What's in Store: May 18

Plants + Produce + Prettiness!

It's a beautiful time to visit the store, the apples are in full bloom and everything is so lush!

All the garden plants we will have available for you this year are out and ready. Heirloom tomatoes (Black Krim, Rutger, German Johnson), kale, swiss chard, cucumbers (green and white), basil and sage. Small transplant pots are $2 each. (There are more of our organic tomato varieties at Shellee's Greenhouse, Madelia.)

Stinging Nettles tincture is back in stock! This is great for spring allergies, a wonderful, natural alternative to drugs. Other tinctures in stock are listed below.

Cool It essential oil spray is back in stock! The last bottle flew off the shelf. I love this to cool off when working outside, or on a serious cleaning tangent...I've heard it's nice for hot flashes. ;) It's simply a essential oil spray, with cooling and invigorating peppermint, eucalyptus and lavendar.

Herbal Bug Spray will be back in stock this week! (I'm working on it!) A safe alternative for the whole family. Spritz on and reapply every hour, or as needed. This blend of yarrow and catnip is great for skeeters, hand-harvested and crafted on the farm, by yours truly. 

Fall Apple Share sign up is ongoing!! SIGN UP for some goodness and get the best deal all season. 

Watch for updates on our t-shirt order!!! We only do this every couple of years and guess what, we're doing HATS! :) New design. New local printer. USA made shirts. Pre-orders only!! 

Read on for more store goodness...

What's In Store?

Asparagus $4.00/lb *limited quantities
Rhubarb $3.00/lb
Applesauce $6/qt
Applesauce Shares are always in season! A case of 12 for $65
Apple Butter $5
Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam $5
Eggs - $4/dozen *limited quantities - the new chickens will be laying by August
Herbal Tinctures - $15 each Motherwort (pms/cramps, anxiety, menopause), Holy Basil (adaptogen, stress, system restorative), Willow Bark (pain relief), Stinging Nettles (seasonal allergies).

Garden Plants!
$2 each
Tomatoes - Black Krim, German Johnson, Rutgers
Kale
Swiss Chard
Cucumbers - green & white
Sage
Basil
Herb pots $5 (three plants)
If you'd like me to set aside some plants for you just let me know!

Store Hours

Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 7:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am - Noon
Sunday Closed

6 Ways to Prep for Preserving Now

Preserving season is already upon us!! What?! Wait?! you might be saying, but it is. I've harvested willow bark and stinging nettles, both for tinctures, thus far and it's time for me to harvest more stinging nettle for teas and infusions. Asparagus is already here, rhubarb is just around the corner, someone out there is likely picking radishes and it just rolls on and picks up from there!

Last week I pulled strawberries and rhubarb out of the freezer to make jam - delicious abundance. This week I'll roast the last butternut squash. You never regret taking the time to preserve.

So, how can you get ready for the coming season, or seasons, of preserving? Here are a few ways...

1. Clean out your freezer!

This is a big goal for me right now. (That I'm totally behind on...we need to eat more tomatoes!) I like to get my large chest freezer kinda tidied up and cleaned out for the beginning of the season. It's no good to stack new items on top of old items - things get lost. Sometimes that's good when you come across a surprise package of asparagus (or bacon), but when you find a bag of strawberries from 2014...

Don't have a freezer? Get one!! (We have three. Two mainly for meat.) Soooo handy. I like to can, so things are energy dependent and perishable, but there are many things that are simply easier to stick in the freezer - fruit, rhubarb, peppers, celery, greens, corn, bone broth, peas...

2. Tidy your pantry.

Whether you have a whole pantry room in your basement, a closet, or a cupboard in your kitchen, give it a look-see. Clean it up. Get familiar with what left to help you prioritize for the seasons ahead.

This helps me see what I'm not using. Haven't gone through a ton of green beans, so not a huge priority - tend to eat them mostly fresh.

2. What have you run out of?

Just to organize your brain for preserving season, and plan your shopping/gardening. Clearly you use these items the most and want to preserve more this season. Spend your time preserving what you really use - this is where it will save you money and bring more enjoyment!

For the first time in years I actually froze enough celery! Yay! I dried celery leaf as back up when I run out. We're out of jam, and salsa...more of those this year.

3. What's high priority? What do you spend the most money on?

Kinda what we talked about above. Know where you are going to source these important items (market, specific farmer, maybe this takes precedence in your garden). Again, this is what's going to save you money and bring more enjoyment.

We go through a lot of tomatoes, so this always is high on the list. Now, with a little one in tow, freezing and canning fruit (to round out our apple diet) is high on my list. What fruit we don't grow I buy in bulk from a local co-op, or other small farms.

5. Get your tools sorted.

Handy tools include a pressure canner and a water bath canner, along with canning funnels and tongs, etc., as well as a dehydrator (or two). Make sure to get your own lined up and ready, or perhaps go in on items with a friend, family member or neighbor - make it a social event!

If you don't have any of these items, perhaps pick one as a place to start. Dehydrators are great for many, many items; we primarily use them for herbs, apple rings and mushrooms, as well as extra onions in the winter sometimes. Water bath canning is for high acid items - applesauce, tomato stuff, jams, pickled items - and can be less time consuming than pressure canning. But, I think a pressure canner is essential - broth, meats, veggies.

The Living Earth Center in Mankato has all of these items to loan out as well!

6. Get your sources sorted.

As the season rolls on think about where you're going to purchase or trade for your high priority, and other, items. Thinking you are going to need a 5 gallon bucket of peas, instead of the quarts at the market tables? Talk to your farmers ahead of time about large quantities, or to find out who has your favorite tomatoes, etc. Are you growing these items? Buying them at market? Ordering through a co-op? When it comes to meat (I consider sticking a whole hog in the freezer part of my preserving plan.) you need to think ahead for bulk quantities (best bang for your buck).

Don't know where to find something? Ask your friendly local farmers! The Mankato Farmers Market has already opened and New Ulm's market begins at the end of June.

Okay, go get started!

During this rain day I'm going to put a pound or two of asparagus in the freezer and dry some nettles!

What are you excited to preserve this season?

Will this be your first year preserving? What questions do you have?

Fall Apple Share Sign Up!

Fall Apple Shares   Sign up open for 2020!

$54.00 :: 24 lbs/4 lb Bag x 6 weeks 

Beginning the first week of September with pick up at the farm, or Saturday Mankato Farmers Market.

Each week enjoy a 4 lb bag with 1-2 varieties of our organic apples. A mix of standard, lesser known and sometimes old heritage apples. We send out a short newsletter each week, as a reminder of your share. Enjoy some apple nerdery and a recipe or two, along with the latest news from the orchard.

Pick up at the farm store Thursdays, Fridays or Saturdays, or Saturdays at the Mankato Farmers Market, beginning the first week in September.

Sign Up Here!

Please contact us at info@alternativerootsfarm.com or via Facebook with any questions.

Covid-19 Note: Farmers' markets, and food access like our farm store, are considered essential services. We hope by September we wont be dealing with the same restrictions we are now, but if we are, or changes need to be made, we are committed to finding solutions to getting you your Apple Share!!