely the end of the summer season. As I said in the last email, we're shifting to fall/winter mode, where we're only going to be open once a month or so.

This weekend, we will have the last of the squash and tomatoes.  We expect to have the store open just on Saturday 10 - 4.

Heidi is going to make a honey run tomorrow, so we will be fully stocked on honey.  If you want to purchase an entire gallon, let us know right away because we pick those up special.

After Saturday, we likely will only be opening up once a month from September through February or March, unless we begin to get inundated with a second run of summer produce after things cool down again, which could happen.

We'll keep you all informed.  In the meanwhile, come by Saturday to stock up on honey and eggs (fresh eggs are fine in the fridge for well over a month) and to get the last of the summer produce!

Better see you this weekend!!

We are reaching the end of the summer season.

Things are drying up in the field (today's rain notwithstanding) and just really starting to reach the end of their life cycle.  We've started a few more summer squash plants, but they won't begin to be productive for several more weeks.  The tomatoes are slowing down, though they'll likely start producing a fall crop, but that won't be for a couple of months yet.  We've started a lot of fall/winter crops, but our past experience tells us that you can't really sell a whole lot of pumpkins, acorn squash, and winter greens every week.

What all this means is that we're getting ready to shift to fall/winter mode, where we're only open once a month or so.

This weekend, we're still flush with squash and tomatoes and we expect to have the store open Friday 12 - 4 and Saturday 10 - 4 as we have been doing lately.  As soon as we close up on Saturday, the family is going on vacation for a week (our wedding anniversary is Aug 8).  So we WILL NOT BE OPEN FRIDAY THE 7TH OR SATURDAY THE 8TH.

When we get back from Kansas, we'll take stock of things and make some decisions on the winter schedule, but expect a shift to maybe the first Saturday of the month so you can get your eggs and honey and whatever fall/winter produce we have available.

So this weekend, you'd better get yourself stocked up!!

We will have sustainably and locally grown, fresh from our garden or the other garden we tend:
Tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes
Squash - both soft- and hard-skinned yellow squash, zucchini, magda, and white, yellow, and green patty pan
Cucumbers (only a FEW and they go FAST)
Melons - canteloupe, honeydew, and muskmelon (also only a few and they go FASTER)

Herbs, salsas, eggs, and honey of course.  Speaking of which, right after we get back we'll be going on a honey run and we're planning on a case or two of gallons, so if you'd be interested in a gallon send us an email.

Better see you this weekend!!

Well this week appears to look a lot like last week.  We're still bringing in a ton of tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and squash, with a few other things as well.

We will not be at the Georgetown Farmer's Market this evening.  We will have the store open tomorrow (Friday) from 10 - 2 (note that that's earlier than usual for a Friday because we have somewhere to be at 4).  We will be there as usual on Saturday from 10 -4.  Below is a list of what we will have available.

Sustainably and locally grown, fresh from our garden or the other garden we tend:
Tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes
Squash - both soft- and hard-skinned yellow squash, zucchini, magda, and white, yellow, and green patty pan
Cucumbers
Melons - canteloupe, honeydew, and muskmelon.

If anyone is interested in larger quantities (25+ lbs) of cherry
tomatoes or any of the squashes for preserving, send us an email and we
will give you a bulk price. We may be able to arrange a bulk price on
regular tomatoes later, but not this week.

 

My mother-in-law makes a great cold couscous salad.  There are no quantities listed, but it'll taste great any way you make it!

Cook couscous according to directions, but substituting chicken (or vegetable) broth for the water.  Fluff and put in the fridge to chill.

Quarter or halve cherry tomatoes
Chop some green onions
Grate a little raw zucchini

Once the couscous is chilled, stir in all of the veggies, some salt and pepper, a good splash of lemon or lime juice, and if desired, a big handful of feta cheese.  Let sit in the fridge a couple of hours to let the flavors blend.

Awesome stuff!

Hello, everyone!

Well there will be tomatoes galore this week, finally!  And lots of canteloupe/muskmelon/honeydew!  An acquaintance of ours who has a large market garden has found himself too busy to make it to the markets.  We are going to be sort-of taking it over.  We'll help him water and pick and we'll sell it in our store.  He has an abundance of cherry tomatoes, some medium sized tomatoes, cucumbers, canteloupe, and squash.  The Georgetown Farmer's Market requires that we only sell things we grow ourselves, so we will not have this produce with us there, but we will have it at our store.  William is as averse to chemical pesticides and herbicides as we are, so this produce is raised in a primarily organic and sustainable manner and we're much happier with it than with the conventionally grown produce from San Antonio that we have had to supplement with this year.  We're very excited to be able to offer this to you, as it is just as local as our own produce (he's within walking distance)!  We've tested it all and find it to be delicious!

We'll have a special on tomatoes this week!  We now have an abundance, especially of cherry tomatoes. If you think cherry tomatoes are only good for putting atop your green salad, you should think again!  We cut them in half and freeze or can them.  They're great all year in soups, stews, curries, and stir fries.  Fresh, they're great in salad, pasta salad, tuna, couscous... I'll post a couscous salad recipe in a minute.

Heidi will be at the Georgetown Farmer's Market today (Thursday) from 3:30 - 6:30.  She will have *lots* of our organically and sustainably grown summer squash and farm fresh eggs.  She may have a few of our melons and/or other surprises with her as well.

Tomorrow (Friday) we'll be open 12 - 4, and Saturday from 10 - 4.  We will have:

Sustainably and locally grown, fresh from our garden or William's:
Tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes
Squash - both soft- and hard-skinned yellow squash, zucchini, magda, and white, yellow, and green patty pan
Cucumbers
Melons - canteloupe, honeydew, and muskmelon.  There will be a special on little, personal-sized canteloupe, perfect for breakfast!

If anyone is interested in larger quantities (25+ lbs) of cherry tomatoes or any of the squashes for preserving, send us an email and we will give you a bulk price.  We may be able to arrange a bulk price on regular tomatoes later, but not this week.

See you soon!