Raspberries are PEAKing! + Farm Store 7/7

 

July at Alternative Roots Farm

When I think of July on the farm I think raspberries. The beauty, flavor and abundance usually defines the month!! A solid 3-4 weeks of berries - shorter in drier years - with the middle portion of that time defining peak season. During peak it's the best time to buy more for freezing berries, or making jams (or freezing berries for making jams later). 

We freeze all the seconds for use all year. For us they mostly go into muffins, oatmeal and top bowls of yogurt. Then July raspberries move into blackberries! And apples!! The farm store cooler only begins to fill. Garden produce will begin to show up as well. 

What's in the Farm Store?

Let's take a peak at even more reasons to visit the farm! Aside from connecting with the land your food comes from... :)

Canned Goods:

-Applesauce
-Apple Butter
-Jam/Jelly - will return to stock soon!

Eggs - $7 per dozen - Organic fed free range hens.

Fresh Produce:
-Organic Raspberries $4/half pint
-Coming Soon: Organic Blackberries, Early Season Apples, Garden Produce
*All of our produce is Certified Organic!

Herbal Wellness & More:

Indispensable for summer adventuring --> Cottonwood Salve (all the cuts, scrapes, rashes & burns), Bug Bite Salve (soothe & heal), Herbal Bug Spray (kiddo safe, vanilla & citronella round out a spray for mosquitos & gnats), Calendula Lotion Bars (rehydrate skin parched or after pool skin).

-Tick Away Spray - A blend of essential oils that help to repel and deter ticks; spray on pant legs, shoes, on your dog between the shoulder blades.
-Herbal Bug Spray - catnip and yarrow tinctures, blended with vanilla and citronella EO
-Elderberry Syrup Kits - DIY kits with ginger and cinnamon
-Digestive Bitters NEW - herbal tincture blend that stimulates digestion, helps sluggish digestion, balance blood sugar and so much more.
-Herbal Sore Throat Spray - use for sore and dry throats, as well as when you get that little tickle in the back of your throat
-Herbal Tinctures - Willow Bark, Stinging Nettles, Holy Basil, Astragalus, Ashwaganda, Elderberry
-Calendula Lotion Bar - solid lotion bar, lightly scented with lavender EO
-Knitbone Salve - sprains, strains, broken bones, pain and soreness, tendonitis/artritis, external use only
-Bruise Salve - prevent or treat bruises, good for small wounds also
-Cottonwood Wound Relief Salve - all your cuts, burns, hangnails, general wounds, big and small, a natural neosporin + pain relief
-Bug Bite Salve - rub as needed on bug bites for relief and healing; plantain is a drawing herb that helps pull out what shouldn't be there - also great for splinters.

Farm Store Open Tuesday - Friday 9-7 & Saturday 9-2

I basically bring this with me everywhere. :D

Apple Shares Sign Up is OPEN!

Sign up now open for everyone!!

2026 will be our 15th season on the farm and 13th year of Apple Shares CSA! Email us to join the wait list. :) Email Brooke and John at info@alternativerootsfarm.com

Fall Apple Share Offerings for 2026

Each week enjoy a 4 lb bag of fresh & local apples.

Each bag sports 1-2 varieties of our organic apples. A mix of standard, lesser known and old heritage types. We'll send out a short weekly newsletter, with apple facts, orchard notes and a recipe. Begins the first week of September.

Three weekly pick up locations:

A.R.F. farm store (Th., Fri., or Sat.) - 6 or 8 weeks

New Ulm Pick Up, Turner Halle Lot (Th. at 5:00pm) - 6 or 8 weeks

Saturdays at the Mankato Farmers Market (8am-12pm) - 6 weeks

$60 :: 6 week Fall Apple Share

$78 :: 8 week Fall Apple Share *best price

*We are maintaining 2025 pricing for this season.

*4 lbs not enough? The option to sign up for 2 shares is available.

READ MORE --> Fall Apple Shares

Why Apple Shares?

Why Apples?! 

Oh so many reasons for apples...let me count the ways...

Fiber! Soluble and insoluble fiber. Helps move things along and feel fuller longer.

Antioxidants! Including polyphenols, which have a host of benefits. Including quercitin, beneficial for inflammation and oxidative stress.

Nutrient-dense! More bang for your buck.

Contains pectin - a pre-biotic. Benefits for gut health.

And more benefits! We didn't even mention delicious, juicy, crunchy, Minnesota's #1 fruit.

Why Apple Shares?!

A 4 lb bag of apples in your Fall Apple Share each week offers a compound of these benefits, plus on-the-go snacks for making health easier! I don't go anywhere during apple season without a whole apple to munch (or two), or an apple sliced up with some sharp white cheddar cheese to go along with it. This is great when it comes time to pack school lunches!!

Our Shares offer a larger selection of varieties than you will find at the grocery store, as we pick 40+ Certified Organic varieties. 

Each week in our Apple Shares newsletter you'll find a recipe, or two, to help you enjoy your fruits! We love making apple fritters in the mornings, and apple crisps for any time of day!

Extra apples (if you end up with extras) are great for helping to fill the freezer, or the pantry! Applesauce and apple butter is always on the shelf here (of course we can do that work for you as well!). Some folks opt for 2 Fall Apple Shares just for these very reasons!

"I want to support local farmers who are doing things right, so that they can make a living and help to create a stronger more resilient community. I also love minimal food miles, clean food, and minimal hands touching my food." --Angela

I can't put it better than Angela did! There are many reasons that go beyond the delicious taste and health benefits!

Holler any time with questions about our Organic apples, Apple Shares and other farm fresh programs!

Locally Yours, 

Brooke

2026 Fall Apple Shares!

 

Sign up now open for returning members!!

2026 will be our 15th season on the farm and 13th year of Apple Shares CSA! Email us to join the wait list. :) Email Brooke and John at info@alternativerootsfarm.com

Sign us goes out first to returning member and wait list folks!

Fall Apple Share Offerings for 2026

Each week enjoy a 4 lb bag of fresh & local apples.

Each bag sports 1-2 varieties of our organic apples. A mix of standard, lesser known and old heritage types. We'll send out a short weekly newsletter, with apple facts, orchard notes and a recipe. Begins the first week of September.

Three weekly pick up locations:

A.R.F. farm store (Th., Fri., or Sat.) - 6 or 8 weeks

New Ulm Pick Up, Turner Halle Lot (Th. at 5:00pm) - 6 or 8 weeks

Saturdays at the Mankato Farmers Market (8am-12pm) - 6 weeks

$60 :: 6 week Fall Apple Share

$78 :: 8 week Fall Apple Share *best price

*We are maintaining 2025 pricing for this season.

*4 lbs not enough? The option to sign up for 2 shares is available.

READ MORE --> Fall Apple Shares

Hours This Week + Egg Sale!

 

Egg Sale!

Everything is so darn expensive right now. I feel it, and I know others do to, as it's crept into regular conversation.

SO let's have an egg sale! Cause it's fun to find a good deal. :)

Eggs are $5 a dozen (regularly $7) THIS WEEK ONLY! JUNE 1st - 3rd

Chickens are free-range, fed Organic feed.

You can see them when you pop out to the farm store, in their new run John built last year. We are currently renovating this area from old winter pig pasture and working on establishing new permanent pastures for the flock.

Hours This Week!

Open June 1 - 3 from 9:00am to 7:00 pm. These are also the final days for bedding plants at the farm!

CLOSED June 4-8 for a little early summer reset!

Regular farm store hours resume Tuesday, June 9th, with rhubarb and asparagus still coming in!!

Last Chance For Plants!!!

Everything can now go in the garden!! COOL crops can still go in, with success. WARM plants are ready to get in the ground! We are finishing our garden this week!

JUNE 3rd is the LAST DAY for plants at the FARM STORE!!

*Farm store closed June 4-8 as we reset for the next season.

Plants ARE available at The Greenhouse at Total Landscape (Madelia), and Bluestem Garden Works (Comfrey). *while supplies last!

Here's the FULL list of what we're be growing this season! **Scroll down for full plant details!

(Plants availability may vary by location.)

Early Jalapeno

Celery, Ventura
Cabbage, Copenhagen
Kohlrabi, Terek
Cauliflower, Snow Crown
Broccoli, DeCicco *only at greenhouses
Jalapeno, Early

Tomatoes:

Amish Paste
San Marzano (Paste)
German Johnson (Slicer, BLT fav)
Sun Gold (yellow cherry, prolific)
Hungarian Heart *NEW from Ribilzi Seed Co, New Ulm
Weavers Black Brandywine (slicer, BLT fav)
Brandywine (slicer)

Amish Paste

Cucumbers:

M-76 Cucumber (green slicer)
Common Wealth Pickling
Silver Slicer Cucumber (white slicer, personal fav)

Squash:

Zucchini, Cocozelle
Butternut, Block Party *Farm & Total Landscape
Acorn, Thelma Sanders *Farm only
Delicata Bush *Farm only

Full plant details have been posted on Facebook!

Rhubarb Crisp with Vanilla Custard!

Okay, John made this the other day and we are both obsessed!! Our new favorite crisp recipe!

I will be enjoying this with fresh rhubarb AND chopping and freezing rhubarb in 6 cup quantities for making this recipe all winter!!

Rhubarb Crisp

• 6 cups diced rhubarb , fresh or frozen (if frozen let thaw and drain first)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon quality pure vanilla extract
• For the Topping:
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup almond meal (highly recommended but if you don't have any simply omit it)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter , cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat to 350 F.   

Stir the rhubarb, sugar, flour and vanilla extract together in a bowl to evenly coat and then spread the mixture out in a buttered 13×9 inch baking dish. 
In a large bowl add the flour, oats, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and salt and work it until combined and crumbly (use your hands, a fork or a pastry cutter).  Sprinkle evenly over the rhubarb.

Bake on middle rack for about 40 minutes or until the topping is browned and the rhubarb is bubbling.  Let cool about 10 minutes before serving to allow the rhubarb filling to soak up excess juices. 

Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or homemade vanilla sauce.

From Daring Gourment

German Vanilla Sauce (Vanillesoße)

• 1 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 vanilla bean, scraped OR 1 tablespoon quality pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 3 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt.

In a medium saucepan bring the milk, heavy cream, and vanilla to a boil, stirring constantly to prevent it from scorching. Whisk 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture. Pour this egg mixture into the saucepan, constantly whisking it into the hot milk to prevent clumping. Heat the mixture over medium heat until thickened. Do not let it boil.

Strain the vanilla sauce through a fine mesh sieve.

Serve immediately or let it cool and store covered in the fridge. Will keep for up to 3 days. Can be served cold or reheated to serve warm.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups of Vanillesoße.

Good warm or cold! Not overly sweet, made to compliment already sweet desserts.

From Daring Gourmet