Wednesday
Annandale - Wakefield Park, Braddock Rd.
2010 Dates coming!
2:00 PM - 6:00 PM
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/farm-mkt.htm

Saturday
Fairfax - Behind the old Fairfax County Courthouse
2010 Dates coming!
8:00 AM - 1:00 PM
http://www.fairfaxsaturdaymarket.com/
 
Saturday
Vienna - Beside the Red Caboose
2010 Dates coming!
8:00 AM -Noon
http://viennafarmersmarket.com/

Saturday
Washington DC - 14th and U Street, NW
2010 Dates coming!
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
http://marketsandmore.org/

Sunday
Lorton - VRE Parking Lot
2010 Dates coming!
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/farm-mkt.htm

Kuhn Orchards is not a certified organic farm. Organic production of fruit on the East Coast is difficult due to our higher humidity levels which cause problems such as fireblight and scab in apples and brown rot in peaches. However we employ the use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to help control our pests with as little pesticides as possible. IPM is the use of of multiple methods, including biological, cultural, genetic and chemical controls. For example, we have been using mating disruption techniques to help control our populations of peach tree borers, oriental fruit moth and codling moth. Plastic ties are hung in the orchard that release sex phermones, making it difficult for the male insects to find and mate with the females. We then monitor the numbers of these pests with traps and only spray pesticides as a last resort when harmful population levels have been reached. We have also been planting more varieties of "disease resistant" fruit (such as GoldRush apples) that are less affected by pest pressures.

Food Safety

Starting in 2008, Kuhn Orchards has been annually certified by the US Department of Agriculture for employing the use of "Good Agricultural Practices" also known as GAP. We completed a voluntary audit that verifies our adherence to the Food and Drug Administration's "Guide to Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables." We want to ensure consumers that they need not worry about the safety of our fresh produce!!

Energy, Water and Soil Conservation

Kuhn Orchards shares many of the same concerns about the environment as our consumers. In 2006, our operation was enrolled in the "Conservation Security Program" (CSP) administered by the US Dept. of Agriculture. The program identifies and rewards those farmers and ranchers who are meeting the highest standards of conservation and environmental management on their operations as they address resource concerns. Our conservation practices include:

• the installation and use of windbreaks to improve air quality                                       
• performing an annual energy audit and installing new energy efficient lighting in our buildings
• recycling of all used motor oil from our farm equipment
• planting several pollinator borders with wildflowers to encourage a biodiversity of native pollinators
• maintaining our forested riparian buffers along all creeks and waterways to capture nutrient runoff
• utilizing  "trickle"  irrigation
• completing annual soil tests to limit the use of unnecessary fertilizers. 

Land Preservation                                                                          

Of the 300 acres under Kuhn Orchards' ownership, 150 acres has been permanently protected from future residential development through the granting of conservation easements to the Adams County Agricultural Land Preservation Program and Land Conservancy of Adams County. Another 40 acres of the farm was enrolled in the US Dept. of Agriculture's "Wetland Reserve Program" in 2009, providing for the restoration of former pasture to valuable wetlands that will be permanently preserved.

     Farm News
 

2009 Farmers Market Schedule

Tuesdays
Fairfax - Van Dyck Park on Old Lee Highway
May 5 - October 27
8:00 AM - Noon

Wednesdays
Oakton - Oak Marr RECenter
May 6 - November 18
8:00 AM - Noon

Annandale - Wakefield Park, Braddock Rd.
May 6 - October 28
2:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Saturdays
Fairfax - Behind old Fairfax Co. Courthouse
May 2 - October 31
8:00 AM - 1:00 PM
 
Vienna - Beside the Red Caboose
May 2 – October 31
8:00 AM -Noon  

Washington DC - 14th and U Street, NW
May 2 – November 22
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM  

Sundays
Lorton – VRE Parking Lot
May 3 – October 25
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM  

Hello Loyal Farmers Market Customer,

Earlier this week all of our summer fields were covered with our first official freeze for the season. So we bid goodbye to tomatoes ripe from the vine, cut flowers, and fragrant raspberries. And as our harvest is winding up, (just a few more apple varieties to pick!) we also bid goodbye to the farmers market season. This is always a bittersweet time of year, for we all need some rest, but we also miss our interaction with our customers and harvesting such an abundance of produce. A big “thank you” for your patronage all season long and cheers to another best year ever at our markets!

Please note that all of our farmers markets continue through the end of October. In addition, we will attend the farmers markets at Oak Marr RECenter until Nov. 18^th, and 14^th and U Street until November 22^nd, so you can gather a bounty of produce to create your Thanksgiving meal!! We’ll continue to offer all kinds of apples, cider, and a wide variety of pumpkins and winter squash throughout the month.

Make sure to reserve your half bushel box (or more) for the last week of market so you can continue to enjoy apples far into the winter. The best apples for storage include: Fuji, Goldrush, Braeburn, Pink Lady, Stayman, and York. We’ll take your orders at market, or give us a call or send us an email.

On a different subject, we are signing the documents this week to permanently protect 40 acres of land on our farm through the US Dept. of Agriculture's "Wetland Reserve Program". In addition to the preservation of a large stand of virgin native grasses (the land has never been tilled), the USDA will help us to restore portions of this former pasture to function as valuable wetlands that once existed prior to the installation of tile in the 1940-1950 era. Many generations of our family have made a living off of our land, and we hope that by protecting and restoring it, we can provide the same opportunities to all future generations and the land can continue to serve as wildlife habitat and a water resource forever.

Sincerely,

David, Mary Margaret, and Sidney Kuhn

Sandy Lombardi, Rusty Lamb, and Steve Donaldson



At the Market  

Pumpkins, Squash and all kinds of Apples……………

During the month of October, we will have the following available for sale:

* Apples – Many, many varieties. To find out when your favorite will be available at market, check out our Apple Variety Availability chart online or at market.

* Bartlett Pears

* Winter Squash – Acorn, Delicata, Butternut, Mini Blue Hubbard, Pink Banana, Tennessee Sweet Potato, Zapalo Plomo and Kabocha (Green, Blue and Red) to name a few.

* Pumpkins and Gourds – A rainbow of colors and shapes for your fall decorating and cooking needs.

* Chestnuts - Our sweet-flavored Chinese Chestnuts are produced on our massive 50 year old trees.

* Onions – Sweet white ‘Candy’ and spicy red ‘Mars’.

* Apple Cider – Pressed from our own Gala, McIntosh and Jonathan apples for a crisp, sweet/tart taste.

* Sweet Peppers – An array of Italian Frying peppers that are also great roasted, plus Round of Hungary (perfect for making Pimiento Cheese).

* Tomatoes - We grow a wide variety of fresh slicing tomatoes on raised black plastic beds. Many of our tomatoes are "heirlooms", and the rest are the best of the more recent varieties. Harvested mostly green right before our first freeze, these tomatoes may not taste vine-ripened, but they’re the best you’ll get this time of year!

* Quince – A relative of pears and apples, with hard strongly-perfumed flesh. Quince are too astringent and sour to eat raw, but they make excellent jam. They also may be peeled, then roasted, baked, stewed into a sauce or poached. The flesh turns a red color after a long cooking time.

* Sunchokes (Jerusalem Artichokes) – The tubers are harvested from this Native American plant that is part of the sunflower family. The tubers look like small knobby potatoes, but are crunchier and have a mild, nut-like taste that works well sliced raw into salads, sautéed in a little butter, roasted, or in cream of sunchoke soup. Unlike most tubers, sunchokes store the carbohydrate inulin that is stored as fructose, instead of starch, which is served as glucose, making them great choice for diabetics.

* French Filet Beans (Haricot Vert) – Thin and tender green (Maxibel) and yellow (Soleil) stringless beans.

* Canned Peaches – Our own Bounty peaches canned in light syrup. Save some for a taste of summer in the middle of winter.

How to Prepare a Chestnut

Cut an “X” on the flat side of the nut using a serrated knife, making sure you cut all the way through the shell to keep the it from bursting. 1 pound unpeeled chestnuts yields about 3 cups of meat.

Roasting
Fireplace – Use a long-handled chestnut roasting pan or a fireplace popcorn basket. Hold the pan just above the flame, and shake as if you were making popcorn. Cook about 15 minutes or until the outside shells are black.

Oven – Place nuts in a single layer in an ovenproof baking dish. Bake at 325° for about 20 minutes.

Stovetop – Place nuts in a single layer in a large heavy skillet (preferably cast iron). Cook over medium-high heat, shaking the pan occasionally, for 15 minutes or until shells darken.

Cool before peeling.

Microwave
Place chestnuts around the outer edge of a paper plate, and cook at HIGH in 15-second intervals until shells are soft. Cool before peeling.




Our 50+ Year Old Chestnut Grove

A note on Bartlett Pears Pears continue to ripen off the tree (indeed, they really have to ripen off the tree to avoid a woody texture). So we bring our pears to market a little green and firm, so that they won’t bruise. Just leave them at room temperature and they'll finish up nicely. Then you can refrigerate them until they’re ready for a delicious snack!! Pear Trivia: Did you know that the Bartlett pear actually dates back to the 1770s? The Bartlett, called the Williams pear in England where it was first found, gets its name from Enoch Bartlett, who was the first person to sell the trees in the U.S. in the early 1800s.

A word of Caution

Fall has basically arrived at the Farmer’s Markets, but along with it comes the invasion of Yellow Jackets. So remember that you’re not the only one who enjoys fresh sliced apples, and please use caution when sampling the many apple varieties.

          Farm News

  July Special

Spend $20 or more and recieve a free Kuhn Orchards shopping bag!!!

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Box 95

Cashtown, PA 17310

(717) 334-2722

kuhnorch@superpa.net

 www.kuhnorchards.com

          Farm News

  
Have you seen them?

Kuhn Orchards is now selling our own reusable shopping bags at market. They’re only $1.50 each, but how can you put a price on saving a plastic bag?? Purchase one next week, they’ll be a collector’s item before you know it!




Raspberry Sauce

Toss ½ pint Red Raspberries with 2 Tablespoons Sugar. Let sit 5 minutes. Pass through sieve into another bowl, pressing with a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids. Use immediately or refrigerate.

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On the Farm …………..

Planting and thinning were the words of the month for May. All the vegetables, herbs, flowers and our great variety of Tomatoes have finally gotten in the ground. A large part of the month was either too wet or too hot and dry to plant. We’re always poised to plant at the most opportune time, no matter when that appears.

We are currently in the second stage of thinning (green fruit) all of our peach and nectarine trees. So what does thinning mean and why do we do it? If the fruit is not thinned on a tree, it will create a large crop, but the fruit will be of minimal size. Fruit trees can be thinned either by removing blossoms or removing the tiny green fruit as it forms. With less competition, the remaining fruit will then have a greater chance to grow up big and healthy. Blossom thinning can only take place while the tree is at a certain stage of bloom, and so we are often left with a 1 to 3 day window to thin per variety in early May. By removing the blossoms, the remaining fruit gets the benefit of a longer time period to size up. In May we blossom-thinned by hand and also tested out a new mechanical string thinner, known as the ‘Darwin’ that was originally constructed in Germany. This new tool is mounted on the front of a tractor, and as the horizontal bar spins around, the strings knock off blossoms as they move through the tree canopy, kinda like a huge weed-whacker. We have been cooperating with Penn State, who has experimented with using the device in our peach orchards (along with several other growers) in order to evaluate its labor saving benefits and affect on fruit size. Looks like promising new technology!

We’re still in the thick of Rhubarb and Strawberry harvest. Check out this photo of Sidney with the largest Rhubarb stalk we’ve ever harvested. With the leaf intact it weighed 1.6 pounds! Asparagus harvest is very much slowing down. As Barbara Kingsolver described in her book Vegetable, Animal, Miracle “For most crop species, the season ends when all the vegetable units have been picked and the mother plant dies or gets plowed under. Asparagus is different: its season ends by declaration, purely out of regard for the plant. The key to the next spring’s action is the starch it has stored underground, which only happens if the plant has enough of a summer life to beef up its bank account.  Of all our familiar vegetables, the season for local, fresh Asparagus is the very shortest, for this reason.”

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Box 95

Cashtown, PA 17310

(717) 334-2722

kuhnorch@superpa.net

 www.kuhnorchards.com