Farm Stand Now Open

Although it gets exhausting to fill every day with picking, packing, and delivering produce every day of the week, I always feel good about opening the farm stand at the end of the driveway, which is did just this morning.  We already have CSA deliveries on Friday and the Farmers Market in Detroit Lakes on Saturday.

Farm Stand with Willem on Bike, 2011

I always like the farm stand because it brings so many people right to our farm and it feels good that we're feeding our neighbors, which is the majority of people who stop.  I think part of the allure of the farm stand for customers (and it is open to everybody, not only CSA members as some people have thought) is that you're looking right at the fields where the produce came from.  There's no wondering "I these guys putting me on...did they really grow all this stuff or are they shipping in some stuff from down the road? (This is something we never do by the way)"  There's also ample evidence that we don't use herbicides since you'll see some weeds taller than me.

Anyway, if you know anybody who isn't interested into the commitment of a CSA membership, but into picking up some good local produce every so often, please let them know about the farm stand.  It's open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from today until October.  The stand is self-serve, so simply stop, pick out what you want, and leave payment in the box on the right side of the stand.

In the CSA box for the week:

• Norvalley White Potatoes
• A couple Mini Heads of Lettuce 
• A dozen ears of Sweet Corn - the variety is either Ambrosia or Paydirt
• Mix of Cherry Tomatoes - If they are a color other than red, they are supposed to be that color:  Sungold (orange), Sweet 100 (red), Black Cherry (purple), White Cherry (white).  
• A couple Japanese Eggplant 
• A couple Leeks 
• Basil - a mix of red and green just to give you some variety.  To give you a little advice on storing basil, do not put in the refrigerator.  Instead, trim the bottoms and leave in a vase with a little water like you would cut flowers or store at room temperature in an open zip lock with a couple damp paper towels.  
• Scarlet Queen Turnips - The pink/red root vegetable with the long greens. Use as you would any turnip.  
• Yellow Wax Beans - These came in really heavy this week, so I put in quite a bunch.  
• A Couple Cukes