We are still waiting for spring, which means we are still waiting for asparagus! We will have some to pick as soon as we get some warm days, which sadly do not seem to be in the forecast. Watch the homepage of our website for crop updates.
Below: Frost on our cold weather plants Thursday morning.
These onions are earning their “frequent traveler” miles as we move them out of snow and frost while waiting for the ground to get dry enough to plant them.
On Saturday, May 6, we will have donuts and music in the air! See information below on our “Doing it with Donuts for Blake” (on tuba) fundraiser. Proceeds go for a good cause to help a talented young musician.
UPDATE – Opening Day – Now Friday, May 5
We will be opening the market for the season, next Friday (not Thursday due to the cold weather delaying asparagus), from 9 am to 6 pm.
Our hours will remain the same, but we will only be open Thursdays through Sundays this year. Also, we will not be carrying bedding plants this year. We encourage you to go visit Schram’s Greenhouse (a long-time supplier of ours) in Portage (269-327-5347) for your plant needs. These and other changes to our operations for 2023 are listed on our website. Please take a moment to review them.
Doing it with Donuts for Blake – Saturday, May 6
On Saturday, May 6, we will be hosting a special fundraising event for Blake, one of our high school employees who has worked for us for several years. Blake was recently selected as a finalist to compete in an international tuba competition in Arizona later in May. But he needs help covering the travel costs for himself, his mother, and his tuba (which requires its own ticketed seat)!! We would like to help make it possible for them to attend.
Corey Lake Orchards will be donating the net proceeds from our donut sales on Saturday.
So, stop out for the first donuts of the year! They will be fresh and possibly still hot. You know you want one – it’s been a long time since October. While in the donut area, take a moment to meet Blake. You may have seen him “carrying the load” at the farm or market when he is not playing his instrument or working out at CrossFit! We thank you for supporting one of the top youth tuba players in the world! Someday we hope to see him playing in a major orchestra or a Broadway show!
Mother’s Day Gift Guide
We have a nice selection of Mother’s Day gift items that Moms everywhere will love!
Artistic Gifts: We have gifts made by local artisans. Below are a few photos of gifts available from several of the studios: High View Studio, Barb’s Bowls, Lake Designs, and Elaine’s Art Glass. We have more gifts and more studios!
Flowers: Check out our hanging flower baskets or potted flowers. Sue has been busy in our greenhouse making specialty pots of both herbs and flowers using unique containers. These would make a great gift for Mother’s Day, or just for yourself, because we all need flowers!
Edible and Drinkable Treats: Give Mom assorted gift items she can eat and drink! We have jams, jellies, salsa, honey, maple syrup, frozen pies and strombolis, assorted baked goods, fresh vegetables, apples, plus wines and hard ciders.
Gift Baskets: If you are looking for something unique, our staffer Maria will help you design a gift basket in various dollar amounts with Mom’s favorite items. It could include artwork, pottery, wine, a fruit pie, selected vegetables, jams, and more.
Gift Certificates: Not sure what to get? A Corey Lake Orchard gift certificate lets Mom or your recipient select a gift(s) of their choosing. Gift certificates can be made in any amount, $10 or more. We can also process these over the phone and mail it if needed.
What will be on the Market starting in May
Produce:
- Fresh asparagus and rhubarb (If we get enough warmer weather to begin picking), call before you come.
- A few apples and onions from our 2022 season.
- Fresh greens and spring vegetables from Bankson Lake Farms: lettuce mixes, Swiss chard, kale, arugula, radishes, mushrooms, collards.
Baked goods: frozen pies, frozen pizza and breakfast stromboli’s, cookies, and muffins. Donuts on Saturday and Sunday.
Grocery: Maple syrup products, honey, jams and jellies, salsas, mustards, cheeses, Jake’s meats
Alcohol: Various wines, hard ciders, and brandies
Flowers: Hanging baskets in a variety of colors and flowers and specialty pots.
Happenings on the Farm
Spring is one of the busiest times for us on the farm. This week we did more field and orchard prep work, more market prep work, and greenhouse work. We also brought out brooms and vacuums to clear the barns of winter debris, checked the play area equipment for safety, updated the monkey bars with new rope, and did the first grass mowing and yard cleanup!
We got the truck looking good for your photos with a fling of spring decorations!
Yesterday a small crew gathered in our distillery and bottled up a fresh batch of rhubarb hard cider that will be available when we open! It is seasonal – available only in the spring.
Jeff was busy fixing the monkey bars and checking all the playground equipment for the start of the year
Our pie makers have been busy making pies to have our freezer stocked when we open Below is a batch of cherry pies.
We quickly laid plastic in the field Thursday evening before our days of forecasted rain arrive starting Friday.
Life in the Greenhouse
Spring is a very busy time in the greenhouse as we start our plants for transplant later to the fields. We start some of our tomatoes even earlier so that we have tomatoes to eat while waiting for the field tomatoes to mature later in summer. When it is cold and snowy, the bright and warm greenhouse is a delightful place to work!
Alicia is clipping the tomato plants to the trellis as we continue to train them to grow tall.
Watch where you step! Those warm spring days made the greenhouse tomato plants grow so tall. But since we have planted all our field plants in our own greenhouse this year, the greenhouse is very full!
Thank you for your continued support and for buying local. Everyone at Corey Lake Orchards wishes you a Happy Spring!