Fall at the Farm

Ever wonder what goes on at a produce farm in October? You might assume that the crops are in and it’s time to lean back and sip some hard cider. For farms growing grain and soybeans, this might be true. For organic produce (and fruit) farms like Jade Family Farm, this is one of the busiest times of the year. 
Our regular harvest share season ended Oct. 24, so we no longer have to harvest and pack some 90 orders per week. But we still offer customers an opportunity to order “a la carte.” The North Atherton Farmers market won’t close until Thanksgiving and the Boalsburg market will be indoors starting Nov. 7 all winter and spring. So we will still be harvesting, going to market, and selling wholesale to several outlets.

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Tags: UnpaidFieldHand | JadeFamilyFarm | autumn |

Plenty of things happening for the wine lover this autumn

Do you love wine, autumn, pizza, jazz, and…running? Then here’s some good news!

Check out the upcoming events at Mt. Nittany Vineyard & Winery for September through October:

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Tags: MountNittanyWinery | wine | autumn | events |

Local Food Notes for Nov. 11

First off, Happy Veteran’s Day, and thank you to all who serve or have served in our nation’s armed forces. Here’s Local Food Notes for this week:

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Tags: localfoodnotes | autumn | TaitFarm | farmersmarket |

Fall wine and food pairings

Before we know it, the harvest is in, the grapes have been pressed, and we’re raking grape leaves!  We are also spending a little more time indoors and pulling out those favorite fall recipes.  What follows are several seasonal wine and food pairing suggestions.

In all wine and food pairings, there are four basic components to consider: sweet, sour, salt, and bitter. The trick is to find one component in the dish and then either find a wine that contrasts or emulates it. Here goes, and enjoy!

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Tags: autumn | wine |

Local Food Notes for Sept. 30

Aaronsburg Dutch Fall Fest, chicken barbeque, The Farmers Wife Fall Fest, and Apple Cider Demonstration Day are all part of this week’s Local Food Notes.

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Tags: LocalFoodNotes | autumn |

The joy of fall gardening

If you are like me, you are a gardener who doesn’t think of gardening as a spring-summer thing. Autumn may be to many people a time to rake leaves and watch football, but for gardeners, it’s still time to grow.

There are some advantages to gardening in the autumn. For one, it’s not near as hot, and you’re not limited to mornings and evenings. But there are other reasons to keep on playing in the dirt.

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Tags: gardening | autumn |

Local Food Notes for Sept. 23

The first Local Food Notes of autumn 2016 features the Millheim Oktoberfest, wine glass painting, fall cocktails, and the Milesburg Museum Apple Harvest Festival and Car Show.

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Tags: LocalFoodNotes | autumn |

Six things that are great about local food and fall

It’s going to feel more like July 8 as opposed to September 8 today, but the cooler weather of autumn really is just about the corner. Soon we will break out the fleece and start taking in the beauty of changing leaves in our pretty part of the world. And local food goes through a transition as well.

You can still find the stars of summer at the farmers markets and roadside stands, like tomatoes, peaches, and peppers, but produce like apples and pumpkins are slowing taking over. It’s truly a great time to be a locavore, and here’s six things that are great about local food and fall in Central Pennsylvania:

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Tags: fall | autumn |

Five local food fantastic fall flavors

As the leaves turn and the weather cools, our palates start to turn towards more hearty fare. Here’s five outstanding local food items that you can find in the area that are sure to warm you up when those first chilly winds of autumn start blowing…

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Tags: Fall | Autumn |

Wines that match well with the unique flavors of fall

Editor’s Note: The fall season brings food that features flavors and ingredients that are unique to the season, and this may raise some challenges for those who want to pair wine with these autumn dishes. Linda Weaver of Mount Nittany Vineyard & Winery has some suggestions to help you make the best wine/food pairing call.

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Tags: fall | autumn | recipe | wine | winepairings |

Your Local Food Weekend for Oct. 12-13

It’s fall festival time in Central Pennsylvania, and these events offer fantastic opportunities to sample local food and make some discoveries of new products. This weekend we have the Wasson Farm Fall Fest, Black Moshannon Cranberry Festival, and the Way Fruit Farm Fall Festival to tell you about. Keep reading for more…

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Tags: LocalFoodWeekend | autumn | fall | festival | cranberries |

Take advantage of extra time and plan now for killing frost

We are getting an extended summer, with temperatures that feel more like August. Looks like our run of summer weather ends today, but the threat of a killing freeze that ends the growing season for tender plants still seems at least a week or more away as per the weather forecast, which is quite unusual for October. Of course, as any gardener in Central Pennsylvania knows, that will not last forever. So, here’s a list of tips to help you prepare for when the ground is coated in frost and your tomato plants finally succumb:

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Tags: garden | frost | autumn |

Your Local Food Weekend for Oct. 5-6

Okay, so the weather right now isn’t exactly fall-like. However, there are still plenty of fall-ish things to do this weekend that are local food related, including the Aaronsburg Dutch Fall Festival, State College’s Fall Fest, and the Mt. Nittany Vineyard & Winery’s Winemakers Harvest Dinner

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Tags: LocalFoodWeekend | fall | autumn | festivals |

How to plan for frost in your garden

Last night was quite chilly for a lot of people in central PA but it seems that many of us escaped frost. However, the slow march of the seasons are inevitable, and eventually there will be frost on the Happy Valley pumpkins. Frost or even temperatures below 40 are very bad for plants like tomatoes, basil, beans, cucumbers, etc. On the other hand, a lighter frost is okay for plants like beets, chard, broccoli, lettuce, cabbage, carrots, etc.

Here are some tips for both figuring out when your garden might get hit by frost, and what to do when it does.

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Tags: frost | garden | autumn | fall |