Peaches at Kirby's!

Several new peach orchards were planted on our farm within the last five years. All of that patience and hard work has paid off this season with one of the biggest peach crops we've ever seen! We have bushels of beautiful orange-gold fruits available until the end of September for canning, freezing, baking, making jam or just eating fresh.

Peach Varieties

Glohaven: A midseason variety, Glohaven is a freestone peach that's excellent for canning (or jam), fresh eating, freezing, and desserts. Great peach flavor and plenty of juice!

Babygold: A unique peach, very popular for canning. It has excellent flavor, with a firm almost 'rubbery' texture. The upside is that you don't have to remove the skin when you can them and the firm flesh doesn't become stringy like so many other peach varieties when they've been in the jar for a little while. The only downside: they're clingstone, so you usually have to cut them off the pit. Babygold is the Kirby family's peach of choice for canning and we think the extra work is well worth it.

PEACHCRISP

Gloria: A new variety this year, Gloria is another unique peach. This freestone, low- acid peach is nice and sweet with plenty of juice. It stays firm (almost crisp)  even as it ripens, so you don't have to worry about bruising! We've never had a peach quite like it. Gloria is excellent for baking and fresh eating.

Raritan Rose: A  low-acid, freestone, White Peach.  Many of our customers wait for the white peaches to come out every year because they prize the distinctive, aromatic qualities. It's one of those fruits that create instant memories the moment you bite into it, and you'll never forget that first bite.  Have you ever tried one? You really should, (especially if you're a fan of fresh peach daiquiris! They make the best I've ever had.) they are unusual and delicious... and they won't be here for long!

Cresthaven: Our last peach variety of the season. Freestone, excellent for desserts, canning (and jam) fresh eating, and freezing.

donut

Donut Peaches: I'm sure you've heard of these odd looking stone fruits by now. If you haven't, hurry in and try some because they're almost gone! Each squished little peach is packed with flavor.

Tip: Freezing peaches for the first time?

It's super easy, here's how I do it. Slice up the peaches and toss them in a large bowl with 1/2  cup of sugar per 4 quarts  (about 12 peaches).  Scoop them into freezer bags, 2 cups each, seal and lay flat in the freezer (be sure to spread them out instead of stacking them right on top of each other). Take out whenever you need a nice taste of summer during the long NY winter.

Since I use most of my frozen peaches for smoothies and other delicious beverages, I leave the skin on. If you plan to bake with them and would prefer to do so without the skins, dunk the peaches in boiling water for about two minutes. Allow to cool and remove the skin before continuing on with the rest of the process.

RECIPE: Healthy Peach Smoothie

Vanilla gives this delicious smoothie the effect of creaminess without any dairy, while hints of cinnamon and orange complement the peaches perfectly.

1/4 Cup Orange Juice

2 Ripe Peaches, cut into chunks

1 Cup of Ice

Dash Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Vanilla

Put all ingredients into a blender, beginning with the orange juice. Blend until frothy and smooth, then pour into glasses and garnish with a peach slice. A refreshing, fat-free beverage!

And remember... it's always nice to share!

August Perennial of the Month : Echinacea

The Echinacea (Coneflower) at the market is putting on quite a show right now! These tough, enthusiastic plants are easy to grow in most gardens. Stop by and enjoy all the summer color in our perennial area and display gardens!

Perennial Manager Jaime Brennan tells us about Echinacea, the perennial of the month here at Kirby's:

"Echinacea has been around for a long time (North American Plains Indians used it for a variety of medicinal purposes. They learned about it by watching injured or sick elk that sought out the plant!) and is a plant that is shared between many gardeners.

"It is always fun to see where it wants to be in your garden. You may have planted it in one garden the year before and have found it chose a new location the following year, maybe with the help of a winged friend. You can find a large array of Echinaceas from purpurea to newer varieties like 'Hot Papaya'. They are all striking and provide a food source for butterflies when they are in bloom and for birds when they have gone to seed."

• In 1998, the Perennial Plant Association chose Echinacea purpurea "Magnus" as the perennial of the year.
• Some varieties are fragrant
• Echinaceas are considered deer resistant.
• Echinacea makes a great cut flower for bouquets, lasting up to two weeks in a vase.
• The spiky brown seedheads are also great for dried arrangements.
• Echinacea is well known for it's medicinal benefits.  For a scientific look, go here.

We carry 16 different kinds of Echinacea at Kirby's: Echinacea purpurea; 'After Midnight'; 'Double Decker'; 'Fatal Attraction'; 'Fragrant Angel'; 'Green Envy'; 'Green Jewel'; 'Hot Papaya'; 'Magnus'; 'Pink Double Delight'; 'Ruby Giant'; 'Ruby Star';'Virgin', 'Big Sky', 'Sombrero Hot Pink', and 'Sunrise'. There is a color and a style for everyone!

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August Snapshots

August is a beautiful month at the market.  Produce, perennials, and great food! Mouse over for captions, click for larger images, and enjoy!

Does this cool weather make you think about Fall? It will be here before you know it! Make sure you take full advantage of the wonderful summer produce filling the market throughout August and September!

What's Fresh

Peaches - bushels of peaches arrived this morning. As you can see, the color is gorgeous. We pick our peaches tree ripened for flavor and a little firm to avoid bruising. The first peaches are always clingstone  (the fruit clings to the pit) but the flavor and incredible juiciness make up for it!

Sweet Corn- Our very own. Order by the bushel for your next summer picnic!

Tomatoes - nothing compares to the taste of a field grown tomato! Available by the pound right now, but canning season is just around the corner. Stay tuned...

Sweet Peppers - green for now, the red are getting redder all the time in this sunshine!

Eggplant - a unique vegetable in appearance and texture... eggplant parm, anyone?

Pickles - you can pick up these tiny, crisp versions of cucumbers one at a time or by the bushel. Our favorite cucumbers for salads. Available in 3-4" (perfect for whole dills) or 5-6" (best for sweet chunks, relishes and slicing). We also have regular cucumbers for slicing.

Zucchini and Summer Squash -  Have you tried grilling zucchini yet? Just toss it with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, maybe some fresh herbs and you're good to go.

Black Raspberries - Fill a few freezer bags to enjoy this amazing flavor in the winter time! Great with yogurt for breakfast, in cobblers, cakes and pies... if they make it home, that is.

Beets - have you tried them shredded on top of salads? They add a wonderful splash of color to so many dishes

Sweet Cherries - won't be here too much longer. Another great treat to stock up in the freezer!

Sour Cherries - Their season is very short, so grab them while they're here. If you're a fan of these refreshing, sweet-tart stone fruits, check out the previous blog entry. You can enjoy them allll year long.

Locally grown - we also have blueberries from Fabry's in Holley, red raspberries from Brown's in Waterport, and carrots from a farm in the Rochester area.

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Sweet, Cold, and Delicious

IQF Cherry Pickup! Call Now to Place Your Orders

637-2600

Pick up Dates Are:  Friday, August 5th 9am to Noon

Saturday August 6th, 9am to Noon

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IQF Blueberries - 30 lbs

IQF Sour Cherries - 20 lbs or 40 lbs

***NEW!  IQF Sweet Cherries - 40lbs ***

Please note that we don't have enough freezer space to store frozen  fruit past noon. Come as close to 9am as you can to make sure your cherries thaw as little as possible!

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Do you have a favorite sour cherry recipe? Post it as a comment on this post for a chance to win 4lbs of IQF Cherries! A winner will be randomly selected on August 5th.

Have you ever seen a cherry shaker?

They look pretty strange. There are two very similar halves that go on either side of the tree, each driven independently by a 'tractor', tucked beneath a large, moveable, piece of yellow canvas stretched on a metal framework. A big pair of retractable pincers is nestled in the middle of one half. The pincers grab the tree and shake it! Ripe cherries tumble onto the canvas and cascade down the angled fabric, while a conveyor belt on the other half of the machine catches the cherries, sending them into a giant bin full of water and ice.  I can totally imagine the thought process that went into designing this contraption!

The Kirby brothers (Francis, George, Bob, and John) invested in a cherry shaker together around 1980. Every year each farm would send a representative or two to help out as the cherry shaker made it's way from orchard to orchard. You need a truck driver, someone to man both halves of the shaker, people to drive the tractor or two moving bins around and loading them on the truck, as well as several people to fill bins with ice and water.

My empathy for trees and the serious demeanor of everyone involved, combined with the activity, noise, and vibrations in a place normally so quiet and tranquil, all added up to make quite the impression on my seven year old mind. Every year we would go out to the orchard to watch. If you're interested, there are some videos on youtube showing how the different parts of a cherry shaker work! I'll try to get some photos up of our cherry harvest this year.

The Kirby clan has sent many tons of cherries to the processor over the years. Only a small fraction goes to market as fresh fruit because they just don't keep that long. (They're fresh picked in the market RIGHT NOW, grab 'em while you can!) The cherries are washed, pitted, and frozen at the processors. From there they go to various companies to be made into pie fillings, juices, etcetera.

For decades large tins of frozen cherries, some of them sugared, were available to retailers and the public. Anyone remember those? My Dad made a trip to Middleport twice a year, bringing back a truckload of frozen cherries to fill the orders. People line up in the front room, pick up their cherries, pay at the register, and whisk them away to their freezers to enjoy a year of pies, cobblers, and other cherry dishes. It goes like clockwork!

There aren't too many things that have changed over the years...

Instead of a tin full of frozen cherries that often stuck together in blocks, the fruit is now quick frozen so they pour out like marbles, and packed in large blue plastic bags. After a fire closed the plant in Middleport, we now get our truckload of IQF cherries from Holley Cold Pack, along with IQF Blueberries.

The biggest change is that you can get IQF fruit from Kirby's whenever we're open, May-December. We have a freezer in the market  full of 4-8 pound bags of fruit - sweet cherries, sour cherries, and blueberries. We still have the big IQF event each year (coming up soon!) because as always, you save money by ordering large amounts.

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(585) 637-2600

JULY Perennial of the Month

Hostas Perennial Manager Jaime Brennan tells us about a plant with leaves of endless variety, Hostas, the July perennial of the month here at Kirby's:

"What is a shade garden without a Hosta or two? They come in so many shapes, sizes and colors. My biggest challenge every year is selecting just a few new varieties.

One of our new varieties this year includes possibly the largest known Hosta, 'Empress Wu', growing up to three to four feet high and wide with leaves measuring more than 1 ½ feet wide and long.

It has a strong upright habit with pale reddish violet flowers starting in early summer.I only wish we had more shade to plant one. At the other end of the scale we have 'Love Pat' a 14” Hosta with intense blue, deeply cupped and puckered leaves. White trumpet shaped flowers bloom from mid to late summer.

When I first started gardening I used to challenge myself to design shade gardens without any Hostas. They were too common for me at the time, but now I have come to appreciate the gracefulness of their leaves, the texture and variety of color that help to brighten any shade garden. It is also a joy to watch the hummingbirds dance from blossom to blossom.

We carry 24 varieties of Hostas: Hosta plantaginea; 'Blue Angel'; 'Blue Mammoth'; 'Dancing in the Rain'; 'Elegans'; 'Empress Wu'; 'Francee'; 'Frances Williams'; 'Ginkgo Craig'; 'Gold Standard';  'Hadspen Blue'; 'Honeybells'; 'Love Pat'; 'Niagara Falls'; 'Northern Exposure'; 'Pauls Glory'; 'Peanut'; 'Remember Me'; 'Robert Frost'; 'Sagae'; 'Sum and Substance'; 'Thunderbolt'; 'Tokudama Flavocircinalis'; and 'Wolverine'.

Plant Sale!

I know a lot of our customers have been waiting for this moment. Our greenhouse still has plenty of beauitful plants in it,  including big hanging baskets, geraniums... and lots more.

Starting Sunday, July 3rd, all Hanging Baskets will be 25% off and all other annuals will be 50% off!

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Perennial of the Month for June: Baptisia

Talking about getting in under the wire....! There are still a few days left in June, plenty of time to talk about this star of the Spring, Baptisia. We have several plantings in our display garden, some paired with classic orange poppies, and they are attention grabbers.

>>> And as a special bonus, a selection of Spring Blooming perennials is on sale NOW, including some Baptisia! Follow the signs to our "Back Mat" (where we keep our extra perennials) to find a stash of bargain Spring Bloomers.

And now, a few words about Baptisia from our perennial manager Jaime Brennan:

"Baptisia is one of my absolute favorite perennials, being a native plant is one of the reasons why. I only wish it bloomed all summer, but it does produce attractive seedpods that last all fall and through the winter. There are some newer varieties that have longer bloom time.  Baptisia australis is growing in the garden bordering the west side of our parking lot. They have become large beautiful bushes that have attractive light blue green leaves. Right now (June) you can see what a wonderful combination they make with oriental poppies. We have one beautiful plant of Baptisia alba located in the east garden at the edge of the road. There have been many requests for this plant that has dark stems with contrasting white flowers. My fingers are crossed that we will be able to offer them this year (several years ago I ordered Baptisia alba but they all bloomed blue).

Baptisia has a very large taproot that helps it tolerate the heat and drought we can experience here in NY at least once a summer. Their tall spikes have flowers that resemble that of a pea flower, which is not surprising because it is a member of the pea family. One interesting function that pea family plants can do is make their own nitrogen. If you've ever wondered what those small nodules on the roots were for – now you know."

In Season Now

Dark Sweet Cherries showed up last Saturday.

Freeze them, dry them, blend them with lemonade, toss some onto a salad - if they make it home that is!  When the Sweet Cherries show up, Sour Cherries can't be far behind.

July is fast approaching!

We've had strawberries for several weeks but they won't be here much longer. Now is the time to purchase by the flat for jam, juice, and freezing. Freezing is my favorite way to preserve strawberries for the winter. Last year I somehow ran out of time and only got around to making jam. Let me tell you, I missed them alll winter. And I learned my lesson - there are eight quarts in my freezer right now!

Our lettuce is grown right behind the market,

so we can take a short walk out back and pick more whenever we need to. We keep at least two heads of each type available (Green Leaf, Red Leaf, Ithaca, and Buttercrunch), and you know it's fresh! I didn't know what good lettuce was until we started growing it ourselves. It is so sweet and tender and beautiful!

Regular Peas are still going strong!

We'll have them for a few more weeks, so take a few pounds home to enjoy a little pea-shelling meditation on the front porch.

Delicious Days of June: Field Update & Recipe

Things are really picking up speed on the farm! You can practically watch the crops grow with the sunshine and warm temperatures we've been enjoying.

Kirbygrown produce available in the market right now:

• Strawberries
• Edible Pod (Sugar Snap) Peas
• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Asparagus
• Rhubarb
• Peppers (field grown in our high tunnel)
• MacIntosh, Empire and Crispin Apples (last years, from CA storage)

We also have locally grown gourmet mixed field greens (that's a delicious mouth full!),  and hothouse tomatoes.

We are expecting regular peas to be here by the weekend in about ten days if the temperatures stay above seventy, and we'll start Pick Your Own peas and strawberries in the next week or so. If you're interested in pick your own, give us a call at (585)637-2600 to check on picking conditions.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Last week, Betty, one of our market salespeople, brought this salad in for us to try. It features two of our favorite early summer ingredients, and was so refreshing that we had to share it with you!

For the Salad

• 1 lb fresh, washed Spinach
• 2 cups sliced Strawberries
• ¼ cup slivered Almonds

For the Dressing

• ½ cup Miracle Whip
• ½ cup Orange Juice concentrate
• 1 Tbsp Honey

Preparation:

Combine Miracle Whip, honey, and orange juice in a small bowl. Set aside.

Tear the spinach into bite sized pieces and place in a large bowl or on individual salad plates. Arrange strawberries on top of spinach. Drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with Almonds. Enjoy!

Field Update 5/9/11

Peaches - Our early peach varieties are in full bloom right now! When you drive by the farm you'll see rows of cloudy pink - those are the peaches and they smell fantastic. Peaches won't be ready until July, but Spring is still a crucial time of year for our peach crop.  A hard frost wiping out thousands of peaches is a very real danger through the month of May, which would mean the end to delicious Kirbygrown peaches for 2011. How can you tell if it gets too cold? The morning after a cold break Mr. Kirby will go out to the orchard and open up a blossom. If the center is black, the fruit has been killed. This is also true of strawberry blossoms. As of this moment our peach crop is looking great - let's hope Mother Nature is kind this season!

Asparagus - On a hot day you can practically watch the asparagus grow. This cold wet Spring we've had so far has slowed it down. Our first picking came in last week but it will be a few days before we pick again. If you're planning to come by for asparagus before the weekend, call ahead to be sure we have it in. We also take orders by phone, which is always a good idea for large quantities (asparagus freezes and pickles well). Check our facebook page for updates!

Rhubarb - we'll be picking some nice big stalks this weekend. Rhubarb pie anyone? Or sauce! Yum.

Spinach & Beets - if we continue to get warm sunshine for a while (cross your fingers!) we'll have spinach and beets in two weeks.