Friday, October 5, 2012

Its Harvest Season!

Be sure to buy local this holiday season and get out to Strom's Farm for some outdoor family fun!

Strom's Farm is a second generation farm started in 1978 with Jay's love for sweet corn. Jay and Marg started with one acre of sweet corn then added pumpkins in 1996. Channing, their oldest son, returned to the farm in 2000 with his wife Amy. In 2002, they added a corn maze and in 2006 Channing and Amy bought the farm and added a bakery. Channing and Amy, along with their two sons, invite you to visit our farm for quality produce and an exceptional fall experience.

Our season begins around August 1st and continues until October 31st. In August, we pride ourselves in the freshest produce and quality baking. Mid-September our farm is transformed with the beauty of autumn. Our farm is filled with thousands of pumpkins, gourds, cornstalks, hay bales, and many items for your fall decorating. Join us on the weekends, starting September 22, for our 6 acre corn maze, tile, rope, cedar and straw maze, wagon rides, pedal carts, corn trail, sand pile, pumpkin chuckin', and homegrown popcorn!

Strom's Farm
5089 Wellington Rd 32, Guelph, Ontario
ph (519) 822-1070
fx (519) 821-3583
info@strom.ca

Driving Directions

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Pumpkin Picking

Every pumpkin is known by its stem. - proverb

...from the Old Farmers Almanac - October brings autumn into full swing, and who doesn’t love a fall walk in the woods or a stroll through an apple orchard to enjoy the season’s bounty?

We’re noticing pumpkins brightening up farm stands across much of the country. For many, the harvest came early. Here are some tips for pumpkin picking:

...Do not pick pumpkins off the vine because they have reached your desired size. Wait until they mature. (If you want small pumpkins, buy a small variety.)

...Cut fruit off the vine; do not tear. Be sure not to cut too close to the pumpkin and to leave a liberal amount of stem

...Before storing, pumpkins should be cured in the sun for about a week to toughen the skin.

...Early harvest? No worries. If you store in a cool, dry, dark place between 50 and 55 degrees, the pumpkins should last about 6 months.

...They are best stored sitting on a board or cardboard or straw (not a cement floor) about 2 inches apart (not stacked or touching).

...One of our readers shared this tip: Wash a picked pumpkin in a very mild chlorine solution (1 cup of chlorine to 1 gallon of water. This gets rid of bacteria that cause rot. Then thoroughly dry.

See our pumpkin page for more harvest tips - and great reader Q&As.

If you’re going to a pumpkin patch, remember to buy pumpkins with stems attached; they will keep better.

Listen! The wind is rising,
And the air is wild with leaves,
We have had our summer evenings,
Now for October eves!

- Humbert Wolfe (1885–1940)

Recipes

All this talk of pumpkin gets us excited about mouthwatering pumpkin recipes.

Enjoy these fall favorites—courtesy of our new Everyday Baking cookbook.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Pumpkin Sugar Cake

Creamy Pumpkin Pie

TIP: See how to cook and clean a pumpkin.