Opening Bell: Cantaloupe, Peppers, Peaches, Melons!

Good afternoon!
Great news just in time for your Independence Day gatherings: Hardin Farms has listed their delicious cantaloupes, sweet corn, watermelons, and squash! Cubed cantaloupe freeze very good for smoothies all year so stock up now!

Two interesting things happened at Cedar Rock Ridge this week. First, I went out the front door one afternoon and heard a loud buzzing sound in the woods. I found it was thousands of honey bees massed on my honey tree. I’ve been watching the bees in this large living oak tree with a hollow top for years, but I’ve never seen this sight before. I texted a video to our bee experts at Drewry Orchards and Green Acres Atkins. They both told me that the bees were swarming. Apparently they outgrew their space in the tree, so 2/3 of the bees leave with their queen to find a new home. The remaining 1/3 remain with a virgin queen. This necessary event is very risky for both groups. The bees that leave don’t have any honey to sustain them during the coming winter, so they must work hard or they won’t survive. The bees that don’t leave have plenty of honey, but if the virgin queen doesn’t mate successfully on her mating flight, there will be no more worker bees, and the original colony will not survive either. Before I could take another video, the swarm took flight heading southwest over my garden, scattering chickens like they’d seen a hawk. A swarm makes a very loud noise! Interesting creatures for sure. Read up on them and you will be amazed! I tried to encourage Carissa to scurry up the tree with a jar to get some honey, but we couldn’t come to terms. Oh well… The second thing was weevils! While inspecting my plants one morning I found several of these evil little creatures. We don’t use chemicals of any kind, so I got a glass jar with a bit of water and dish soap in it and began to pick them off by hand, dropping them into the jar. This continued all week, with fewer weevils every day. I still check the plants and occasionally find a weevil with a short future. I tried to find out more about these pests so I could tell you what kind they were, but there are over 60,000 species of weevils! With so many pests and other variables working against us, it’s amazing that our Growers can produce anything at all! But they do, week after week, all year long. Thanks, Growers!!!

Most items are listed by 6pm Sunday, but check back again before the market closes Tuesday night to see if any other items are ready to be harvested for you! Don’t forget to check out the recipes section also! Eat fresh! Eat local! Eat for better health!

Usually our volunteers have the market ready for customers to pick up before 4pm. If you are out and about and want to know if we are ready, just text me to see: 501-339-1039.

Check out over 500 wonderful items listed right now. See you on Friday!

Come early on Friday for the best selection from the EXTRAS table. And save your eggshells throughout the week for the laying hens! :-)

The market is now OPEN for orders.

Please check your email about 5 minutes after you place your order to make sure you get an order confirmation. Thank you for being a valuable part of CLG!
Have a great week!
Steve
ONLINE PAYMENT OPTION. When you are done shopping, just hit the “proceed to checkout” button in your cart. You will then see the option to “Pay Now” with credit card near the bottom. Just follow the prompts to add your card. Be sure to read the screen until you see “Thank you for your order” on the top. If you need help, please call 339-7958. A 3% online payment convenience fee will be added when your card is charged.
How to contact us:
DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL. Instead…
Phone or text: Steve – 501-339-1039
Email: Steve – kirp1968@sbcglobal.net