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Halcyon Acres chemical-free produce in Roanoke

Need an unusual, fun gift idea?

Fresh delivered local produce is a great holiday treat

Are you wracking your brain trying to find the right gift for that special someone? Stop fretting about mail delivery delays, giving a gift that will be appreciated, or shopping for someone who goes on a personal shopping spree the week before Christmas. Halcyon Acres can help you customize an affordable package of fresh-picked, chemical-free, delicious local produce that keeps giving throughout the year.

Impersonal gift cards or Amazon free shipping doesn’t have to be the answer to your gift buying concerns. You can find something better right in their own backyard (or mine). Put a smile on your face and you’re loved ones too with a gift that will make them feel good in so many ways.  

Halcyon Acres chemical-free produce in Roanoke

Our grown-with-care and hand-picked produce & herbs are lovingly delivered to homes and businesses in the Roanoke area. We eat what we grow so you know it’s safe and tasty. Orders are customized to suit your recipient’s tastes and your budget. Free deliveries within a 5-mile radius on multiple seasonal bundles (starting at $180, April through November).

Here’s how our Roanoke produce delivery works

  1. We’ll have a conversation about your budget and your recipient’s preferences.
  2. A customized package gets designed (usually 4-5 deliveries, but some choose more) in line with what you want to spend; then you provide an email address, location, and phone number for deliveries.
  3. You’ll get a gift certificate (check or electronic payments accepted) to send to your intended recipient indicating the package specifics with Halcyon Acres contact information included. No CSA fees or other buy-in costs – you simply pay for the produce to be delivered.
  4. In April, I’ll contact your gift recipient (and keep you posted along the way by email) to talk logistics.
  5. As I get more familiar with your loved one’s preferences, orders will be further customized (and in some cases with custom requested plantings) to suit tastes and needs.
  6. Delicious selections of chemical-free, hand-picked, caringly-selected fruits, herbs, and vegetables will be delivered throughout the spring, summer, and fall to the home or business location requested.

Still wondering if this is a good gift idea?

  • Do you have someone who’s hard to buy for on your Christmas list?
  • Is there a relative you’d like to honor with a gift that doesn’t add to clutter and can be appreciated for a long time to come?
  • Would you like to help someone find healthier eating alternatives?
  • Are you feeling stressed, frazzled, and frustrated with your gift buying to do list?
  • Do you feel good when you make choices to support small businesses?
  • Does chemical-free, hand-picked, today-fresh produce sound good to you?

Halcyon Acres is here to help.

Anyone who would appreciate having in-season, just-picked fruit and vegetable goodies delivered to their home or office door will enjoy this gift.

We can do single deliveries too (starting at $45). Seasonal package clients, however, get first dibs on short season and small quantity item selections. This includes peas, figs, fresh garlic, spinach, lettuce, asparagus, strawberries, elderberries, blackberries, and potatoes.

Fresh picked delivered to you herbs in Roanoke VA
Do you like fresh herbs? Halcyon Acres grows a wide range to suit your particular tastes. Picked same-day for delivery to you.

If you’re looking for a special gift that can be appreciated throughout most of the year, consider a healthy, kind, and memorable present that will keep on giving. Your loved one will get recipe ideas for seasonal produce too. It’s like Christmas all spring, summer and fall long as they unpack a new gift with healthy eating surprises.

Find a better gift this year that will keep them talking about your thoughtfulness. Call Nanette at (585) 554-4612 to find out how.   

Sunflower seeds are some of the unusual chemical-free, Roanoke local offerings at Halcyon Acres

What’s new this year at Halcyon Acres?

We’re offering some new crops this year (2021), available to both our regularly scheduled delivery clients and as bulk orders for crops that have a short season. As is the case with much of what we offer, these are hard-to-find items in the Roanoke, Virginia area.

Elderberries

We introduced this crop last year in small quantities, but have switched our approach to bulk sales only for this year. We planted trees a few years ago and they’re now producing an impressive amount of fruit. Whether you are thinking of making jam, syrup, tea, wine, or something else with these tasty, tiny fruits, we guarantee what you get from us is chemical free. They pack a powerful punch with health benefits too – especially when they’re not sprayed with man-made toxins.

If you’re going to be needing a pound or more, please get your order in early. We expect this to be a popular crop that will be distributed on a first-deposit, first-come basis. We ask for a $10 deposit to hold your spot that is credited toward your purchase upon delivery.

Your order will be fresh-picked day of delivery and delivered in stem clusters. If you’d prefer berries only, we flash freeze them to remove the stems and charge a bit more for the extra work.

Tomatoes

It probably sounds silly that tomatoes are new this year, but this isn’t a crop we’ve traditionally offered in the past. Part battle with the deer, part everyone else has them, it didn’t seem wise to allocate limited space to plants being razed that didn’t cause client excitement anyway.

This year is different. Now with success on the deer discouragement front (after trying dozens of methods, would you believe the winner is Irish Spring?) and the opportunity offer some unusual varieties that come early, plans have changed. This year will include yellow pear, purple Cherokee, black cherry, and rio grande. We’ll be offering a little bit of standard fare too, for those not keen on experimenting.

Pickling Cucumbers

From reading, consulting with homesteaders and asking around, I’ve discovered pickling cucumbers are tastier fresh eating than the normal fare. They’re crunchier, less seedy, and have a sweeter taste. The experiment starts with Pioneer. I’ll be testing more varieties in the future.

Figs

These have a very short season rather late in the year. Last year it was mid to late October before they were ready. Our fig fruits are small, but tasty sweet. It’s not a crop where harvesting can be predicted on a calendar. You just have to see when they’re ready.

The best way we’ve found to harvest figs is to pick them a few days before they’re ripe. Contrary to what many seem to claim on Google about the fruit, our figs ripen nicely on a countertop. While we’re happy to provide figs fully tree ripened (ants can be an issue), we recommend getting the figs before they’re fully ripened on the tree. If you want figs in the fall, contact us by August or September. We get about 100 in a two-week span and then they’re gone.

Bok Choy & Chinese Cabbage

Chinese cabbage is a crop I had great success with in the Northeast. This was something I could plant in the spring and harvest throughout the growing season. I’ve learned, the hard way per usual, fall planting is the key to a successful strategy. Don’t limit your thinking with this delightful leafy vegetable to just stir fries. It’s wonderful as a salad main ingredient that’s sweeter than lettuce with a much longer shelf life. I tend to use it in combination with lettuce and herbs for a super mix of taste and texture that will excite your palate.

This spring was my first attempt at bok choy. I had beautiful young plants (should have harvested them then) that went to seed when we had a couple of warm days. I’ll be planting a lot of it for fall harvest as it’s delicious, requires not much space, and, based on what I saw this spring, really enjoys the soil available here.

Leeks

After a couple of years of failing with leeks, I think I’ve finally figured out how to help them thrive. Curiously, out of all the items in the garden, a critter decided to decapitate the largest ones, and only those in an isolated bed close to a building, last week. The good news is, they’re scattered throughout the garden rows this year, so many happy, healthy ones remain. The main reason for deciding to offer this crop is I’m aghast at what they charge in the supermarket around here for product that’s likely coming from Mexico. We deserve fresh, chemical-free leeks for that price, don’t we?

Parsnips

Admittedly, this is a test that may or may not be successful. So far, I’m not seeing a lot of sprouts coming up from seeds. But found a soup recipe I wanted to try this winter that required parsnips as a main ingredient. They were hard to find and costly where available. Frankly, it’s the first time I had every tried this vegetable. I liked it a lot. The soup was fantastic. I’ll share the recipe in a later blog post. Time will tell if this crop wants to grow here.

Celery

If you’ve never had fresh celery, you don’t know how it’s supposed to taste. The flavor and smell is nothing like what’s available in the supermarket. Know, though, you won’t get anywhere near the shelf life of those packaged stalks in the store. That’s why I often provider outer stalks with clients who have ordered regular deliveries, instead of the entire plant. It keeps growing more stalks if you leave it in the ground. The smell and taste fresh celery provides is so delightful and pungent you only a little bit to add tremendous taste and texture to any dish.

Kale & Swiss Chard

These aren’t crops I’ve generally offered to clients as they’re a bit hard to grow here and I don’t like them very much. But, I’ve had a lot of requests to include these leafy treats in client deliveries. So, I’ve decided to give it a go this year with some soil amendments designed to make these plants happier. Time will tell.

More Carrot Varieties

Carrots are one of my favorite fresh-dug enhancement items to add incredible flavor to just about anything from salads to stews. This year we’re adding a bunch of new types to see if they grow, taste, or appeal to clients better. That means more will be available to clients during the various stages of harvest.

We start with baby carrots to thin out the rows. These are tender, sweet, and a whole lot of fun, but don’t go very far. Our main harvest of mature carrots begins in August. Since carrots are a root vegetable, this is a crop we can harvest all winter long and into the spring, provided we have an early snow or adequate ground cover to protect the top of the roots from freezing.

Spring is marvelous at Halcyon Acres

It’s been a long time since I can recall having such a wonderfully prolonged spring. This is my favorite time of year. The weather’s perfect for working outdoors. Temperatures in the 50s and 60s during the days, no bugs, at least not until very recently, and lots of sunny days make it glorious conditions for getting planting started and harvesting underway. Lately, it’s seems, we’ve bounced straight from winter to summer. Not so this year. Five weeks and counting of true spring weather makes my heart sing.

Fresh garlic is available at Halcyon Acres in Roanoke, Virginia
Garlic scapes are already appearing on the hard neck garlic. We have soft neck garlic too. If you’ve never tasted fresh garlic, you’re in for a treat.

We did have an unexpected hard frost this week, and lost some cucumbers and squash plants, but surprisingly, the tomatoes, peppers and other summer plants sensitive to such things survived. Usually the last frost date here is April 15th, but I’ll take a month late surprise anytime in exchange for the pleasant weather we’ve enjoyed.

Spring crops

Strawberries for salads in Roanoke, Virginia.
Strawberries are coming along nicely.

The asparagus crop was delightful this year. I transplanted all my roots last fall from a less sunny location to where I think the plants will be happier moving forward. As a result, production wasn’t as prolific, but I hope next year we’ll have ample supply to offer to clients as the plants get more comfortable in their new digs.

Get fresh vegetables delivered to your home or business
Bibb lettuce should be ready for picking in another week or two.

Did a second round a pea planting as something beheaded the first crop right about the time they started blooming. The new plants are now protected under bird netting. Consequently, peas will be a bit late this year, but expect them to be just as delicious. Here’s what should be ready for spring harvesting in a couple of weeks:

Did you know you can find fresh peas in Roanoke, Virginia?
Fresh peas are one of my favorites. This is the replanted stock after something beheaded the first crop. Bird netting seems to have discouraged the critter.
  • Bibb lettuce
  • Radishes
  • Loose-leaf mix lettuce
  • Baby carrots
  • Strawberries
  • Cilantro
  • Oregano
  • Chives

Coming in June & July

If you've never tasted fresh potatoes, you just must.
Potatoes are going to be tasty this year. Choose from purple, red or gold ;-).
  • Blueberries
  • Garlic
  • Potatoes (Adirondack Blue, Pontiac Red, Yukon Gold)
  • Dill
  • Basil
  • Parsley
  • Thyme
  • Turnips
  • Carrots
  • Celery
  • Peppers (Banana, Jalapeno, Sweet)
  • Kale
  • Swiss Chard
  • Beets

What’s planted for summer

See much of what’s above, plus:

  • Tomatoes (seven different varieties – mostly heirloom)
  • Cucumbers (pickling & Straight Eight)
  • Elderberries
  • Leeks
  • Parsnips
  • Yellow squash
  • Watermelon
  • eggplant
  • Blackberries

Fall Crops

  • Bok Choy
  • Chinese Cabbage
  • Brussel Sprouts
  • Spaghetti Squash
  • White Bush Scallop Squash
  • Pumpkins
  • Figs
  • Radishes
  • Lettuce
  • Kale
  • Swiss Chard

There’s still time to accommodate special requests. If there’s something in particular you’d like to have this year, let me know. If the soil and my land constraints can handle it, and I can find the seeds, I’ll add it to the mix. New crops are usually experimental. Sometimes they work here, sometimes they don’t. I’ll do my best to harvest healthy edibles, but if a new selection doesn’t work, I’ll let you know that too.

See you next year

We’ve decided to make 2019 a recovery year as we continue to deal with challenges from flooding and property damage related to Hurricane Michael. We may have occasional produce available as we harvest a severely reduced crop this year but do not expect to be able to fill weekly or bi-monthly orders until spring of 2020. Thanks for your understanding, patience and patronage in the past.

It’s fresh potato time

Chemical free produce including purple potatoes at Halcyon Acres in RoanokeIf you’ve ever had potatoes fresh out of the ground, you know what a treat they are. Unlike the store bought kind that are dry and starchy and mostly tasteless due to age, the recently harvested spuds are moist, creamy in texture and rich in flavor. The down side to this delight is harvest season runs mostly from July through August in Roanoke. That makes it tough to go back to grocery store fare. If you can resist the temptation to eat them all when they’re dug up (it’s not easy to do), they stay delicious for months and will probably still be fresher than the industrialized harvest selections well into the winter.

Our specialty is Adirondack blues. These are a great conversation piece not only for their delightful taste, but also for their color. Both skins and flesh are a deep purple, even after you cook them. They’re versatile too. You can boil them, bake them, saute and even use them in potato salads.

We also have a limited amount of Pontiac reds. These didn’t do as well as we hoped this year, so the potatoes are small, but equally fun and tasty. Pontiac red and Adirondack Blue potatoes fresh dug at Halcyon Acres in Roanoke VA

Curiously, we’ve found the taste and size of potatoes is very weather dependent. Fortunately, this has been an ideal year for the size and flavor of the Adirondack blues. They’re big and delicious in 2018. Not so much for the Yukon golds.

In addition to potatoes, we currently have carrots, garlic, fresh herbs including sage, thyme, rosemary, oregano, parsley, dill and lavender as well as a small selection of heirloom tomatoes. We hope to be harvesting sweet potatoes in the next few weeks. We’ll also be planting fall crops including lettuces, radishes, peas, kale, Swiss chard and turnips soon to be ready in September and October.

Fresh Garlic is in season

If you’ve ever tasted fresh garlic you know how delightful it is. Soft enough to eat raw, it has a bit of an earthy flavor and is less pungent than what you typically find dried.

Fresh garlic is now in season in RoanokeTry it in salads, eggs, grated on pasta after it’s cooked or anywhere else you’re looking for a little extra flavor quickly. Of course, you can also saute it, but there no need for that. Fresh garlic becomes you’re used to buying in the supermarket after it’s had a couple of weeks to dry. Hang what you don’t use quickly in a warm, dry place and enjoy it for many months to come.

We’re also starting to harvest some baby carrots, young romaine lettuce, turnips, radishes and some gold nugget mini tomatoes. Of course, we continue to have a variety of fresh herbs available including dill, mint, oregano, thyme, chives and sage.

Let us know if we can deliver a custom order to you.

Deer in the garden

Produce at Halcyon Acres in Roanoke Virginia

It’s been a challenging year on the growing front. A winter that wouldn’t let go followed by stifling heat and then rain, rain and more rain. I’ve never been a believer in the saying “rain, rain, go away,” but I might change my tune if my house floats away by the time we get through the next stretch of weather with rain forecast every day in the foreseeable future. We’ve been hit hard here with flooding. While the interior of my office became a pond, curiously, the garden area drained quickly and plants survived (for the most part – lost a couple of the artichokes I’m testing to see if they survive in this climate).

That said, it’s becoming impossible to predict what will be ready when. Items that need a lot of sun and heat seem to be ahead of schedule and those I expected early are late. What we have now and what’s been planted for later.

We currently have a lot of fresh herbs available including:

  • Cilantro (soon to be coriander)
  • Dill
  • Thyme
  • Sage
  • Oregano
  • Mint
  • Lavender
  • Chives

If you like fresh herbs and think that’s what you get at the supermarket, you’re wrong and in for a treat with the taste truly fresh picked brings to your meals. Give us a call at (540) 400-7106 and we’ll introduce you to new flavors you’ll relish. We can do quantities on your favorite items or create a sample pack. Soon we’ll have parsley, basil and garlic scapes (if you’ve never tasted one of these, you must). Oregano and thyme are great in salads and eggs if you’re looking to cut calories on dressing and cheese and still get a burst of taste that excites your palate.

The purple and green asparagus was delightful this year, but short-lived. The purple variety is tender, not stringy and meant to be eaten raw. You can even do that with the green that’s fresh picked here. If you want to get on the list for limited quantities of this item, call now to get on the short list for next year.

Deer in the garden
Yep – these critters – they ate most of your strawberries this year. Note the solar light on the tree – works great at night – not so much during the day.

I’ve given up on strawberries. Perhaps I’ll come up with a better way to keep the deer from devouring the leaves before fruit even bears next year on the plants that survive, but I’m not buying any more. On the few that did make it to producing berries, the ground hogs stole them before they were picked. This is a new challenge for me. When I had the farm, I had Gatsby, my delightfully talented mutt with no nose (thank goodness because in my New York town, DEC officers were authorized to shoot dogs, even when they’re yours on your own property, if caught running deer), who guarded the two-acre vegetable garden plot. Groundhogs annoyed me as they took a single bit of every ripe strawberry, but I had enough land to grow more than they could eat and ultimately, Gatsby hunted them all down.

New fruits available this year includes:

  • Blackberries
  • Elderberries
  • Blueberries
  • Artichokes (maybe – and yes, technically they’re a flower)

With vegetables, we’ve moved away from planting the standard fare and are focusing on items that have been extremely popular in the past two years with mostly unavailable items locally that have tastes unequaled elsewhere. We’ve also switched from a standard fare package to specific item and quantity orders. We’ll have a page on the website soon indicating what’s available with prices soon that’s updated regularly. While we’re also happy to try to grow something on special request, our current selections this year include:

  • Garlic (hard neck, softneck, elephant – new this year)
  • Carrots
  • Turnips
  • Adirondack blue & Pontiac red potatoes (never had fresh dug potatoes – you’ll never go back to old, starchy supermarket crap once you do)
  • Radishes
  • Beets
  • Kale
  • Swiss chard
  • Leeks
  • Heirloom tomatoes (a variety of sizes and colors)
  • Spaghetti squash
  • Water melon
  • Brussel sprouts
  • Chinese cabbage
  • Eggplant
  • Banana peppers
  • Many lettuces including head and loose leaf mixes
  • and probably more I’m forgetting at the moment

We’re also going to give sunflower seeds a go this year (no idea how that will turn out). We’ll be offering these flowers and a number of others for bouquets deliver to our regular customers.

Unusual iris flower
Look at this lovely – not selling iris’s because they’re too short lived, but wish I could remember where I found this unusual species.

Thanks to those of you who have already called to get on the list for delivery this year – and for your patience as we deal with weather surprises that have crops behaving weirdly. We’ll keep you all posted as soon as crops emerge with hopes this growing season moves into some kind of normality soon.

 

 

 

 

 

Spring produce is poking up at Halcyon Acres

Those hearty cold weather delights are popping their heads up despite the frigid temperatures and repeated snow storms. I was most delighted, and a bit shocked, to see the tender purple asparagus shoots peaking through. Since I don’t recall a single day in the last three weeks hitting 50, this was unexpected from this plant usually triggered by soil temperature.

Peas were a close second in bringing a broad smile to my face. As I walked around each bed this weekend to detect the slightest sign of growth (does anyone else do this more than once a day in early spring?), I found some welcome surprises.

Purple Asparagus baby shoots at Halcyon Acres
Purple asparagus getting stubborn about waiting for warmer. Me too!

Among those hearty seeds or bare root plantings that decided to become leaves braving the chill were strawberries, rhubarb, asparagus, turnips, garlic (of course), romaine lettuce and carrots. Still waiting on broccoli, spinach and a few others planted on that 65 degree day in February I thought was the mark of an early spring, but I’m quite pleased I won’t miss the season this year for some of my heat-recoiling favorite treats.

Fresh pea seed starts
Fresh peas, anyone? Won’t be losing that one to heat this year. I like to play with my food, so this is a favorite spring snack treat for me.

Elephant Garlic at Halcyon Acres
Elephant Garlic rounds out the mix this year as a new selection with six other types of hardneck and softneck varieties from prior years staying steady.

Artichoke seedlings
This is a new try this year – artichokes. No idea if these promoted perennials will produce even once, let alone in years to come, but figured I’d give it a shot now that I’m far enough south to consider such a thing.

Too anxious for spring vegetables

This isn’t a new thing. I tend to anticipate spring too early when I’ve had enough of cold temperatures and the weather teases sunny, warm days. About three weeks ago, I packed most of my winter clothes in the attic and set out to the garden to get cool loving crops planted outside. We hit a record high of 84 degrees and I figured if I didn’t act quick I’d lose the joy of harvesting cool-loving vegetables (again). Big mistake.

My first year in Roanoke (2016), I lost most of my favorite crops to bolt after planting from seed into the ground too late. Same thing happened in 2017. Fool me twice – OK, maybe it’s once but I’m a slow learner.

While it’s a seemingly slower pace in Roanoke, Virginia than my Rochester, New York most recent roots, it’s not when it comes to the “don’t blink” spring that happens in what I now recognize is “the south”.

I miss the New York weather that sustains lettuces, broccoli, peas and other staples long past early June and again into the fall. In fact, I’d plant leaf lettuce every three weeks all summer long for delicious continuous greens. I didn’t realize Roanoke can go from 40s to 80s overnight and once that heat hits, those crops that thrive in Finger Lakes climates are gone to bitter bolting because those cooler nights don’t come.

Roanoke outdoor vegetable plantings so far

This year, I was determined to ensure I didn’t miss that short window between freezing temperatures and stifling heat. Looks like the freezing temperatures are back for a few more weeks. Yesterday showed the first signs of peas emerging, so I’m thinking those spring crops will survive, but it will be a while before they thrive.

Outside seed starts so far include a wide range of carrots, romaine lettuce, several varieties of peas, broccoli, spinach, turnips and red cabbage. I’m also trying anew a strawberry crop this year (the deer have been devastating in the prior two years) with 25 plants put in last week plus five more purple asparagus root plantings.

I assembled, then tore down, an outdoor walk-in greenhouse once the 60 mph winds forecast hit. All my container seed starts are now living indoors for the next couple of weeks anyway, with grow lights in small greenhouses and the warmth of electric heat.

Indoor seed starts

Trying different types of lights on each shelf to see what works best for container seed starts.

I’m trying some new things with the seed starts. This includes artichokes (a total experiment likely to fail – the seeds were cheap enough to give it a go) and sunflowers (the deer have annihilated direct to ground starts in prior years) with hopes more mature transplants will survive in the field of tall yellow sunbursts I’ve always dreamed of. Of course, that would have been a lot more doable when I had 117 acres than this tiny lot, but won’t it be amazing if I can make it work here?

I’m giving my last go to some standards – curious and unusual heirloom tomato and pepper varieties, leeks and cauliflower.

What grew well in my little town of Potter, New York, doesn’t tend to thrive here. The soil is great (a lucky find in this town, I realize) and the sun exposure is decent enough even though I’m in a valley of mountains, but I’m still learning about the seasons and the critters that delight in taking my harvest before it’s done producing.

New and old this year for chemical-free produce offerings

This year, I’m focused on doing more of what’s worked in the past with hard-to-find crops that have thrived here.

This includes a lot of root harvests that survive the critters, the weather and the occasional neglect. Garlic is a big one with more than six pounds planted of half a dozen varieties. Carrots, turnips, beets and curious potatoes are back.

Asparagus will be a staple for many years to come. I’ve planted both purple and green but am focusing on the former for the future. It’s thriving here and last years’ harvest was delicious on a crop that usually takes three years to mature.

This is the last year I’ll try strawberries. I’ve moved the beds and plan on deterring the deer with Irish Spring soap (the best repellant I’ve found among many tried) and bird netting. If the deer win this year, I’m crying uncle on that crop.

Spaghetti squash has been a big hit and productive crop, so I’ll continue with this one. Summer squash and zucchini are out. I’ll try acorn squash for one last time this year. Fails in past years here have left me frustrated.

We’ll be continuing with our fresh herb crops – currently at about a dozen varieties. Sadly, my big rosemary producers died this winter, but I have more than a couple dozen seed starts to repopulate. Might need to keep them indoors for a year or more before they’re strong enough to go into the ground with whatever is killing them off (my guess is it’s the black walnut trees on the property).

Lots of new fun stuff I’m trying too – but will have to wait and see if these crops flourish here.

Stay tuned for updates on what’s working, what’s not and the chemical-free produce available to you in the Roanoke area coming soon from Halcyon Acres.

Custom orders available starting July 20th

This year we have a large selection of fresh herbs. This includes rosemary, thyme, parsley, sage, dill, basil, chives, cilantro, oregano (tons of tasty oregano this year so if you’ve never tasted it in salads, with eggs or to top off a dinner delight, consider adding this tasty addition to perk up a meal), peppermint and lots of lavender too.

Is garlic a taste you savor? We planted five different varieties of both softneck and hardneck garlic. Ever tried it fresh? It’s delightful! Put in your orders for next year if fresh is your preference as we just pulled up the last of it so it’s dried for the rest of 2017. Ever had garlic scapes? We offer them too but they’re only available for about three weeks in May-June and go very fast so pre-orders are a must on these (get in line for 2018).

If you love potatoes but are looking to reduce starch, surprise your guests with our Adirondack Blues that are purple all the way through or our reds that are so tender and sweet you won’t need to add condiments to enjoy the flavor and texture. These are dug up fresh for a taste you won’t recognize if all you’ve had before is store bought.

While we do have tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and other standard fare, this year we’re trying to offer what most others don’t. Items like fresh carrots, turnips, beets, red cabbage, bok choy, leeks, Brussels sprout and spaghetti squash that is so delicious you won’t miss pasta ever again.

We’ll be planting for fall soon so if there’s something special you seek, let us know and we’ll try to plant it for you. This is sure to include loose leaf and romaine lettuce, fresh peas (one of my favorites to eat like popcorn) and kohlrabi, but if there’s something you like and we can fit it in, we’ll give a shot and let you know if it grows.

We deliver to individuals and businesses in Roanoke City and South County. .

Isn’t summer wonderful in western Virginia?