Busy, Busy, Busy

I am writing this post at 11:45 pm because this is about the only time that I have a clear mind with no children crying, no phones ringing, no commotion. It is just me, the fans and silence. Ahhhhh......

So on to the subject at hand.

Things are hopping on the farm. Rabbits are ready for butcher. We have 20 Rabbits ready to be bred this week. Which means we should have quite a few right behind this batch.

We are revamping the stand, clearing the plants and bringing in the produce! We currently have had plums, tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, costata romanesca zucchini, Garlic (Italian red, Carpathian, and Music).

We have had more fruit and produce at Otsinigo market.

The fruit from Cornell has started coming in. We had the Shiro plums, now we have Shiro plums and Methley plums. When we talked to Cornell Orchards last week they said that we would probably have Donut peaches, and the beginning of the NY Peaches for the next Otsinigo Market.

By the way, Otsiningo Marketers remember that there is no Otsiningo Market this weekend because of Spiedie Fest. But we will return the weekend after that.

For Ithaca Marketers, we are starting to have a steady flow of rabbits. We also are waiting for the tomatoes to turn red, they are so close. As soon as they start turning red they are flowing towards market!

Our herb bunches are starting. Last weekend we took Basil, Lemon Basil and Sage to Otsiningo Market. And we took Basil and Purple Basil to Ithaca market. This week we should have all of that at Ithaca market and possibly a few more. Tarragon is looking nice so we will possibly be having some bunches of those this weekend.

I just got done hanging 64 bunches of herbs (Basil, purple basil, tarragon, mint, sage, lemon basil and  lime basil). I de-stemmed the marjoram that was already dry and put it in it's storage containers. I will be grinding some tarragon and stevia hopefully tomorrow. Then I will start putting in containers and getting them packaged to sell.

I have been making some teas and making the family taste test them so I can figure out what we should make.

I made a Lemongrass and Stevia tea which Mom K, Eric and my mom liked. They all said it could use more stevia though.

I made a Lemongrass, Rosemary and Thyme tea which was very strong. I liked it. Mom K. said the rosemary was too strong, Dad said the rosemary was too weak. Eric was indifferent on it and my mom really didn't like it at all.

Dad also tried the lemonbalm tea bag that I made up and the Calendula tea bag. He said that the Lemonbalm was not strong enough and that the Calendula was not strong enough. He is a strong tea drinker. He uses 2 tea bags when someone would normally use 1. So I knew he would say they were weak.

For me the Calendula I thought tasted great. It was weak and I said that I needed to make sure that I put more in there. The lemonbalm was just right for me. The Lemongrass/Stevia was very strong for me. The Lemongrass/Rosemary/Thyme tea was delicious. I did think that the Rosemary or the Thyme was too strong and I needed to do a little less because you couldn't really taste the lemongrass in it. So I am going to play with those a little more.

I had planned on taking some Iced tea to market last weekend but my concotions did not turn out the way I had hoped. Hopefully by the next market we will be able to have something.

Obviously field maintenance is a must right now. Eric is planning on getting into the field to get between the rows tomorrow. We are also moving rabbit cages down by the barn for the rabbits we still have outside.

There is a lot to do herb wise and I am not sure where to start at this moment. I am going Wednesday to buy some muslin so that I can start making the herbal pillows. I am very excited to start doing those. Any input would be greatly appreciated on those.

I am trying to get the dried herbs packaged and ready to go because Iron Kettle Farm and Stoughton's Farm have both agreed to carry our herbs. And their busy season is coming right up. I want to make sure we have them there before they start to get busy.  Marlo from Garden Gate is also going to be taking our dried herbs as soon as I have them ready.

So tomorrow I will be spending the day, grinding, packaging, printing labels and labeling. Hopefully to get some stock piled for sale. The herbs are coming in great so hopefully I can keep up.

There are probably many other things to write about, but it is 12:10 pm and I am going to go to bed. Lots to do tomorrow....need my beauty sleep : )

Back by Popular Demand

We have been out of free range chicken for awhile now. But good news......

We will have free range cornish cross chickens at market this weekend! Many people have been asking for it and we have been trying to get it to you. And the time is finally here!

We will also have rabbit meat at market this week. After running short on Rabbit as well for a couple of weeks, we think we have caught back up. Hopefully!

Now if we could just catch up on dried herb shakers we would be good. If you are a fan of our page on facebook, you already know that we have planted a huge amount of herbs in the field and have more to go in. We have had numerous accounts that are willing to sell them such as Cornell University Orchards, Stoughton's Farm, Garden Gate and a few others we just can't get enough to supply them with them yet.

The herb planting also ties into getting enough product for our teas, herbal pillows, salves, herb bunches, and oils. With everything that we want and need to make with these herbs we need a lot planted. I am just hoping we can get some dried before August. I already have some Stevia and Oregano drying. After next week whatever has not gone in the field for herb plants is going to be cut and dried. So we should have a ton in the next few weeks or so.

The dried herb shakers we found sold really well for us in the fall and winter. Probably because not many fresh herbs are available unless you go to the store. But this year I want to be prepared. Last winter we were totally shocked at the response to the herb shakers and could not keep  up. We sold through 100 or more just having market twice a month at Cornell Cooperative Extension. If we had more of the staple herbs (thyme, oregano, marjoram, and sage) we would have sold alot more.

I have been working on some seasoning mixes as well. I already have a fish seasoning mix, I am just waiting on the product to be able to make it! It is delicious on Salmon!

Any suggestions on seasonings that you would like to see?