We have had a great fall. We had more people at the farm in October than ever before.
It is a wonderful thing to know that people enjoy what we do. It’s almost more gratifying than money, almost but not quite. As we all know money makes the world go round and it certainly takes a lot of it to keep this farm operating. We get the question quite often, do you charge to come to the farm. It always surprises me that people ask that. I guess most people don’t realize the great expense it takes to run the farm and more importantly to have events and activities for the public.
The cost of insurance alone is staggering, then there is property taxes, upkeep to the playground equipment and fences. Farm equipment is unbelievably expensive to buy then you have to maintain it.
Labor to take care of the animals, dump the trash, and all the other little things it takes to put on events takes a lot of money. I could go on and on about the expenses of putting on events and then I could spend pages listing the cost of doing regular farming but I think you get the idea.
We are hoping to do more events here on the farm. I always say we need to find a way to make this property work for us instead of us working for it. It’s hard to believe that no matter what we want for our farm, it may be out of our hands.
As we go forward, we are fighting government bureaucracy and our neighbors. Some of our neighbors have made it their mission to put us out of business (not the Hughes, they are trying very hard to get along, so don’t start beating up on them). What our neighbors don’t seem to understand is that if we can no longer farm and have events here then we will have to sell the property and it will be developed. A housing development will bring hundreds of houses and tons of traffic. The neighbors think a few hundred cars a year from events are bad, wait till there are thousands a year from a housing development. What surprises me most about our neighbors, is that instead of picking up the phone and calling us and saying we have a problem, let’s work it out, no they would rather spread untrue rumors and do everything they can to put us out of business.
On to happier things, the next event at the farm is our Christmas Open House which is December 7th from 11-4(???). We will have crafters selling their wares (if you’re a crafter, call us, we still have spaces). We will have our jams, jellies, pickles, and salsa available individually or in gift boxes (3 jars per box). We will also have meat and eggs as well as gift certificates for anything we do. A CSA vegetable gift certificate is a wonderful Christmas gift. I hope we will have pecans ready for sale by then too. We will be selling lunch at our concession stand. We have a vendor that will be selling baked goods. I will be doing free hayrides out to feed the cows. Take a break from the crazy holiday festivities and spend a couple of hours at the farm just relaxing.
We want all of you to come out to the Open House but you don’t have to visit to purchase something from the farm for yourself or as a gift. We can take an order over the phone. Everything we have to offer is on our website www.legarefarms.com.
We can also ship out of town for you for just the shipping fee. Mini CSA Winter program We are offering a winter CSA program for the first time ever. We normally take the winter months off but we have some winter crops planted and a friend who has some winter crops that would like some help selling his crops.
The season will be 6 weeks long starting in February and running through March (2/11-3/20). I have always been reluctant to do a winter season because most of what is available is greens. Greens get old really quick. I think we can mix it up enough so you won’t get tired of greens. Here is what I hope to have: collards, kale, mustard, sweet potatoes, spinach, beets, turnips, brussel sprouts, broccoli, butternut squash, and acorn squash. I’m talking to a friend in Fla about getting some citrus to add to the mix. I’m also going to try some tomatoes in the green house as well as yellow squash. I think we can get green onions and lettuce ready if the weather cooperates. I’m pouring through seed catalogs now to see if there’s something else we can plant and have ready in time. We have to get at least 75 people to sign up to make this worthwhile.
I am going to make one big change from our delivery schedule of the past 6 years. We will make James Island deliveries on Tuesday and Trident Tech and West Ashley deliveries on Wed. Mt Pleasant will stay on Thurs. Drop locations will be the same. This change in days will be permanent and continue when we start the regular season in April. The cost of a half share is $115 and a full share is $157.
While I’m on the subject of the CSA program, it is time to start thinking about the 2014 full season. The whole idea of a CSA program is to help the farmer out by paying in advance which keeps us from having to go to the bank and borrow money for planting expenses. We usually get offers from the fertilizer company and seed company to purchase before the end of the year for some discounts. When you purchase a share you are taking the risk with the farmer on the crop. Our normal season runs 9 weeks in the spring/summer and 6 weeks in the fall. If anybody is interested in joining for either the mini winter season or the full season, call or email us. Calendar November Thanksgiving on the Farm field trips December 7 Farm Open House March 22 Living History School Day Battle of Charleston March 23-24 Battle of Charleston April 12 Mega Mud Run Challenge April 13 Wing Thing
Thank You
Our Fall Harvest Diner was a great success again this year. We could not do it without the great chefs. Please remember to support their restaurants. This year’s chefs are: Chef Fred Neuville from Fat Hen Restaurant; Chef Jay Kees from Angel oak Restaurant;Chef Robin Rhea from Slather Brand Foods; Chef Frisco Thumbtzen from Big Horns; Chef Brandon Buck from Middleton Place; Chef Jimmi Hat from Guerrila Cuisine; Chef Nate Whiting from Tristan; Chef Jason Ulak from Rivertowne Country Club; Chef Stuart Tracy from Butcher and Bee; and Chef Aaron Lemieux from 39 Rue de Jean. Beverages were donated by Irvin House Vineyards, Coastal Coffee Roaster, Holy City Brewery, Palmetto Brewery, and Charleston Tea Plantation.
Feature of the Month
Gift Boxes are our feature this month. The gift boxes contain 3 pint jars and you can mix and match with whatever you want. The choices are blueberry jam, blackberry jam, strawberry jam, peach jam, plum jam, fig preserves, pear preserves, pumpkin butter, sweet potato butter, pickled okra, Good and Evil pickles, Candied Orange pickles, Candied Dill pickles, bread and butter pickles, asparagus pickles, corn salsa, peach salsa, blackbean salsa, and chunky salsa. We also have muscadine jelly, scuppenog jelly, green tomato relish, and artichoke relish but they don’t fit in the boxes. A gift box is $23 or individual jars are $7.
Special of the Month Roasting pigs are the special of the month. The weather is perfect for having a pig roast. Our pigs are antibiotic and hormone free pasture raised heritage breeds. They have a wonderful taste. We have them starting at 25 lbs and going up to 150 lbs. Prices are normally 25-50 lb $5/lb., 51-100 lbs. $4/lb. and 101-150 lbs. $3/lb. now on sale for $.50 off per lb.
Recipe of the Month SAUSAGE - STUFFED BUTTERNUT SQUASH 3 butternut squash, cut in halves 1 lb. Italian sweet sausage 1 lg. onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, chopped 8 slices bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes 1/2 c. chopped parsley 2 eggs, beaten Place squash cut side down in greased shallow baking pan. Bake in 350°F oven 40 minutes until squash is easily pierced. Fry sausage removed from casings until brown and crumbly. Add onion and garlic and saute until onions are soft. Stir in bread, parsley and eggs. Remove from heat. Turn squash cut side up and scoop out seeds. With a fork mash squash in the skin. Spoon sausage mixture over squash. Replace in oven and bake another 15 minutes or until top is golden brown.
I told you last month that this newsletter would be longer. I hope I didn’t lose you by being too wordy. Things are slowing down on the farm. We are having to cut back hours so if you need something done like raking your yard, cleaning windows, pressure washing, etc, give us a call and we’ll work out the details.
Don’t hesitate to call or email if you have questions about anything. Helen Legare-Floyd Legare Farms 2620 Hanscombe Pt. Rd. Johns Island , SC 29455 www.legarefarms.com legarefarms@bellsouth.net 843-559-0788 www.facebook.com/legarefarms