When are apples like fine wine? Why, when they are the stars of a curated tasting event of course!
If you enjoy wine, beer, and cheese tastings, you'll love coming to one of this year's Apple Explorer Tasting Events - and no designated driver is required!
Apple fans (or “Apple Geeks” if you will) and explorers of all ages are welcome. Over 3 special days this fall, we'll explore with you some of the most rare and unique apple varieties from the 350 or so we grow here at the farm.
Seedy snotballs of goo with thick unchewable skin. Sounds gross, eh? Well, that, if you think about it, is how you might describe the texture of a Concord grape. Oh my, yuck. Sure, the flavor can be outstanding, but I'd rather it in juice or jelly form, thank you. For those of us who grew up eating Thompson or Flame grapes from the grocery store, those Concords are rather unappealing for fresh eating. But there are more selections of grapes around here than those...and they're out of this world!
Have you ever put fruit in a paper bag to let it get a bit more ripe? Or been told to place an apple or a banana with an avocado to make it ripen faster? These are not “old wives tales” but rather tried and true ripening tricks caused by ethylene gas.
Does the heat of summer give you the blues? Then try listening to some of the 
Chard is amazingly resilient. Long after the arugula has given up and long before the spinach can thrive in the cooler temperatures of Fall, chard keeps our greens needs covered. Plus, due to their weird ways, each plant gives us
Sansa is a delightfully fruity and sweet early apple. Not commercially ‘pretty’, perhaps, with its non-solid pinkishyellowish/lightly russet-y color scheme, but it certainly looks beautiful to us! And you know we at North Star do not care much about looks anyway – it’s flavor that counts! Every year when the Sansa start coming in, I am reminded of how lovely they are. And then, as I cut them up for eating, I remember that they also don’t turn brown. Sensational!
This is Kelly’s third year at NSO and she does a bit of everything. She packs shares for the Vegetable and Fruit CSA, she harvests, weeds, and plants vegetables, she thins fruit, she makes deliveries, and she goes to school! She is currently attending St. Joseph’s University where she is working towards an Environmental Science degree. (Fun Fact: Kelly and her two daughters are all attending college at the same time...at different schools, thankfully!) When she does have a free moment, she enjoys kayaking and finding fun places to hike with her new dog, Sadie.
Who determines what is 'ugly'? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, certainly, but the perceptions of the beholder can be strongly influenced by outside forces.
Garlic has the reputation of keeping vampires at bay. I wonder if that's because WE love it so much we can't bear the notion that vampires would. Or maybe it's all an excuse to drape ourselves in ropes of amazing garlic? Or maybe vampires are really sensitive to garlic breath?
Do you love bright colors and awesome flavors as much as we do? Well, then, how fitting that on the heels of this year's crop of