I hope everyone enjoyed their first taste of tomatoes and beans last week. Tomatoes are very slow to ripen this summer, but trust us, they’ll be worth the wait. Beans and other things are doing well though, and we should have more very soon!

The first order of business this week is peach orders. We are going this coming weekend, leaving on Sunday. If you want to order peaches for this trip you must have your order in by Friday in order for us to get the order into the orchard. You can (and should) pre-order if you want peaches this time. We will NOT have peaches for sale at the Elgin Market this year due to an agreement with another vendor, so Elgin people, this is your opportunity. The peaches are freestone, and prices are $22/peck, $44/half bushel, $88/bushel. Please remember our prices are based on the grower’s prices. Peaches will be picked up by us from Rendelman Orchard on Monday August 4 and will need to be picked up by you on Tuesday August 5, either at the home farm in Poplar Grove (all day) or the church farm in Elgin (from 4-7), or on Wednesday August 6 at the home farm only. It is important that peaches are picked up on Tuesday or Wednesday as we have no where to store them once we harvest for the week. From then on peaches left with us will be unrefrigerated. Please use this on-line order form and do not send us an email. Thanks to everyone who has already ordered. We hope you’re as excited about them as we are!

Also, veggie shareholders only, remember that we have the opportunity to get blueberries and raspberries as fruit shares. Blueberries will be from our friends at Big Head Farm in Benton Harbor, Michigan.  These blueberries are certified organic and we will be able to get them bi-weekly by pint, 5lbs or 10lbs.Blueberries freeze really well and our kids were eating frozen blueberries like fresh last winter, so we plan on stocking up around here. Raspberries are coming from Grace Farm Studios in Woodstock. Their berries are all chemical free just like our veggies.  For raspberries we are able to go from the first week of August to the last week of September.  These will be shares of either a pint or a quart. We have sent shareholders a link to sign up, and these must also be signed up for by this weekend so we can get numbers to these farmers. Thanks!!

And since August is almost here - our next farm event is coming up! Trogg’s Hollow Tomato Festival will start at 4PM on Saturday, August 16. We’ll have some great local producers (as usual), including Early Bird Farm cooking up some delicious pork AND Tiffany from Mac’s Marinara doing a canning demo. Plus, if tomatoes are ripe we’ll be tasting them! And there will be music and crafts and a potluck and all the farmy fun you’ve come to expect from a Trogg’s Hollow party. So come! Bring your friends! Spend some time on the farm before summer slips away!! 

We want to give a great big thank you to the Boys & Girls Club of Elgin for coming out today for a little farm experience. We hope they enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed having them!

More in the newsletter.  <-- Click here!!!