Farm Life Archives - Page 10 of 18

How To Shop The Farmer’s Market

A Farmer’s Market can be overwhelming. Who has the best product? Who has the best prices? How do I know I am getting a good value for my dollar?

This post will answer your questions.

Get to know the vendors.

Ask questions about their products. Growers and market vendors should be able to answer your questions. Some questions you can ask are: “When was this picked? Where was it grown? Has it been sprayed? Is it a GMO seed?” Based on answers to these questions, you can make your decision about what to buy.

If this is your first visit to a market, do a quick sweep around the market to see what is available and prices. In small markets, prices will usually be similar with only a bit of variance based on the variety or quantity available. Larger markets may have a more significant price difference among vendors. If you are a regular customer, you will know what to expect from your favorite vendors.

After a quick perusal of what is available, go back and make your purchases. One caution however, vendors may have limited quantities of some items. If you have an established relationship with particular vendors based on their reputation for quality and price, you may want to shop those vendors first.

Learn what is in season.

Eating seasonally will not only provide the most nutritious bang for your buck, but also the best flavor. Local produce has a limited availability due to growing conditions and climate.

For example, you can find tomatoes in Illinois in May, but these are not likely to have been grown locally. The best tomatoes in Central Illinois are available from early July through the end of August, sometimes even stretching into mid-September. These tomatoes will be fully vine-ripened, bursting with tomato flavor.

Shop a Farmer’s Market first.

Above all, find a local farmer’s market and shop there before the big box stores. Produce will be fresher and there are other some great finds like honey, balms, craft items and much more.

Plus you have the opportunity to develop relationships with great people. What could be better?

If you would like to read more about how we found a community at the 18^th Street Farmer’s Market, check out this book: The Long Road to Market. And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

How To Remove Seeds

Do you like seeds in your jam?

I’ve only met one person who reported liking seeds in her jam. In fact she said “the more the better”. But most people seem to prefer seedless jam. The same is true for tomato sauce. No seeds.

How do you remove all those tiny seeds?

Blackberries, raspberries and tomatoes all have bothersome seeds. I have two different methods for removing seeds. The choice of which to use depends on the final product.

For blackberry or raspberry jam, I use a Juice Mate.

This hand cranked strainer has a spiral inside that pushes the berries through and squeezes it against a fine mesh strainer. It will remove almost all seeds of these berries. The resulting pulp and juice makes a fine seedless jam.

The Juice Mate also works wonders for tomato juice. After washing, coring and quartering the tomatoes, the Juice Mate will remove seeds and skin.

One downside to this system is the cleanup, but here’s a tip: take the screen outside and use the garden hose for the first rinse. The power of the hose blasts out the stuck seeds allowing for an easier wash back in the house.

What about tomato sauce?

When making tomato sauce, I want the meaty sections of the tomato intact and an occasional seed is not as much of a concern. After removing the skin, I cut the tomatoes in half and drag out as much of the seed section as possible with a finger. Sometimes with juicier tomatoes simply squeezing the tomato half does the trick.

If you have any tricks or tips for removing seeds, we would love to hear about it. Send us a message through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram or an old-fashioned email.

Tea Tree Oil Balm

Are you interested in using more natural products to replace chemicals in your life?

So are we.

In fact, to that end we have created a line of skin care balms with all natural ingredients. Most are infused with essential oils for a variety of uses.

Below is an unsolicited but used with permission, customer testimonial about our Tea Tree Oil balm.

“I was cooking a salad dressing that contained oil in the microwave. When I opened it, the dressing exploded and splashed on my face. I immediately thought of my little jar of Five Feline Farm Tea Tree Oil balm and slathered it on the burn.

I called a family member who took me to the emergency room. At my followup appointment with my regular doctor, he told me the burn was healing beautifully. I told him what I did with the balm and he said that helped with my healing so much that I probably will not have a scar!”

—B. C.

We love to hear these kinds of testimonials about our products. We think our balms are pretty fantastic, but it is great to hear when someone else thinks so too.

What is Tea Tree Oil?

Tea Tree Oil is an essential oil distilled from the leaves of the Tea Tree which is native to Australia. The aboriginal people have used it for hundreds of years to treat minor skin conditions. It is reported to have antiseptic, antifungal and antibacterial properties. People use it for nail fungus, insect bites or stings, dandruff and other skin irritations. It is typically used in a carrier oil or as we do in a beeswax based balm.

Our Balms

We make two different formulas of our skin balms; each named after cats who have lived on the farm. Both have straightforward simple ingredients (beeswax, sweet almond oil and Vitamin E oil) in addition to an essential oil.

Phantom Balm is created with a higher proportion of beeswax to almond oil resulting in a more solid product that requires a small paddle to remove from the jar. Reine Balm is a bit softer with a lower beeswax to almond oil ratio.

Both are available at our Farmer’s Market booths and our on line Mercantile.

Disclaimer: this information is not medical advice and we do not have medical degrees. You should consult your medical professional about any and all medical treatment.

Treating Honeybee Stings

Honeybee stings happen. Being prepared with a quick treatment will reduce pain, itch and swelling.

But I’m allergic to honeybees!

This is something we hear all the time. There is allergic and then there’s ALLERGIC. Be sure to know the difference in a localized allergic reaction and an allergy to bee venom that causes a systemic involvement of your airway.

An allergic reaction will cause localized swelling, warmth and itching around the sting. This will last 2 or 3 days and cause relatively minor discomfort. The amount of swelling will vary from person to person, but can be treated with home remedies.

A systemic allergic reaction is quite a different matter. This type of full body involvement may cause a person’s airway to swell and impede the ability to breathe. Anyone who has this type of reaction to a bee sting must receive immediate medical treatment. Home remedies are not for you. You likely already carry an Epi-pen (a portable means of injecting epinephrine in an emergency) and for use immediately after a sting. This is a serious medical emergency and should be treated in an emergency room even after the use of an Epi-pen.

Home Remedies

Here’s what we do for the occasional bee sting.

First, don’t panic. This will alarm the other bees and you may end up being stung more than once. Walk away from the hive and remove the stinger. Your goal is to scrape the stinger out against the direction of the sting. When the bee leaves her stinger in you, there is a small bulb of venom at the end of the stinger. Place the edge of a credit card (in a pinch you could use the edge of your hive tool) between the venom bulb and the insertion point of the stinger. Scrape toward the bulb end of the stinger with a firm flick of the card. This should remove the stinger from your skin and stop the flow of venom. It is beneficial to do this as quickly as possible after being stung.

After removing the stinger, apply an ice pack to the affected area. This will help reduce swelling and offer immediate relief. We also add a smear of honey to the affected area. Honey has antiseptic properties and seems to reduce the itch. You can take an antihistamine such as Benadryl if necessary.

Remember honeybees will rarely sting while foraging away from the hive. They are focused on gathering pollen and nectar with no concern about much else. Foraging bees are not in a position to defend the hive or the queen. Unless aggravated, squeezed or stepped on, they are not likely to sting.

For more information about avoiding stings in the first place, check out this blog post on the Mother Earth News website: How To Not Get Stung

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