Farm News
 

2010 Farmers Market Schedule 

Tuesdays
Fairfax - Van Dyck Park on Old Lee Highway
May 4 - October 26
8:00 AM - Noon

Crystal City – Crystal Dr. between 18^th & 20^th Streets
May 18 - October 26
3:00 PM – 7:00 PM


Wednesdays
Oakton - Oak Marr RECenter, 3200 Jermantown Rd.
May 5 - November 17
8:00 AM - Noon

Annandale - Wakefield Park, 8100 Braddock Rd.
May 5 - October 27
2:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Saturdays
Fairfax - Behind old Fairfax Co. Courthouse, 10500 Main St.
May 1 - October 30
8:00 AM - 1:00 PM
 
Vienna - Beside the Red Caboose, 131 Church St. NE
May 1 – October 30
8:00 AM -Noon  

Washington DC - 14th and U Street, NW
May 1 – November 20
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM  

Sundays
Lorton – VRE Parking Lot, 8990 Lorton Station Rd.
May 2 – October 31
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Hello Loyal Farmers Market Customer,

Just a reminder, the opening of the 2010 Farmer's Market season is fast approaching! We can’t wait to see all of our wonderful customers again this spring. Look out for our new items – such as jams & jellies and sunchokes.

After a very snowy winter, we’re trying to cope with the earliest spring we’ve seen in a long time. Everything is about 3 weeks ahead of schedule. Apples, peaches, plums, cherries, and blueberries are all blooming at the same time! Can’t believe it is only mid-April. Just keep your fingers crossed that the weather stays moderate enough that we don’t lose the crop to a late spring freeze.

On the plus side, the warm weather has brought our first nibble of spring with a hefty harvest of asparagus. After pining away all winter long for something fresh and seasonal, those tender spears sure taste delicious! (Hey, you’re not the only ones awaiting the arrival of asparagus each year.)

Our efforts to transition the operation from the 4^th generation of the Kuhn family Dave and Mary Margaret) to the 5^th generation (Sidney) continue to move ahead. We look forward to bringing the freshest fruits and veggies to the Northern VA/DC area for many years!

Sincerely,

David, Mary Margaret, and Sidney Kuhn
Sandy Lombardi, Rusty Lamb, Steve Donaldson

May at the Market                                                    

For the first weeks of market, we will have the following available for sale:

• Apple Cider – Our cider is pressed at a local mill (Kime's) from a mixture of our own apples! There are no preservatives or sweeteners added, just pure apple juice.
• Asparagus – We sell our homegrown asparagus in bunches of tender "tips"!
• Rhubarb
• Fuji, Pink Lady Goldrush and Braeburn Apples - from Storage.
• Asian Pears – from storage – very limited supply, so get ‘em early.
• Peas – English, snow and sugar snaps. Something new this year for the early season!
• Radishes – All colors, shapes and even the shockingly red in the middle Watermelon variety.
• Bunching Onions – We’re growing all the rest of the members of the onion family, why not these too?!
• Sunchokes (Jerusalem Artichokes) – Try some of these overwintered tubers that we dug in mid-March before spring officially arrived. Sunchokes are crunchy 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 (the Kuhn family’s Thanksgiving appetizer last year)!
• Canned Peaches - Our own Summer Breeze peaches canned in light syrup.
• New this year!! Jams & Jellies – Processed by a family friend from our own frozen fruit.

At some of our farmers market locations we will also be offering:

• Eggs - Fresh white and brown eggs from free-walking hens raised by a neighboring farm.
• Fresh North Carolina Strawberries – Grown about 10 miles outside of Wilson, NC where Mary Margaret was raised, by James Sharpe of Fresh Pik Produce. 
•  Honey - Harvested and bottled by the bee-keeper who tends the hives on  our farm that pollinate our fruit trees.
  
  *****************************************************************        Produce of the month………. Rhubarb!!!!! 

           So what exactly is Rhubarb? Is it a vegetable? Or a fruit? Rhubarb is a perennial plant ith large, long stalks ranging in color from greenish pink to dark red. The color of the stalk actually has no bearing on the flavor! Although a vegetable, rhubarb is eaten as a fruit, cooked and usually sweetened with sugar to offset its tart, lemony taste. Rhubarb makes a wonderful addition to strawberry pie and as the base for many jellies, desserts, sauces and condiments.

           Choose stalks that are firm and crisp, avoid stalks that are limp. Rhubarb leaves must be removed before cooking, and must never be eaten, raw or cooked, as they are toxic. Rhubarb will last up to two weeks when put in a plastic bag in the coolest part of the refrigerator, but we suggest you enjoy them within 7-10 days.

Our Favorite Rhubarb Recipe

RHUBARB CUSTARD PIE
2 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
¼ tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1 cup milk
2 cups cut rhubarb
1 unbaked pie shell

 Beat egg yolks, sugar, salt, flour and butter until light; add milk.  Pour mixture over rhubarb in pie shell. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes, then 300° until custard is set. Then beat egg whites with 2 Tbsp. of sugar. Top baked custard with egg white mixture and return oven to lightly brown. Makes a 9-inch pie.

 For more Rhubarb recipes, check out our website at www.kuhnorchards.com

On the Farm ………                                                    

New Products for 2010 (& Beyond)!!!
We are always adding something new to our wide array of fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs --- it keeps life interesting! Some of our most intriguing new crops (some may not be in production for 2 or 3 years):

• Day Neutral Strawberries – Unlike the traditional June-bearing strawberries we grow, these berries will fruit from July until the first frost in October.
• Melons – Mostly the specialty types in a smaller 2-5 lb. size. We’re also trying some of the single serve cantaloupes, mini-honeydew and seedless watermelons. Who ever knew there were so many kinds….. Christmas melons, Canary melons, Charentais melons…..
• Garlic – Our first year! German White, as recommended by our neighbor, will be the majority of our crop, but we’re also trying out some of the spicier Purple/Red varieties!
• Fall Bearing Blackberries - We’re trying out a new university released variety (hasn’t even been named yet!) to extend the season – blackberries in late October, anyone?
• Red Fleshed Apples – Not just a novelty, these red and pink-fleshed varieties actually taste good, with a range of tart to sweet. These apples have a high concentration of anthocyanins – which give the fruit its pigment and are believed to have antioxidant properties. Imagine pink applesauce, pink cider, or pink apple pie!
  Table Grapes – So you’ve enjoyed our Concord and Niagara Grapes? Wait until you try the new varieties we are planting! We were blown away by their flavors - and the array of colors from pink to blue to black to green to amber are gorgeous. And yes, they are almost all seedless with edible skins!
• Horseradish
• Pears  - We’re planting a wide variety of pears this year, including the old favorites: Seckel, Red Bartlett, and D’Anjou and some new disease resistant varieties such as Sunrise and Shenandoah. We hope that once these start producing, our pear season will start in mid-August and extend into October.
• Brussels Sprouts – We love eating them so much, so isn’t time we grew them?
• Fall Head Lettuce
• Perennial Herbs – Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, along with Lavendar, Oregano, Marjoram.

Crisp Apples in Spring???? Ever wonder why our apples are still so crisp in the spring? It’s a technology called “Controlled Atmosphere” (CA) cold storage. Apples continue ripening after they’re picked from the tree. They absorb oxygen through their lenticils (little dots on their skin) and release carbon dioxide as they convert their starches to sugars. In a CA storage room, the atmosphere is altered to remove all but 1% to 2% of the Oxygen versus the 21% Oxygen found in the air we breathe. So with limited Oxygen, the apples can’t respirate, and they maintain their crispness. In November, we fill our CA storage with our best storage apples (GoldRush, Fuji, Pink Lady and Braeburn) and put them into “hibernation” for the winter. When we open the storage in March, the apples are nearly as good as the day they were harvested. Enjoy!

 Planting Pear Trees

Easternglo - Medium to large yellow freestone. Fruit is firm, nearly 100% red, with a smooth finish.
Summer Beaut - Exceptional yellow fleshed freestone. This early season variety has medium size.             Redgold - A  high quality late yellow nectarine. Fruit is freestone, with excellent color and flavor.
Fantasia - Excellent quality, yellow fleshed, free-stone nectarine. Fruit is large with a smooth glossy finish.
Arctic Star - Medium size clingstone with a sweet sub-acid flavor. Flesh is white with some red.
Arctic Sweet - One of the best-flavored white nectarines. Fruit is medium size, firm and highly colored.
Arctic Jay - Mid season white variety. The flesh is very firm and has a sub-acid sweet flavor.
Arctic Pride - White flesh clingstone nectarine. Moderate firmness and mid-sweet flavor.

Pears
We currently only grow the standards - Bartlett and Bosc. Bartlett is a good all-purpose pear that is sweet and juicy with a smooth texture. The green skin turns yellow when ripe. Great for canning or eating fresh. Bosc is a large russeted pear with white flesh and a rich, delicious flavor. A new pear orchard is in the planning stages for planting in 2010. We'll have some new varieties available soon thereafter!!!

Japanese Plums
A sweet tart fruit. Japanese Plums are usually eaten fresh. Our favorite varieties include..........
Methley - A small early plum with purple red skin, and sweet flesh that is very juicy.
Shiro - A sweet, juicy yellow plum. Fruits are round, clingstone, and medium to large in size.
Santa Rosa - A large, attractive, dark reddish purple plum with red flesh. The fruit is quite firm.
Ruby Queen - With an outstanding flavor, the fruit has reddish-black skin with a firm, red flesh.
Satsuma - A distinctive, dark red plum with red flesh. Fruit is oval shaped and very sweet.
Friar - Large oval plum, black with light amber flesh. Freestone with a small pit. Sweet and juicy.
Fortune - Late season plum. Fruit is large, reddish-purple and very firm with yellow flesh. Our favorite!

European Plums
European Plums (also known as Italian or Blue Plums) are mainly used for cooking and making prunes, though many people enjoy eating them fresh. We grow several varities:
Castleton Early - Early maturing variety with slightly ovate blue fruit.
Green Gage - Considered to be the ideal dessert plum in Europe. Green fruit with red mottling.
Stanley - Fruit is large, with dark blue skin and flesh that is greenish-yellow, juicy and fine grained.
Long John - Dark blue, very large fruit of high quality.
Vision - Late harvest plum with oblong shape, developed in Ontario.

Apricots
In Latin, the apricot's name means "precious," a label earned because it ripens earlier than other summer fruits. China deserves the credit for discovering and cultivating this richly sweet fruit over 4000 years ago. Hundreds of centuries later, the Spanish missionaries carried apricots to North America. A relative of the peach, the apricot is smaller and has a smooth, oval pit that falls out easily when the fruit is halved. The varieties we grow include........
Early Blush - A new early variety. Medium size with orange-red blush over a golden background.            Goldrich - Large oval fruit with bright, shiny orange color. Flesh is firm, fine textured and deep orange.
Harogem - Medium fruit with bright red blush over orange skin. Flesh is firm, and freestone.
Hargrande - Very large fruit, yellow-orange in color. Flesh is firm, orange and freestone.

Asian Pears
Also called Apple Pears. Originally grown in Japan, they're sweet, crunchy to the bite and amazingly juicy. We grow several varieties.....
Shinseiki - Early season variety with yellow finish and little russet. The fruit is crisp and juicy.
Hosui - Ripening in late August, the fruit is mildly flavored, sweet and juicy with solid russeted skin.
Yoinashi - Fruit is large, orange-brown with a russeted finish and crisp, richly aromatic, firm flesh.
Olympic - Round, large, heavily russeted brown pear has a crisp, juicy sweet taste. Stores well.

Sweet Cherries
We grow several varities of sweet cherries to extend our season, including....
Summit - An early variety with large, heart-shaped cherry fruit with good flavor.
Ulster - Dark red, large, firm-fleshed, sweet fruit ripening mid-season.
Lapins - Developed in British Colombia, this unique dark red cherry is large in size, and has good flavor.
Black Gold - A dark red cherry with firm fruit and good size.
Hedelfingen - A large, firm-fleshed, high quality late dark red cherry.
Hudson - The latest of the good dark, black sweeet cherries.
Emperor Francis - A large, high quality yellow cherry with red blush.
Schmidt Biggareau - A dark red sweet cherry ripening in the mid season.
Regina - A late ripening, dark red sweet cherry. The fruit is very firm and large.
Rainier - Large yellow fruit with red blush and creamy yellow flesh. Considered "cream of the crop".

Tart Cherries
Also known as Sour Cherries or Pie Cherries. These cherries are quite tart (hence the name) and are best known as the key ingredient in desserts such as cherry pie or cherries jubilee. They are also delicious in main courses, salads, jams and jellies, dried and beverages. Tart cherries are seldom sold fresh in your local grocery store. We grow Balaton (a Hungarian cultivar introduced in 1984 with very firm dark red fruit, red juicy flesh, and slighly sweeter flavor than the standard) and the traditional Montmorency (bright red fruit, medium in size, with a clear, juicy flesh).

State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania

Adams County Fruitgrowers Association

International Fruit Tree Association

Mid Atlantic Young Growers Alliance

Land Conservancy of Adams County

North American Raspberry and Blackberry Growers Association

North Carolina Strawberry Association

US Apple Association

Tuesday
Crystal City - Crystal Dr. between 18th & 20th Streets
May 18 - October 26
3:00 PM - 7:00 PM
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/farm-mkt.htm

Wednesday
Oakton at the Oak Marr RECenter, 3200 Jermantown Rd.
May 5 - November 17
8:00 AM - Noon
http://www.freshfarmmarkets.org/markets/crystal_city.html

Wednesday
Annandale - Wakefield Park, 8100 Braddock Rd.
May 5 - October 27
2:00 PM - 6:00 PM
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/farm-mkt.htm

Saturday
Fairfax - Behind the old Fairfax County Courthouse, 10500 Main St.
May 1 - October 30
8:00 AM - 1:00 PM
http://www.fairfaxsaturdaymarket.com/
 
Saturday
Vienna - Beside the Red Caboose - 131 Church St. NE
May 1 - October 30
8:00 AM - Noon 
http://viennafarmersmarket.com/

Saturday
Washington DC - 14th and U Street, NW
May 1 – November 20
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
http://marketsandmore.org/

Sunday
Lorton - Lorton VRE Parking Lot, 8990 Lorton Station Road
May 2 – October 31
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
http://www.fairfaxsaturdaymarket.com/
 

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!!!

*******************************************************************************************************

  

Box 95

Cashtown, PA 17310

(717) 334-2722

kuhnorch@superpa.net

 www.kuhnorchards.com