My son Austin is 4 this summer and as he grows each summer it becomes more exciting. I can’t wait to share with him all of the fun things that I got to do on the farm growing up that made my summers so memorable. Whether its swimming in the river down at Grandma and Grandpa’s house or picking a fresh juicy peach right off the tree on hot summer day. But the strangest and most wonderful thing about sharing these experiences with him is that he takes them and makes them his own. While I may have loved eating the peaches, his favorite thing is to head to the corn field and eat a fresh cob of sweet corn out in the field.

At Bauman Farms we would love to help you recreate some of those memories you had as a kid or help create new ones with your children. This is the perfect time of the year to come to the farm and partake in some summer favorites including, corn on the cob, peaches, cherries, and blackberries.

We are very proud of the Super Sweet Corn that grow and Bauman’s and we go through at lot of work to make sure you can have it as early in the season as possible. All of our first plantings of corn are started in a greenhouse in tiny little flats called plug trays and each one of those trays needs to be hand seeded. Every Wednesday starting in February is Corn day and we have a crew of guys who spend that day putting one seed in each of the tiny plugs that is in a flat. I have tried to do this but these guys are amazing at how fast they can seed a tray. Once the corn has popped out of the tray and the weather has given us enough time to get a field ready to plant then we have a machine that places each one of those plugs into the ground.

In order to keep the corn from freezing because this is usually done in late March, we take a big piece of special cloth and cover up the corn and go along the outside and put dirt on it so that it doesn’t blow away. We will go through this process once a week every week from March through April. Then by the time the Fourth of July rolls around the corn has already tasseled and we can give people a good time on when the corn will be ready. We picked our first boxes of corn last Friday and they have been going quickly. If you know that you will be coming by the store late in the day please give us a call and we would be happy to put some in back for you. We would hate for you to make a trip for nothing and it is well worth the trip, just ask Austin. We should have corn every day except Sundays from now until the end of October (weather permitting).

So far this has been a pretty good year for tree fruit. We have been enjoying wonderful sweet and juicy cherries now for about three weeks and I can never seem to get enough. Ever time I walk by it's hard not to grab at least one to try. Unfortunately we are almost done with cherries and you need to get in and get some before they are gone. On the flip side of that the peaches have just gotten started. We have early red hevans in right now and while they are not a good canning peach because they don’t come off the pit well, they are one of the best for fresh eating. They have some of the best flavor out of any peach, I think, and trust me I have tried a lot of peaches in my childhood.

Speaking of canning, now is the perfect time of the year to get your green beans and cucumbers to make pickles. We should have both of these for about another 4 weeks but the season always flies by and right now we have a large quantity of both in so you can be sure and get as many as you would like. In addition it is always a good idea to order ahead on both of these and that way we can have them ready when you arrive and also lets us know how many to pick on that day. All of our cucumbers are sorted to two sizes. Smalls which are 3 to 4 inches and larges which are 5 to 6 inches.

Canning summer vegetables is a great opportunity to spend some time with your family. Make it a project that everyone can get involved with. When my mom canned green beans it was always my job to sit on the porch and snap off the ends and snap them in half. My sisters on the other hand helped mom wash out all the jars and get everything ready in the kitchen for when I got done with my job. They usually got done first and always came to help me, which was good because I always felt like I had to do the most work, but I am sure they felt the same way.

These memories are what makes the summer season such an enjoyable one. I look back and think about all the wonderful things that I got to do on the farm and I think that’s one reason why my family has tried so hard to open our farm up to your family. Even if you just wanted to bring the kids out to play for the day on the playground or maybe you just need to get away and come take a walk through the display garden. The farm is a magical place during the summer time and many times seems miles away from your troubles. We look forward to seeing you soon! The Bauman Family.