Crumb Trail

Goldwood Gardens

Last Saturday I visited the Whitley County Farmer's Market held in Columbia City, IN.  The market is open for business from 8 a.m. to 12 noon on Saturdays and is held at the Courthouse Square.

While visiting the different vendors, I met Canda Goldwood of Goldwood Gardens.  She introduced me to microgreens in the form of pea shoots and radish shoots.  She was offering taste samples of each and once my husband and I tasted them we were hooked.  Each one provided the intense flavor of peas and of radish.  What a delightful way to intensify nutrition.  Canda says that it would take three pounds of eating the actual vegetable to equal the nutritional value of 1 ounce of these sprouts.  They can be added to salads, soups, pastas, and sandwiches.  You will have to try these shoots!

Goldwood Gardens also offered green and purple beans, green tomatoes, potatoes, and squash.  In a week or two she will have the first of her heirloom tomatoes of which she grows over 60 different varieties.  Canda also has a farm stand that will open the last week of July or first week of August, once the tomatoes are ready for sale.  The stand is located at 4750 W 350 N, Columbia City.

But that is not all, she also operates a CSA and offers both a June through the second week of November option or a 10 week option that starts August 25 and runs into the late fall.  The full season CSA membership is $400 and the 10 week membership is $250.  Each membership provides weekly produce for a family of four and she often includes a recipe for the use of a particular vegetable.  If you are interested in the 10 week membership you can contact GoldwoodGardens at 260-244-6482.  Canda is such an enterprising woman, offering so much to her community, I surely will be writing about her again soon.

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For organic fruits and vegetables look for the produce stickers that start with the number 9. 

OK, OK, I do buy that occasional organic produce that is not locally grown.

Swissland Cheese Co.

Located in Berne, IN at 818 Welty Street, you will find the Swissland Cheese Company.  Their grass-fed organic cheese is certified organic.  In this category they offer:  White Cheddar, Feta, Baby Swiss, Mozzarella, White Colby, Veggie Jack, Horseradish, Pepper Jack, Garlic & Herb, and Tomato, Basil, & Pinenut.

Swissland also offers two raw milk cheeses, grass-fed organic Raw Milk Cheddar and grass-fed organic Raw Milk Pepper-Jack.  They have three goat's milk cheeses:  Feta, Cheddar Style, and Jalapeno Cheddar Style.  They also have three specialty cheeses.

Their products can be purchased at their booth at the Barr Street Market (where you can sample many of their cheeses) in Fort Wayne on Saturdays or at their address in Berne, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to
1 p.m.

Maple Acres

Did you know that maple syrup makers must collect forty five gallons of raw sap to make one gallon of maple syrup?  And did you know that Indiana has 31 counties with at least one Maple Syrup producer in them?  According to Indiana Ag News' web site, "Elkhart County has the most reported sugar camps (31) as well as the largest which produces almost 750 gallons of syrup annually."

I have also been interested lately in finding out what the different grades and colors noted on maple syrup labels mean and this is what I found out.  The color of the syrup indicates when during the maple sap harvesting season the sap ran.  The first runs of sap produce the Grade A Light Amber syrup.  This syrup is the one most often used to make maple cream, candy, and sugar and some people prefer this for their table syrup.  Further into the season, the sap produces a Grade A Medium Amber syrup.  This is the one most people prefer for their pancakes and toppings.  Nearer to the end of the 4-6 week season, the sap will produce the Grade A Dark Amber which has a stronger maple flavor and is used as a table syrup and in cooking.  The very end of the season produces the Grade B syrup which is the darkest and strongest in maple flavor.  Those who like that strong flavor use it as their table syrup but it is mostly used in food preparation.

Well, right here in Avilla, we have maple syrup producers, Bill & Kim Owen.  Their farm is called Maple Acres and they sell their bottled syrups at Salomon's Farm Market and the Barr Street Market.  They have over 800 trees producing sap for them and they were able to make 235 gallons of syrup this year.  They sell bottled syrups, maple cream, maple candies and a maple granola.  I bought the maple syrup and can't wait to try it on my pancakes.

Hardy's Farm Market

Ah, at last, Hardy's Farm Market is open!

They are located at 4525 Knoll Rd. in Fort Wayne (Knoll Rd runs between Smith Rd and Ardmore Ave.).

They are open Monday - Saturday from
9 a.m to 6 p.m.

Right now they are offering  wonderful sweet corn, summer squash, zucchini, cabbage, green beans, wax beans, cucumbers, onions, hot peppers, sweet peppers and red potatoes.  Later they will add to this tomatoes, melons, and beautiful gladiolus.

Their produce can also be purchased on Saturday mornings at the Barr Street Market.

more u-pick blueberries

Graber Farms certified organic blueberries are available for u-pick now.  U-Pick is available at the farm at 26409 Springfield Center Rd, Harlan, IN on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, from
6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.  The u-pick price is $3.25/pound or pre-picked for you at $6.50/quart.  They have black raspberries available too and the u-pick price is $5.25/pound or pre-pick for $7.25/quart.

Blueberry Acres

Come and get those blueberries!  Time to pick-your-own and no better place than Blueberry Acres.  You will find them at 5393 S 800 E in LaOtto, IN.  The u-pick season started yesterday July 16th and runs for two weeks only.  So we have just until July 30th to get our picking done.  They are currently taking orders for pre-pick blueberries and if that is what you prefer, give them a call at 260-693-2080.  They are open from
7am to 8:30pm Monday-Saturday, closed Sundays.  The price for U-Pick berries is $1.75 a pound.

Here is an easy to follow map and directions to this farm.

Fishburn's Farm Market

The Fishburn's Farm is located 3 miles south of Zanesville, at 9110 N 300 W.  Produce and flowers (in pots and baskets) can be purchased there, but you are more likely to find them at the South Side Farmer's Market on Warsaw Street in Fort Wayne or at Saxton's Farmer's Market on SR 14 just west of Fort Wayne.  They are at both of these markets every Saturday morning.

Right now they have cabbage, cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, spaghetti squash, beets, onions, rhubarb, lettuces, and greenhouse tomatoes.  Everything looks and tastes wonderful. Please stop at their booth at either market or enjoy the drive out to their farm.  You will not be disappointed.

Catalpa Farm

Catalpa Farm is a beautifully kept small farm located in Columbia City.   All the chickens raised on the farm are pastured heritage breeds. They provide broiler chickens and eggs for two farmer's markets.  The first and third Saturdays of the month they sell at the Saxton Nursery Farmer's Market from 8am to noon.  On the second and fourth Saturdays of the month they are at the Columbia City Farmer's Market again from 8am to 12pm.  They have also partnered with Country Garden & Farm Market's CSA for chickens and eggs.

Barr Street Farmer's Market

The Barr Street Farmer's Market will open this Saturday, July 12th.  The market is located on the corner of Wayne and Barr streets in Fort Wayne and will be open from 9am-1pm.  Among the vendors this year will be Country Garden and Farm, Hardy's Farm, Graber's Farm, Bakers Acres, Maple Acres, Canal Junction Farmstead Cheese, Hilgers, VanDolah, Susan Lobert, Celebrations, Espresso Gallery and North Anthony Health Food shoppe. 

Free parking is available in the History Center parking lot along Berry Street. 

This is a huge Saturday for "marketing".  I want to be at the Barr Street Market's opening, see the Cherry Man at the South Side Market, and get my first exposure to Saxton's Farmer's Market.  Let's hope those thunder-storms hold off!