The Little Farmer's Blog!

Hi everyone!

This Saturday, October 15 we will be having our annual Pumpkinfest!! The event will run from 10 to 5 and what a lineup of events we have for you!

10:00 Doors Open
11:00 Entertainment provided by Revolutions Dance
12:00 Pie Eating Contest
1:00 Hot Pepper Eating Contest
2:00 Pie Eating Contest
3:00 Scarecrow Making Contest

So come join the fun with us this Saturday here at the one and only Lester's on Brookfield Road! Oh and did we mention that there are prizes for all of these contests? That's right! So lets see if you can be the messiest in the pie eating contest or see just how many of the outrageously hot peppers you can stomach or show us your own creativity in our scarecrow making contest!

There is admission at the door but everything past the gate is free. Like previous years, a portion of the proceeds are going towards charities that help children in our community. Again this year's proceeds will go towards the R.E.A.L program as well as the Mount Pearl Sports Alliance. Bring your family, friends, and together we can support our community while having some fun Halloween fun!

If the weather is bad Pumpkinfest will be rescheduled so please check either our blog, facebook or call us (747-3276) for more details!

See you in your best Halloween Costumes!
Your Friendly Little Farmer Bloggers,
Ashley and Susan

The Little Farmers Blog!

Hi everyone!
September has come and gone so quick! But now the fun begins.....

First of all we do still have a small number of turkeys for the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend. For more information please call our market at 747-3276.

Like to cook and bake? Tastebuds on the wild side? Don't forget to check out our recipe corner in our market! We have many different varieties of recipes for you to try, and best of all they can all be made with our own vegetables! There's nothing like making your own meal with our home grown vegetables!

As many of you know, October is the month when we get to be creative! The great thing about October is that everyday things for us such as mums, hay bales, corn stalks, scarecrows, pumpkins and gourds are in style! If you're looking for something to create the fall look on your front deck or steps stop in over the next few weeks and we will have some ideas for you!

Keep your eyes peeled! we are in the process of brainstorming some brilliant Halloween ideas to put around our farm!

Best of all, our annual Pumpkinfest will be held on Saturday October 15th! Keep checking back for more details on specific times of events. We will be having our famous contests such as our pie eating, scarecrow making, and hot pepper eating contest again! As well come check out some entertainment such as performers from Revolutions Dance as well as games for all ages!

For the first time ever we are having our Haunted Wagon Rides! These will be running from October 20 to the 22, no matter the weather. There will be one run a night which is able to fit 60 people. You must book a reservation through us on Brookfield Road directly, or by phone (747-3276). For just five dollars you get to switch up your regular weekend routine!

Keep checking back for more details on all of these fun events! See you all then!
Your Friendly Little Farmer Bloggers,
Ashley and Susan

The Little Farmers Blog!

Hi everyone!

Just letting you know that both of our locations for the u-pick will be open today! the berries are looking good so we should be open all day but if you're planning on heading out later today call ahead of time just in case!

Also, we will be open on Regatta Day! what a great way to spend a day off with the family!

See you all soon!
Your Friendly Little Farmer Bloggers,
Ashley and Susan

The Little Farmer Blog!

Hi everyone!

Our u-pick has been having an overwhelming response thus far! The u-pick is closed today to give the berries a little more time to ripen up, hopefully we will have both locations opened tomorrow;weather and berry depending. Please remember to always call in before getting ready to pick as sometimes the u-pick is not open all day everyday. Give us a shout at 747-FARM (3276) and one of our friendly staff members will let you know!

See you soon!
Your Little Farmer Bloggers,
Ash, and Susan

The Little Farmers Blog!

Guess what?

Our U-pick is opened today! grab your buckets! Grab your boots and jacket and enjoy the ride down in our new trailer! Lots of berries to be picked so come join the fun!! Make sure to call the market before you head out just in case the weather changes! 747-3276!

Believe us, you will not want to miss out on these delicious berries!
See you soon,
Your Friendly Little Farmer Bloggers,
Ashley and Susan

Little Farmer Bloggers!

Hello Everyone!

It has been slow starting off this year with the weather, but now things are starting to get into full swing! Our 8 Greenhouses and cold frames that were once filled to the brim with flowers are now down to less than 3! The bakers in the bakery have been kept more than busy with keeping the delicious bread and pastries on the shelves. The boys in the field have started to harvest some crops such as lettuce, spinach, and broccoli as well we have had a few strawberries in the past week!

Hopefully if everything keeps going at this steady pace we will have our strawberry u-pick open very soon, possibly in the next week to two weeks. So get your buckets ready because there are more berries than ever before! Well keep you updated on dates and crops! but in the meantime, do not forget to come and visit our animals! Ester our new pot belly pig is settling in well, the baby goats who were born in April love to entertain people, and we also have a few new baby rabbits for you to see!
See you soon!
Your Friendly Little Farmer Bloggers,
Ashley and Susan

The Little Farmers Blog!

IMPORTANT UPDATE!! This just recently in! We now have our dates of when the market will be opened for the season! On Friday May the 6th and Saturday May the 7th we will be opened for gift card purchases only. This is the perfect Mother's Day gift for mom's who just love to spend time in their garden, or those who love to cook with fresh veggies! We will be opened in full swing for the season starting on May 27th! We can't wait to see you!! Preparations for this year are still ongoing, and let us tell you, you certainly are in for a treat! So don't forget to mark these dates on your calendar and be one of the first to see and experience some of the new additions and improvements to our market! See you soon! Your Friendly Little Farmer Bloggers, Ashley, Kaitlyn, and Susan

The Little Farmer's Blog!

Hello Everyone!

What a past few weeks we've seen! But despite the unpredictable weather plans for the upcoming year are continuously ongoing! And boy, do we have some great ideas to share with you!

As of now, the market itself is still open from Friday to Sunday 10-5. We do still have some of our own vegetables, but our more leafy crops such as lettuces are being replaced with imported produce until we can provide you with our own again this summer! As well, for you flower lovers and those with a knack for having your own veggie or herb garden we are now in the process of ordering our seeds. Soon it will be time for us to head to the greenhouses and begin planting for the 2011 season!

Of course, we are always trying to find ways to improve our farm market, and this year we already have some great ideas in mind! We will keep you posted, but we also do not want to ruin any surprises for you! But please do check back for updates on when we are opening as well as other updates about the farm.

We have a busy week ahead of us here at the farm! With that, we will talk to you soon!

Your Friendly Little Farmer Bloggers,
Ashley, Kate, and Susan

The Little Farmers Blog!

Happy October Everyone!

Even though fall is all around us the boys in the field are still bringing in lots of fresh veggies daily! How nice it is to be able to still eat fresh local veggies at this time of year! Our pumpkins are also making their way down to our pumpkin patch! So come along and pick out your perfect pumpkin!! If you do purchase your pumpkin now, just remember to keep it in a warm place especially at night; porches or garages are perfect homes to pumpkins! As well, even though it is very tempting to carve your masterpiece in your beautiful pumpkin, do not pierce or carve your pumpkin until about 3 or 4 days before Halloween. And a little tip, to help your pumpkin keep its shape, put Vaseline along all of the cuts that you make!

Speaking of pumpkins, we now have a schedule for our annual Pumpkinfest! This years pumpkinfest will be held on Saturday, October 16 from 10 to 4. There will be many day long events such as the gourd toss, bouncy castle, wagon rides, seed spitting as well as face painting. Here is a list of special events and contests that will be held throughout the day!

11:30 Pie Eating Contest
12:30 Scarecrow Making Contest (We provide the supplies! Just bring your creativity!)
1:30 Pie Eating Contest
2:30 Hot Pepper Eating Contest (with a cash prize of $500.00!)
3:30 Judging of the Pumpkin Carving Contest (pumpkins can be carved throughout the day)

Wow! What fun! where else can you go to experience all of these fun events? And best of all, come in your costume for Halloween!

The Pumpkinfest is in support of the R.E.A.L Program as well as the Mount Pearl Sport Alliance, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to these programs, it's a way for us to give back to the community! The admission for this years Pumpkinfest is $3.00 per child, $5.00 per adult, or you can buy a family pass for$15.00 for a family of 5.

See you all soon!
Your Friendly Little Farmer Bloggers,
Ashley, Kate and Susan

The Little Farmers Blog!

It's hard to believe that the end of September is just around the corner! Do you know what that means? Not only do we have fresh produce ready for you daily, but it also means that our pumpkins will soon be finding their way down to our pumpkin patch over the next few weeks! We all love this time of year, the crops are doing well, the farm starts to look like fall, the pumpkins ripen up, and scarecrows are not just found in farmers fields rather they become the newest addition to any house! Of course, what better way to celebrate fall then with our annual Pumpkinfest! For those of you who do not know what it is, it is a day long event which is held on the farm where there is fun for the whole family. Throughout the day there are games to play, prizes to be won, contests such as our hot pepper eating contest, as well as our pumpkin catapult. A portion of the proceeds go towards helping others in our surrounding communities through community charities. So come along on October 16 (Saturday, weather permitting), and have fun with everyone while helping others out as well.

Thanksgiving is also coming around the corner, that means that many of us will be enjoying a turkey dinner with fresh veggies from the farm! We are now taking orders for the Thanksgiving turkeys, but there is a limited amount! So call in (747-3276) or drop by as soon as you can!

Looking to decorate the outside of your house for the fall? Whynot try some corn stalks with bales of hay? It creates a perfect fall scene for your front step! And soon you will be able to add pumpkins and gourds to the scene as well!

Hope everyones fall is going good so far!
Your Little Farmer Bloggers,
Ashley, Kate, and Susan

The Little Farmers Blog!

September has come quickly, and you know what that means...

It's Harvest Time!

Wow! the summer certainly has gone by quickly, but now it is time for all of the boys in the field to harvest the veggies before the winter. The crops are looking good and with the fall season in the air we know that our bright orange pumpkins will soon be here!

Labor Day weekend was a busy one for us on the farm, many customers came to get veggies for the weekends trips and events. And lucky for them, we had our broccoli on a special for $1. 50 a bunch! as well, we had the start of our peaches and cream corn, delicious!

As promised, we have gathered up some recipes over the past week to share with you. Most of the recipes are available at the market as well. Enjoy!


Zucchini Muffins

Ingredients:
3 cups grated fresh zucchini
2/3 cup melted unsalted butter
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda
Pinch salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup walnuts (optional)
1 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

Method:
You don't need a mixer for this recipe.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). In a large bowl combine the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the grated zucchini and then the melted butter. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the zucchini mixture and mix in. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Stir these dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture. Stir in walnuts, raisins or cranberries if using. Coat each muffin cup in your muffin pan with a little butter or vegetable oil spray. Use a spoon to distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups, filling the cups up completely. Bake on the middle rack until muffins are golden brown, and the top of the muffins bounce back when you press on them, about 25 to 30 minutes. Test with a long toothpick or a thin bamboo skewer to make sure the center of the muffins are done. Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin let cool another 20 minutes.


Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups white sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions
Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.


Layered Lettuce Salad

1 head lettuce, torn
1 c. diced celery
4 hard boiled eggs, sliced
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen peas, thawed & uncooked
1/2 c. diced green pepper
1 med. onion, diced
8 slices cooked & crumbled bacon
2 c. mayonnaise
2 tbsp. sugar
4 oz. grated cheddar cheese

Directions:
Layer ingredients in order shown in a large glass bowl. Combine mayo and sugar then spread over top of salad evenly. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and refrigerate 8 to 12 hours.

Vegetable Pasta Salad II

Ingredients
1 zucchini, cubed
1 eggplant, cubed
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (12 ounce) package rotini/corkscrew pasta
2 chopped tomatoes
3 ounces diced feta cheese
1 cup Italian-style salad dressing


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine zucchini, eggplant, onion, bell pepper and garlic in a baking dish. Toss with olive oil. Bake for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add rotini pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and rinse with cold water. In a bowl combine vegetable mixture, cooled pasta, tomatoes, Feta cubes, and salad dressing; toss until well mixed.

The Little Farmers Blog!

Hello again! And what a busy week it has been for us down on the farm!

It certainly is getting that time of year again where our veggies are at their best, and the boys in the fields are kept more than busy with all of the harvesting. But wait! not all of our produce is in yet! Next weekend we will have the start of our own sweet corn, which is perfect boiled or even on the barbeque!

With the fall approaching quickly many customers are beginning to make their own pickles, and even freezing some veggies for the winter so we thought that we would share with you some ways to enjoy local veggies all winter long!

To freeze broccoli:
-Clean amount of desired broccoli
-Then, split the broccoli lengthwise. You should end up with flowerets that are 11/2 inches wide. Make sure to remove all of the leaves and woody parts of the stem.
-To ensure the broccoli is clean, soak the florets in salt water for about a half hour
-Then boil the broccoli for 3-4 minutes, or until it changes in color.
-Remove the broccoli from the water and place in ice to cool it down. Make sure that you remove all of the heat before packing them away for the winter.
-Once cooled, drain the broccoli and place in a bag. Make sure you get all of the air out of the bag before placing it in your freezer.

Many other vegetables can be frozen this way as well, such as greens, and spinach but the boiling time is different than that of the broccoli. For these particular veggies as well as others, follow through with the same procedure but remove from the boiling water when the vegetable has changed in color.


Over the next few days we are planning on getting some family recipies from the Lester family. All of the family members have the knack for cooking, especially Mary Lester who is the lady who started this part of the farm, as well as her mother in law Juanita Lester. So keep in touch for our tips and secrets!

Your Friendly Little Farmer Bloggers,
Ashley, Kate and Susan

The Little Farmers Blog!

Hi there everyone!

As this week is coming to a close, we are bringing you new beginnings!

After this week, we now have a good supply of our peas and green beans. This weekend we will have the start of our yellow beans, yum! As well, many of our crops that were just new over the past week or two are now picking up their pace growing wise. Many vegetables such as our broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, and lettuce are getting bigger by the day. It's amazing to see how the crops progress each and every day, sometimes its hard to believe how much they progress!

We are also proud to announce the opening of our corn maze for the year! This is always an event on the farm as even we like to get lost in our corn maze. Although we have a smaller size corn maze, it is still ideal for family and children, and best of all it is free of charge! So why not take the whole family through the maze and see who can make it through the quickest!

It seems like this week flew by! As Mary Lester would say, "Time flies when you're having fun" and that is exactly what happened on the farm this week!

See you soon!
Your Friendly Little Farmer Bloggers,
Ashley, Kate, and Susan

The Little Farmer's Blog!

And last but not least, our horses and ponies.

The Little Farmer's Blog!

These are some more animals which enjoy their days here on the farm.

The Little Farmer's Blog!

Hi again everyone!
We know it has been a while, but here are some pictures of the animals that live here on the farm.

One of our newest additions.

The Little Farmers Blog!

Hi there everyone!

Although our summer has seemed to cool down a bit from July we still have new produce this week!

The boys are still busy in the fields harvesting our usual produce as well as some new produce such as: a variety of cucumbers, kholarbi,as well as green and yellow zucchini. But wait! It doesn't stop yet! According to farmer Chris and Brad we will have the start of our beet this weekend! Just in time to make homemade beets for the winter!

Since our each crop needs different attention at different times, some crops will produce better in certain conditions. Take for example our green onion and swiss chard, these particular crops are definitely at their best production rate with these conditions! Stop on by and see how big they have grown since the beginning of the summer! What a difference!

At this point of time we will be changing over the lots of our spinach, therefore we will not have any more until the middle of next week, but as always it is better to call ahead of time just to be sure that it is in stock for that particular day.

And with the summer coming to an end so is our short strawberry season. We are still picking a few berries to have in the market however it is getting down to the very last of them now. But don't worry! They will be back next year, and they will be just as delicious and plentiful as this years crops!

With each new crop that comes in, we try to cook something up, something that we never would have tried or even thought of on our own! So here's a few recipes that worked out delicious for us! Good luck!

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup of Brown Sugar
1 egg
1 tsp of vanilla
1 1/2 cups of flour
1/4 tsp of salt
3/4 cup of oatmeal (optional)
1/2 cup of coconut (optional)
6 oz of chocolate chips
1/2 cup of nuts (optional)
1/2 cup of butter
1 cup of green zucchini, shredded

Directions:

Beat butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla together in a large bowl. Then, add the dry ingredients as well as oatmeal if you like. Make sure that you mix together well until all is smooth. Once smooth, add the remaining of the ingredients to the mixture. Then take a greased cookie sheet and drop spoonfuls of the cookie mixture all along the sheet. Then you bake them in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. And finally the best part, time to sit back and enjoy a yummy and healthy cookie! A great way to get kids to eat healthy!

Hope you enjoy the recipe! Keep updated for some more great recipes!

Your Friendly Little Farmer Bloggers,
Ashley, Kate and Susan

The Little Farmers Blog!

The Little Farmers Blog!

Hi there!

Due to the overwhelming amount of eager pickers which we have seen over the past few weeks at our u-picks, both of our locations will be closed for the rest of the season. We will ourselves still have berries for another short while so if you haven't gotten the amount of desired berries come out early in the morning and you will find the freshest berries in town! Mind you they do go very quick, so if it is berries that you are looking for call before you head over to our market!

Although our berry season is now drawing an end, it is just the beginning for some of our other crops! Take our potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, and turnip for instance; after giving some of these particular crops a few days to grow the results of the crops are flourishing! And don't forget that we are hoping to have a starting crop of our own deliciously sweet carrots this Saturday! Wow! What a week this is turning out to be!

We also have local fresh cream available. This cream really is 'Glennview's Finest' and is the perfect desert topping!

Keep in touch! Hope to see you soon!

Your Friendly Little Farmer Bloggers,
Ashley, Kate and Susan

The Little Farmers Blog

Despite the gloomy weather, we still had lots of pleasant pickers today! However, our fields are still not completely picked out so both locations will be opened tomorrow, August 2, weather permitting. Please be advised that the strawberry season is nearing an end and the precipitation which we have received has taken a toll on the berries. Meanwhile, there are still plenty of berries to be picked!

And, for the first time this season we now have our edible pod, and snow peas! A tasty addition to any meal!

Your Friendly Little Farmer Bloggers,
Ashley, Kate and Susan