Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Sunflower Bouquets
We will occasionally have sunflower bouquets for purchase. We sold out of our first round very quickly, but will have more as our flowers reproduce and continue to grow this summer. We hope to have more flowers for variety in the future as we are currently building up our stock around the farm. Price will be dependent on size. Check the Currently Available post to see when the bouquets are available.
Saturday, June 30, 2018
CSA Sign-Up Ends Today
Today is the final day to sign up for the CSA Program. We have just two spots remaining! For $80 you will be guaranteed to get one load of veggies per month for four months (July, August, September and October). Each load will contain at least $20 worth of our fresh vegetables. The orders will vary in what they contain. You will get whatever is in season at that time, including bell peppers, tomatoes, green beens, squash, cucumbers and more!
Find out more specifics at the CSA page. Contact us to register for the program. Payment needs to be received by the end of the weekend. You can pay in cash, or through PayPal or Zelle. Shipping is not available for the CSA as the process of shipping does not keep these veggies up to our quality standards. You can pick up you order each month from the farm directly, at the Roadside Stand on Friday afternoons, or we can deliver it to local addresses for a fee. Contact us with any questions you might have!
Find out more specifics at the CSA page. Contact us to register for the program. Payment needs to be received by the end of the weekend. You can pay in cash, or through PayPal or Zelle. Shipping is not available for the CSA as the process of shipping does not keep these veggies up to our quality standards. You can pick up you order each month from the farm directly, at the Roadside Stand on Friday afternoons, or we can deliver it to local addresses for a fee. Contact us with any questions you might have!
Friday, June 29, 2018
Farm Update 6-29-18
We are now into the summer veggie season. Things are busy on the farm, but we wanted to stop a minute and update everyone on the farm's progress over the past few months.
The winter growing season didn't go quite as planned. The cold temperatures came in early and were brutal in December and January with some of the coldest temperatures we have ever seen in this area. We had the best crop of broccoli and cauliflower we have ever had about ready to be cut in mid-December when the temperature plunged into the teens for almost a month and killed all of our plants. Only the garlic survived and it has been really slow to grow compared to past years. The temperatures were also really hard on our Soldier Fly Worms and our numbers are minimal at this time.
On the positive side though, we sold every single bag of dried peppers that came from the final pepper harvest of the season! I cannot believe the response we got across the country. We sold 20+ bags through our Ebay store and have shipped everywhere from New York to California. We may even have a bigger following nationwide now than we do here locally in Pleasant View.
We also decided to list some of our homemade jellies and jams just to see what everyone thought about them and again the response has been overwhelming through our Ebay store. We are amazed that so many of you are willing to try our products and help support our growing farm! The feedback we have received on all of our sales has been very positive and very helpful in helping us maximize customer service and decide which products to focus on. We really want to thank our neighbor, Donna, who got us hooked on Violet Jelly. That is the jelly that got it all started and continues to be our top seller!
Spring was very wet and impacted our planting window. We planted a bit later this year as winter decided to hang on longer than usual. On April 15, which is typically the last frost date for Tennessee and when you can safely start planting, it was snowing. Frosts continued through April 20 before we got a break from the cold. But the rains kept us from cultivating the dirt. Even once we started planting, we only planted sections at a time as the rain kept forcing us to stop. We also planted some new fruit trees on the farm to go with our apple trees, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries that are already in place. Blueberry and raspberry production was up this Spring!
We invested a lot more into the farm this year, buying more seed starting supplies like germination domes, heating pads and grow lights to help with the difficult sprouting of hot peppers seeds. We also added fencing for our tomato rows which makes things a lot easier, but did set back our funds a bit. At least all those things can be used over and over in the future. We more than doubled our total number of hot peppers this year. We also got business cards and signs made for the Roadside Stand, as well as t-shirts for us to wear when we work. We have had several requests for shirts so we will likely get extras the next time we order and will offer them to our customers.
Pepper seed sprouting went well. The grow light made a huge difference and we had some good looking plants when the weather warmed. For the first time ever, we had issues with the plants getting sunburned with even the least amount of natural sunlight. This happened before we got the grow light and again after we had used the grow light. Growth was stunted for a while, but they survived and we set over 250 Devil's Tongue, Ghost, Scoprion and Carolina Reaper plants in the ground when the weather finally gave us a break the first week of June.
But nature wasn't done with us yet. Two days after we planted the peppers huge thunderstorms moved through our area, dumping three inches of rain in 30 minutes. The farm was flooded and most of our peppers were carried away. Some were picked up from the surrounding yard and replanted. Even the markers for our rows were gone so we are not even sure which peppers remain. We lost over 90% of our crop and all of our new Devil's Tongue peppers. It is disheartening, but we do still have 25+ Ghost Peppers and two rows of Carolina Reapers so all is not lost. Some of the other peppers are struggling after the event, but nearly all sweet peppers, Jalapenos, Cayennes and Habaneros survived.
Our corn and squash also took a beating during that first storm, which was followed up by two other storms that were nearly as bad, both dumping two inches of rain in an hour. The corn was flattened and the squash broken at the ground. The corn is still alive though so we hope to salvage that. Our tomatoes took a hit, but still look fair and have some huge green tomatoes that look like they could ripen any day. Our beans are doing great and are the biggest plants we have ever had! We picked three gallons of green beans two days ago and have several healthy rows of black beans growing pods hanging all over them.
We also started a CSA Program this year, which has been slow to get going, but we do have some people enrolled and we are excited to get them some vegetables starting in July. The Roadside Stand should also be open in the next few weeks. We will be open on Friday afternoons this year as that is when we had the most business last season. Be looking for info on that coming very soon. We will also be bringing jelly and jam, along with a few plants, to the stand this year. We also plan to host Veggie Sales near the farm every couple of weekends in July, August and September.
Thanks again to all who have supported our little farm! We are so grateful that you would consider us for veggies, canned goods and other services. We may have taken a beating with this weather, but we will keep going and have plenty of things to offer in the coming months and we hope you will give it a try! Thanks!!
The winter growing season didn't go quite as planned. The cold temperatures came in early and were brutal in December and January with some of the coldest temperatures we have ever seen in this area. We had the best crop of broccoli and cauliflower we have ever had about ready to be cut in mid-December when the temperature plunged into the teens for almost a month and killed all of our plants. Only the garlic survived and it has been really slow to grow compared to past years. The temperatures were also really hard on our Soldier Fly Worms and our numbers are minimal at this time.
Fall carrot harvest
Fried pickles we made using the last jar of our pickles from the 2017 year
On the positive side though, we sold every single bag of dried peppers that came from the final pepper harvest of the season! I cannot believe the response we got across the country. We sold 20+ bags through our Ebay store and have shipped everywhere from New York to California. We may even have a bigger following nationwide now than we do here locally in Pleasant View.
Dried Habanero peppers
Vacuum-sealing the dried peppers prior to shipping
We also decided to list some of our homemade jellies and jams just to see what everyone thought about them and again the response has been overwhelming through our Ebay store. We are amazed that so many of you are willing to try our products and help support our growing farm! The feedback we have received on all of our sales has been very positive and very helpful in helping us maximize customer service and decide which products to focus on. We really want to thank our neighbor, Donna, who got us hooked on Violet Jelly. That is the jelly that got it all started and continues to be our top seller!
Violet flowers soaking in a measuring bowl create the violet-infused water needed for Violet Jelly
Flower jellies
Fruit jams and flower jellies we now sell as a combo pack
Spring was very wet and impacted our planting window. We planted a bit later this year as winter decided to hang on longer than usual. On April 15, which is typically the last frost date for Tennessee and when you can safely start planting, it was snowing. Frosts continued through April 20 before we got a break from the cold. But the rains kept us from cultivating the dirt. Even once we started planting, we only planted sections at a time as the rain kept forcing us to stop. We also planted some new fruit trees on the farm to go with our apple trees, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries that are already in place. Blueberry and raspberry production was up this Spring!
We invested a lot more into the farm this year, buying more seed starting supplies like germination domes, heating pads and grow lights to help with the difficult sprouting of hot peppers seeds. We also added fencing for our tomato rows which makes things a lot easier, but did set back our funds a bit. At least all those things can be used over and over in the future. We more than doubled our total number of hot peppers this year. We also got business cards and signs made for the Roadside Stand, as well as t-shirts for us to wear when we work. We have had several requests for shirts so we will likely get extras the next time we order and will offer them to our customers.
Sweetwater Farms business cards
Sweetwater Farms T-shirt
Pepper seed sprouting went well. The grow light made a huge difference and we had some good looking plants when the weather warmed. For the first time ever, we had issues with the plants getting sunburned with even the least amount of natural sunlight. This happened before we got the grow light and again after we had used the grow light. Growth was stunted for a while, but they survived and we set over 250 Devil's Tongue, Ghost, Scoprion and Carolina Reaper plants in the ground when the weather finally gave us a break the first week of June.
But nature wasn't done with us yet. Two days after we planted the peppers huge thunderstorms moved through our area, dumping three inches of rain in 30 minutes. The farm was flooded and most of our peppers were carried away. Some were picked up from the surrounding yard and replanted. Even the markers for our rows were gone so we are not even sure which peppers remain. We lost over 90% of our crop and all of our new Devil's Tongue peppers. It is disheartening, but we do still have 25+ Ghost Peppers and two rows of Carolina Reapers so all is not lost. Some of the other peppers are struggling after the event, but nearly all sweet peppers, Jalapenos, Cayennes and Habaneros survived.
Our corn and squash also took a beating during that first storm, which was followed up by two other storms that were nearly as bad, both dumping two inches of rain in an hour. The corn was flattened and the squash broken at the ground. The corn is still alive though so we hope to salvage that. Our tomatoes took a hit, but still look fair and have some huge green tomatoes that look like they could ripen any day. Our beans are doing great and are the biggest plants we have ever had! We picked three gallons of green beans two days ago and have several healthy rows of black beans growing pods hanging all over them.
We also started a CSA Program this year, which has been slow to get going, but we do have some people enrolled and we are excited to get them some vegetables starting in July. The Roadside Stand should also be open in the next few weeks. We will be open on Friday afternoons this year as that is when we had the most business last season. Be looking for info on that coming very soon. We will also be bringing jelly and jam, along with a few plants, to the stand this year. We also plan to host Veggie Sales near the farm every couple of weekends in July, August and September.
Thanks again to all who have supported our little farm! We are so grateful that you would consider us for veggies, canned goods and other services. We may have taken a beating with this weather, but we will keep going and have plenty of things to offer in the coming months and we hope you will give it a try! Thanks!!
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Peach Jam
Peach Jam is now available! Check out the specifics on the Dried/Canned page. It is possibly the best jam we have ever made! It is so sweet from the best quality Georgia peaches we could get our hands on. A 4-oz. jar is just $5 and the larger 8-oz. jar is $8.
Look for a new Strawberry variety and other new flavors to come along soon!
Sweetwater Farms Peach Jam
Look for a new Strawberry variety and other new flavors to come along soon!
Thursday, May 24, 2018
New Jams & Combo Packs
We have two new jams available for purchase! Check out Low-Sugar Strawberry Jam and Orange Jam, available separately in 4-oz. jars, in a two-pack combo and in a new Four Jar Combo Pack, which also features Violet and Dandelion Jellies. Read more about each of the new jams and combo packs below, and be sure to check the Dried/Canned page for the latest listing of what's available.
Low-Sugar Strawberry Jam - 4 oz. - $4
A low-sugar variety of the classic strawberry jam. This is for those wanted to cut back on their sugar intake while not sacrificing much on taste. Our jam contains less than 1/4 the sugar of most strawberry jam recipes and is still surprisingly sweet, while also bringing out the strawberry's natural taste that we all love. We picked these strawberries ourselves to ensure the best quality berries for our jam. The strawberries were grown locally at McCraw's Strawberry Ranch in Clarksville, TN. They were prepared and canned by us on our farm. Available separately, in a combo two-pack with Orange Jam, and in the Four Jar Combo Pack.
Ingredients: Strawberries, Water, Low-Sugar Pectin, Sugar.
Canned: May 2018
Orange Jam - 4 oz. Jar - $4
A sweet citrus jam made from real oranges! This jam has a beautiful orange color and a sweet, citrus taste. We prepared and canned it ourselves here on the farm from the best oranges we could get our hands on. Our recipe uses raw, organic cane sugar and low-sugar pectin to make it sweet without too much added sugar. Available separately, in a combo two-pack with Low-Sugar Strawberry Jam, and in the Four Jar Combo Pack.
Ingredients: Oranges, Organic Cane Sugar, Low-Sugar Pectin, Lemon Juice.
Canned: May 2018
Strawberry/Orange Jam Two-Pack Combo - 2 4-oz. Jars - $7
A two-pack featuring one 4-oz. jar of our Low-Sugar Strawberry Jam and one 4-oz. jar of Orange Jam. Save $1 by buying these two delicious jams together!
Four Jar Combo Pack - 4 4-oz. Jars - $14
A combo pack featuring our four most popular jellies and jams. You will get one 4-oz. jar each of Violet Jelly, Dandelion Jelly, Low-Sugar Strawberry Jam and Orange Jam. Save some $$$ and order them all together!
Low-Sugar Strawberry Jam - 4 oz. - $4
A low-sugar variety of the classic strawberry jam. This is for those wanted to cut back on their sugar intake while not sacrificing much on taste. Our jam contains less than 1/4 the sugar of most strawberry jam recipes and is still surprisingly sweet, while also bringing out the strawberry's natural taste that we all love. We picked these strawberries ourselves to ensure the best quality berries for our jam. The strawberries were grown locally at McCraw's Strawberry Ranch in Clarksville, TN. They were prepared and canned by us on our farm. Available separately, in a combo two-pack with Orange Jam, and in the Four Jar Combo Pack.
Ingredients: Strawberries, Water, Low-Sugar Pectin, Sugar.
Canned: May 2018
Orange Jam - 4 oz. Jar - $4
A sweet citrus jam made from real oranges! This jam has a beautiful orange color and a sweet, citrus taste. We prepared and canned it ourselves here on the farm from the best oranges we could get our hands on. Our recipe uses raw, organic cane sugar and low-sugar pectin to make it sweet without too much added sugar. Available separately, in a combo two-pack with Low-Sugar Strawberry Jam, and in the Four Jar Combo Pack.
Ingredients: Oranges, Organic Cane Sugar, Low-Sugar Pectin, Lemon Juice.
Canned: May 2018
Strawberry/Orange Jam Two-Pack Combo - 2 4-oz. Jars - $7
A two-pack featuring one 4-oz. jar of our Low-Sugar Strawberry Jam and one 4-oz. jar of Orange Jam. Save $1 by buying these two delicious jams together!
Four Jar Combo Pack - 4 4-oz. Jars - $14
A combo pack featuring our four most popular jellies and jams. You will get one 4-oz. jar each of Violet Jelly, Dandelion Jelly, Low-Sugar Strawberry Jam and Orange Jam. Save some $$$ and order them all together!
Monday, April 23, 2018
Jellies
Sweetwater Farms is now offering our homemade jellies and jams for purchase! They have been a hit within our family and circle of friends for some time, but now we are making them available to everyone else. We will have a variety of flavors, each becoming available as their ingredients come into season.
Currently, we have Violet, White Violet, Yellow Violet and Dandelion Jelly available. Find out more about each below or by going to our new Dried/Canned page. Order by contacting us through this website or Facebook. We can ship to anywhere in the United States! All jellies are also available in our Ebay store, but prices are always better here on our website. The Violet Jelly has been selling quickly! Combo packs will be available soon.
Violet Jelly - 4 oz. Jar - $4
8 oz. Jar - $6
Beautiful and tasty purple jelly made from classic violet flowers. Violet petal-infused water gives the jelly it's color and a slight sweet taste. The violets were grown organically on our farm with no chemicals used on them at any time. Violets pack many health benefits including reducing cold symptoms such as coughing, sore throat and fever. Violets are also known to reduce inflammation, decrease acne, clear urinary tract infections, reduce headaches and help ulcers heal.
Ingredients: Sugar, Violet Petal-Infused Water, Fruit Pectin, Lemon Juice.
White Violet Jelly - 4 oz. Jar - $4
8 oz. Jar - $6
Yellow Violet Jelly - 4 oz. Jar - $4
8 oz. Jar - $6
8 oz. Jar - $8
Think dandelions are just weeds? Think again! Dandelions are quite tasty and packed with nutrition. Dandelions contain high amounts of potassium and have been used to treat arthritis, eczema and digestive disorders. The flowers have a slight sweetness to them and provide the jelly with a beautiful golden color. The jelly is made from dandelions grown organically on our farm with no chemicals used on them at any time. While most people spray and kill their dandelions, we harvest ours! Try some today and we think you will be pleasantly surprised how good dandelions can be.
Ingredients: Sugar, Dandelion Flower-Infused Water, Fruit Pectin, Lemon Juice.
Currently, we have Violet, White Violet, Yellow Violet and Dandelion Jelly available. Find out more about each below or by going to our new Dried/Canned page. Order by contacting us through this website or Facebook. We can ship to anywhere in the United States! All jellies are also available in our Ebay store, but prices are always better here on our website. The Violet Jelly has been selling quickly! Combo packs will be available soon.
Soaking violet flowers to make our Violet Jelly
Stack of jelly jars
Enjoying the finished product
Violet Jelly - 4 oz. Jar - $4
8 oz. Jar - $6
Beautiful and tasty purple jelly made from classic violet flowers. Violet petal-infused water gives the jelly it's color and a slight sweet taste. The violets were grown organically on our farm with no chemicals used on them at any time. Violets pack many health benefits including reducing cold symptoms such as coughing, sore throat and fever. Violets are also known to reduce inflammation, decrease acne, clear urinary tract infections, reduce headaches and help ulcers heal.
Ingredients: Sugar, Violet Petal-Infused Water, Fruit Pectin, Lemon Juice.
Sweetwater Farms Violet Jelly
White Violet Jelly - 4 oz. Jar - $4
8 oz. Jar - $6
A twist on the classic purple violet, these white violets give the jelly a totally different look. The white violet-infused water has a yellowish tint to it that becomes pink when it reacts with the acid in the lemon juice upon mixing. Made the same way as the purple violet jelly, the white variety brings a sweet taste to the table. Like the purples, the white violets were grown organically on our farm with no chemicals used on them at any time. They are much less common, so there will be less white jelly to go around. White violets pack the same nutritional benefits as purple violets.
Ingredients: Sugar, White Violet Petal-Infused Water, Fruit Pectin, Lemon Juice.
Sweetwater Farms White Violet Jelly
Yellow Violet Jelly - 4 oz. Jar - $4
8 oz. Jar - $6
Yet another twist on the classic purple violet, these yellow violets provide a clear to light pink color, lighter than that of the White Violet Jelly. The yellow violet-infused water starts with green-yellow tint that becomes more clear to slightly pink when it reacts with the acid in the lemon juice upon mixing. Made the same way as the purple and white violet jellies, the yellow variety brings a sweet taste and smooth consistency to the table. Like the other violet varieties, the yellow violets were grown organically on our farm with no chemicals used on them at any time. Yellow violets pack the same nutritional benefits as purple violets.
Ingredients: Sugar, Yellow Violet Petal-Infused Water, Fruit Pectin, Lemon Juice.
Dandelion Jelly - 4 oz. Jar - $5
Sweetwater Farms Yellow Violet Jelly
8 oz. Jar - $8
Think dandelions are just weeds? Think again! Dandelions are quite tasty and packed with nutrition. Dandelions contain high amounts of potassium and have been used to treat arthritis, eczema and digestive disorders. The flowers have a slight sweetness to them and provide the jelly with a beautiful golden color. The jelly is made from dandelions grown organically on our farm with no chemicals used on them at any time. While most people spray and kill their dandelions, we harvest ours! Try some today and we think you will be pleasantly surprised how good dandelions can be.
Ingredients: Sugar, Dandelion Flower-Infused Water, Fruit Pectin, Lemon Juice.
Sweetwater Farms Dandelion Jelly
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Introducing our CSA Program
For summer and fall of 2018, Sweetwater Farms will be trialing a CSA Program. CSA stands for "Community Supported Agriculture." CSA programs link farms and communities by allowing customers to prepay for produce that will then be available to them in monthly installments throughout the season. The prepayment provides the farm with the funds needed to start and maintain the crops until they begin to produce and sell.
Our CSA Program will offer a limited number of spots for this year as we trial out the program. Customers will receive produce in monthly installments during July, August, September and October. Each installment will contain at least $20 of produce. The produce in each monthly batch will vary based on what is ready for picking that month. Your batch could include everything from carrots, lettuce, and squash, to bell peppers, tomatoes and eggplant.
Feel free to split your allotment with another family or friend. Splitting orders should be done after payment and pickup as we are unable to accept payment from both parties and split the order for pickup.
Customers will be notified when each month's produce box is ready for pickup. Pickup can be made at the farm or from the roadside stand. We can deliver to local addresses for a fee if needed.
The cost to join the CSA Program will be $80. Payment can be made in cash, or through PayPal or Zelle. Payment is due by June 15, 2018 to be part of the program. We will offer discounted enrollment at $75 if signed up by May 25.
Hot pepper lovers can purchase the Hot Pepper Add-On, which will add our hottest peppers to your monthly box. Hot peppers will include a mix of Habanero, Cayenne, Devil's Tongue, Scotch Bonnet, Trinidad Scorpion, Ghost or Carolina Reaper. The Add-On can be purchased individually for each month for $5, or $15 for all four months.
Visit out CSA page for more info!
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