Farm Stand News: Pumpkins, Apples, Flowers and Two New Stands

This week in OMP farm stand news, there are tons of apples, pumpkins and other fall produce on the stands. We also have a couple of new farm stands to check out, and a very special online store that sells donkey milk soap! Read on for the round-up…

Local Yokels. There’s been a flurry of activity at Local Yokels’ new location on the corner of Center Road and Gray Road (the old Kramer farm for longtime OMPers). They still have their farm stand farther north at 13130 Center Road, but the new location has more space for all their amazing and colorful produce.

I was so excited to learn they were planting strawberries in the field out front (Kramer’s were known for their strawberry fields), and I believe they’re also planting raspberries on the north end (Kramer’s also had raspberries). Here are the strawberries facing east towards the farm stand…

I’m guessing the berries will be ripe for picking next spring, but for now, you’ll find all sorts of veggies, plants and, of course, pumpkins and squash for sale at both stands. Here’s Jen Bramer, who owns Local Yokels with her husband, Ben. Bramer … Kramer … it was meant to be… check out Local Yokels website here.

Here are a few more pics of the lovely offerings available at Local Yokels…

Cory Holman’s Pumpkin Patch is Open. “Orange you ready for pumpkins yet?” I didn’t come up with that fun phrase – it’s the message on the Holman’s Facebook page (follow it here to keep up to date on patch happenings). I stopped by yesterday to get the scoop, and they said they’ll be open as of today (Sunday, Sept. 25). At the top of this story is their sweet pup Koni, and below is a picture of Elise, Cory and Koni in the patch next to their Centennial Farm sign (owned by the same family for 100+ years).

Below that is a picture of this year’s “Lottery Pumpkin,” which Elise always puts an exorbitant price on ($40,000 this year? Maybe). She says someone always steals it within a week or two. If it looks like the pumpkin has a “baby bump” going on, well … it just miiiight be mirroring real-life, but you can ask Elise about that! 🙂 The pumpkin patch is located at 12926 Center Road.

Nick Johnson’s Farm Stand. Located on Center Road near the intersection of Smokey Hollow Road, my nephew Nick Johnson (my brother Ward’s son) is selling fresh Honeycrisp apples. The farm and farm stand combines the names of both Ward and our dad, Walter, to form “Walter and Ward Johnson Co., LLC.”

Ward’s wife, Carol, has also embarked on a new business, Fern’s Marketplace, selling coasters made from cherry wood direct from the farm. You’ll find those at the farm stand, too. Below is a photo of one of the coasters with an apple blossom on it, but she’s got some other really cool images in the works, too. Coasters are $5/each, and she will also make custom coasters with your images for $10/each.

Have a favorite pet, truck, person you’d like to craft into a coaster (great gift ideas!)? Carol’s your girl (Fern is her middle name). The images have to be fairly simple, but she will work with you on that. A website is coming soon, but for now, email her at [email protected].

Old Mission Fruit Co. Farther up Center Road on the rock wall across from Old Mission Tavern, Bern Kroupa has a variety of apples available for sale. Right now, there’s Gala, Macintosh and Ginger Gold. You know it’s Spring when their tulips blossom, and Fall when you see those apples. You can even buy just a couple apples if you’re driving by and have a hankering for an apple.

Two New Farm Stands. We have a couple of new farm stands on the Peninsula. The first is Heron Creek Farms, run by Austin Walther, who’s renting land from Marc Santucci on Center Road just north of Carroll Road (11743 Center Road). Austin has worked in the food and agriculture business for a decade. He’s a certified master gardener, as well as a certified wild mushroom expert, which gives him the ability to grow, sell, broker and forage wild mushrooms.

In addition to the farm stand, where he sells a variety of veggies and flowers, he also offers a pay-as-you-go subscription service – $30/week for veggies, $15/week for flowers, and $40 for both. There’s still a ton of beautiful flowers available – you can see them right next to Center Road. Learn more at his website, heroncreekfarms.com, call him at (269) 816-0395, or email [email protected].

The other new farm stand is Seventh Hill Farm, located at 16975 Peninsula Drive, on the left just before you get to Eimen Road if you’re heading north. Run by Tom and Linda Schuerman and their family, they offer a variety of assorted produce throughout the year. Here’s a picture I took this summer, and below that is one I took yesterday showing the fall veggies they currently have available.

Little Long Ears Provisions. While not exactly a farm stand, Cassandra Lynn and Jeff Kane own the old Herkner Farm (on Center Road before you get to Station #2) and offer a variety of products based around their sweet donkeys you can sometimes see from the road. Tim and I stopped by there last year, and I’ve been meaning to write about them since then! (No time like the present, Jane.)

Their products include home-made donkey milk soap, bath tea, organic apple cider vinegar and more. Check out their online store here. I spotted a new sign out front recently, Harper’s Ridge, named after their adorable daughter. A few photos…

The Flower Stands. Annika Lorenz, who owns The Farm at Cherry Hill with her husband Nathan, reports that with the cooler temps, their farm stand hours will be a bit sporadic. “We’re working with the weather right now, so when we get flowers to cut, I’ll open,” she says. “But it’s a bit of a waiting game with the cool temps.” You’ll find their stand at 13200 Center Road.

Meanwhile, farther up Center Road on the corner of Ladd Road, Ginny Coulter of Old Mission Flowers says they are mostly finished up for the season. (Although I did go by there yesterday, and there’s still a few blooms for picking out there!).

And you’ll continue to find assorted fruits and veggies at other farm stands around the Old Mission Peninsula for the next month or so. Over at Buchan’s Blueberry Hill‘s Facebook Page, they report that U-Pick apples have started, and they’re pressing cider. Their hours are Tuesday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Mondays.

Don’t forget that Buchan’s also have Scoops 22 in Suttons Bay and Buchan’s West Bay at 13000 S. West Bay Shore Drive. Their empire is expanding! By the way, I checked out the new West Bay location this summer, and they have drive-through ice cream cones, people. Drive through! Get more info about all at their website.

I stopped by Warren Orchards’ Between the Bays stand yesterday (8169 Center Road, catacorner from Fire Station #2), and I love that they accept Venmo for payment (as do several of the other OMP farm stands).

I’m also a bit obsessed with Wendy Warren’s mini jam jars. With regular-sized jars, it seems like I never get through them fast enough before I feel like I should toss them out. The mini-jars solve that problem, and you also don’t have to eat an entire (big) jar of one flavor before getting something different!

I also sampled every type of plum she has available there (I couldn’t choose, so bought a quart of each), and they’re all great, but the yellow ones are super sweet and my current favorite. A few photos…