
While at the Minnesota State Fair, stop by Giggle’s Campfire Cafe’ and refresh yourself with a Yellow Belly Juicy Apple cider, along with an order of their famous Walleye bites. Cheers to the Great Minnesota Get Together!
While at the Minnesota State Fair, stop by Giggle’s Campfire Cafe’ and refresh yourself with a Yellow Belly Juicy Apple cider, along with an order of their famous Walleye bites. Cheers to the Great Minnesota Get Together!
FREE CLASS. Join local backyard conservation advocate, Jen Telander of Mora, for a family friendly educational walk around the farm to learn about Monarch butterflies and milkweed. We will explore the trails for signs of Monarchs and other pollinators with hands-on learning about conservation in your own backyard. Take home a packet of milkweed seeds for your own gardens!
REGISTRATION FOR CLASS IS FULL We welcome mushroom expert Kathy Yerich to the farm. She will be doing a presentation about foraging for mushrooms, and we will take a walk on the trails of our 172 acres to see what we can find.
“Start Seeing Mushrooms” Co-author of the popular and accessible local field guide, Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest (Adventure Publications, 1st Ed. 2014, 2nd Edition 2020), Kathy Yerich has been hanging out with the Minnesota Mycological Society (MMS) and
North American Mycological Society (NAMA) for more than 15 years. Current MMS Vice President, her mission in those organizations is to make learning about mushrooms fun and accessible to everyone! Annual NAMA forays have brought her around the country in search of interesting fungi. Like mushrooms, mushroom enthusiasts are interesting company, and no matter the location or time of year, nothing beats time in the woods.
Our 40-plus acres of wildflower fields and apple orchards are full blooms. Take some time while you are here and take a stroll through the fields, enjoy nature’s beauty and all of the pollinators. Different flowers will be popping up through the season so enjoy them while they last.
CABBAGE – One head of green cabbage, either a round head or a cute pointy head.
FENNEL – If you’ve never had this, you’re in for a treat. It is a member of the carrot family and has a fresh, somewhat anise flavor. It can be enjoyed raw or cooked. Just google and see what recipes pop up that you’d like to try.
CUCUMBER – One cucumber for starters, but you can be guaranteed to see more in future bags.
ZUCCHINI – the vegetable that keeps on giving. The trickiest part of about zucchini is harvesting it before it gets too big. But even the big ones are still enjoyable, especially for grilling or making zucchini bread.
TOMATOES – a tiny handful of tomatoes. They are just starting to ripen so I was able to harvest a small handful for all to enjoy. Watch for more next month!
MINT – Mint fresh mint to add to your favorite summer beverage.
BEETS WITH GREENS – a bundle of beets with greens. While the greens may look a little beat up, they are still delicious to cook up as a side dish or add to your salads.
PEPPERS – the peppers are starting to ripen up. You’ll find a combination of sweet and hot peppers.
SCALLIONS – a small handful of these tender green onions.
BEANS – There will be just a small portion of beans, a combo of yellow, purple, green, and dragons tongue. Unfortunately, some sort of hungry, toothy varmint illegally ate up the majority of the crop. I guess they probably knew we were on vacation for a week and attacked while we were away. Anyhoo… there seems to be enough to put together a small bunch for everyone.
GRAB BAG – Take one item from the grab bag. This will be a variety of different options from which to choose. Or you can even swap out something you know you don’t like for something different, and let someone else enjoy what you don’t want.
3 – FOUR PACKS OF BEVERAGES – Mix and match as you please.
NO EGGS THIS MONTH – unfortunately, the heat has taken a toll on the chickens. When it gets hot out, they start to molt and slow down their egg production. And since they are free-range, they often lay eggs in places that we don’t see, and then show up with baby chicks. The good news is that the baby chickens we started in the spring, are about ready to lay eggs. It is also my goal to make up for the lost eggs this month, and should be able to have two dozen eggs in a future harvest.
We will be learning about native bee diversity and habitat needs, including how to identify and support the rusty-patched bumble bee, a federally endangered bee that has recently been detected near the farm, and is persisting in very low numbers across the Midwest.
Together, we will tour the farm from the perspective of a bee, looking at foraging & nesting resources, protection from pesticides, and the many habitat strategies that Sapsucker Farm has employed, including their innovative and successful approaches to planting and managing diverse native flowers in the understories of their orchards. Come early for lunch or stay late for happy hour or dinner (two food trucks and several beverage options will be available throughout the day). This free field day is co-hosted by the Xerces Society and Marbleseed (formerly MOSES).
BOK CHOY – This is a crunchy and juicy green that is frequently found in Asian cuisine. It can be enjoyed raw or cooked in your favorite recipe. You will find both green and this cute little purple heirloom variety.
KOHLRABI – If you’re not familiar with this, it’s kind of like a giant radish. My favorite way to enjoy them is to peel it, slice it thin and sprinkle with salt. The large greens are also delicious and you can prepare them just like collard greens. Sadly, a large portion of the kohlrabi crop fell prey to some sort of hungry, toothy varmint. Based on the bite marks in the plants that fell victim, it appears I may have an infestation of crocodiles or a miniature t-rex.
WOMBOKS – A few years ago, one of our farm volunteers from Australia taught me that down under, they refer to Napa Cabbage as “womboks.” While the name sounds more like a kohlrabi-eating predator, I kinda like it, so I’ve adopted the Australian name for this large, versatile, curly-leafed cabbage. Now you too can tell your friends that you have eaten womboks.
RADISHES WITH GREENS – I admit, I’m not a very good radish farmer. I have a hard time thinning them out so the bulbs just don’t get very big. But the good news is that the greens are equally delicious, so you will find radish greens with some tiny radishes in your bag again this month.
RADICCHIO – this green looks like a hybrid between cabbage and lettuce. But it is actually chicory. It’s a slightly bitter green, and I like to put it on the grill which sweetens it up.
ROMAINE – This large-leafed head of lettuce is always a favorite.
ARUGULA – a nice bag full of this spicy green to spice up your salads, pesto, pizza or favorite wombok recipe.
BASIL SPRIG – The basil plants are coming along nicely. To make the plants turn more into a shrub, they need to be trimmed. So the trimmings from the plants can be found in the sugarhouse. Just grab a small bunch out of a jar and enjoy. (Please leave the jars in place)
ONE DOZEN EGGS – The ladies in the hen spa have been a little fussy with this heat, but they’re still producing. This time of year they tend to slow down production… plus since they are free range, they like to find adventurous, new places to lay their eggs, such as under an apple tree, on the seat of the skid steer, in a wheel barrow, on by bee suit, or under the bunkhouse. So sometimes we just can’t find them. Oops, I digress. Anyhoo, I’m pretty sure there will be enough eggs for one dozen for everyone, but if by chance there aren’t enough, let me know and I’ll try to make it up to you later in the season.
THREE FOUR PACKS OF BEVERAGES – Mix and match any and all of the various ciders, pop, and kombucha. If you chose to substitute the beverages for maple syrup or honey, you will find it on the counter in the sugarhouse.
Enjoy the harvest.
Three 4-packs of beverages* – a mix and match any combination of all of the beverages: several flavors of Yellow Belly cider, root beer, ginger ale, and several flavors of kombucha. (Must be 21 to pick up any hard cider).
One dozen eggs – complements of the ladies in the hen spa
Pea shoots – a handful of these tender, sweet tendrils of pea shoots that can be added to salads, stir fries, or just as a delicious snack.
Sunflower shoots – sprouted sunflower seeds that are fresh and nutty, also great for salads and snacking
Heirloom lettuce – A nice bunch of small heads of heirloom lettuce heads including baby oak leaf lettuce (a frilly leaf) and deer tongue (yes, it actually looks like a deer tongue, but it is very delicate and delicious lettuce).
Radish greens with itty bitty radishes: No doubt you are already familiar with radishes. But what you may not know is that the radish greens are also a treat. They are a peppery flavored green, much like arugula, and can be made into pesto, added to salads, and is great as a pizza topping. The original goal was to actually have a nice crop of radishes, but the radish bulbs just haven’t caught up yet due to the late plantings. However, the greens are delightful, and you will see some teeny tiny, cute little radishes too. More radishes are planted so hopefully they will mature for the June harvest.
Collards and kale – A mixed bag that includes large leaves of collard greens and and kale
Baby spinach – A small bag of baby spinach. I was hoping the spinach would be a little bigger right now, but baby spinach is very delicious. But since the spinach is kinda small, the bag is kinda small.
Arugula – A small bag of this spicy green adds a nice zing to pizza toppings, raw in a salad, or even made into a fun pesto.
Smude’s Microwave popcorn– Made in Pierz, MN using a fancy machine made by our neighbors right here in Quamba. This is the ABSOLUTELY BEST popcorn ever. It is made with Sunflower seed oil grown right here in Mora/Quamba, popcorn and salt. You will see that the bags might be a little oily looking, but fear not, it is just fine. Just pop in your microwave and enjoy. We also have it available in the cider barn.
Basil herb plant – one live herb plant for you to grow in your kitchen window and enjoy. The plants have been recently trimmed, so even though they may not have a perfect shape, they are healthy and growing new branches. Just put it in your kitchen window, or on your deck and watch it grown. Clip it and enjoy.
Looking forward to having you join me in my farming journey for 2022!
Planting milkweed is a great way to save our monarch butterflies and give back to the planet. Bring the family and stop by on Friday, April 22ndto take a walk around on the trails, an Earth Day coloring contest and a free pack of milkweed seeds, while supplies last!
Thank you Dr. Williams for bringing your telescope on Saturday night and sharing with us the spectacular wonders of the starry night sky. We saw Saturn and its rings, Jupiter and its moons, Venus, and the craters of our moon. We look forward to having you return again soon.