Vendor Profile: Ela Family Farms

By: Garth Bontrager, Master Gardener

Note: Ela Family Farms will be starting sales at the LCFM in mid-July.

Apples. That alone is enough to start a conversation with just about anyone. There are books dedicated to the subject. Bananas, umm, just don’t have the same connotation. Apples grow all over the United States, and many of us remember apple trees from our childhood. Descriptions of apple varieties read like the J. Peterman catalog. Now what about peaches, plums and cherries? I’m sure you’ve conjured up some memories of contented eating.

Ela Family Farms owned and operated by several generations of the Ela family will indulge your apple interest and your peach, plum and cherry interest too. They offer fruits and fruit products from their orchards in Hotchkiss, Colorado each Saturday, starting July 16, at the Larimer County Farmer’s Market. “We only sell what we grow,” says Steve Ela because that way they control the whole show. And what a show it is: fruit jams, butters, sauces, nectars and ciders. The fresh fruit is the highlight, however. All fruit is picked at the peak of ripeness, which is why you won’t see peaches in early July. Flavor gives Ela the competitive advantage over internationally distributed fruits.

Steve personally walks the field sampling fruit to tell when it’s ready to harvest. Ela grows over 50 varieties of fruit, and each year they introduce another variety to their markets. This year Steve suggests you try the Swiss Gourmet apple. Some folks think its tart, others sweet, but all agree that you can’t beat a fresh picked apple ripened on the tree. Ela has been servicing markets for 11 years, and the LCFM for at least eight years. They selectively continue to hold booth at the LCFM because it’s such a great market.

Steve really appreciates how people have educated themselves on their food supply. And Ela’s customers can really appreciate that the Ela product is certified organic, family owned and operated, and of high quality. That, says Steve, really sets Ela Family Farms apart. They feel a responsibility to their customer to put quality first; quality means staying local, staying organic and keeping with the family tradition of growing and selling what they consider to be the best fruit and fruit products available. The LCFM is very proud to be one of six markets in the state to host Ela Family Farms.

Opening Day June 25!

The Larimer County Farmers' Market opens Saturday, June 25 and has vendors that will help you get fresh on Saturdays!

If you're new to the area, or a long-time patron, we welcome you! Grab your reuseable grocery bags and get ready to shop. The produce gets better throughout the season, but this Saturday you're sure to see lettuce, kale and other cool-season crops, along with meats, cheese, milk and eggs.

The LCFM was awarded a "Discover You Can" grant from the Ball Corporation. Throughout the season the Master Food Safety Advisors will have several give-aways. In addition, Marc Vargas, Larimer County Master Gardener, has donated two sets of his Buzz Bee notecards to give-away each market day--just stop at the Master Gardener booth. Visit his shop at Esty: http://www.etsy.com/people/EBHGreetings

Stop by and say "hello" and bring your best gardening questions! We look forward to seeing you. And if you run short on cash, don't forget to bring your credit, debit or Colorado Quest card, where you can purchase Market Bucks or SNAP benefit coupons.

Vendors Selected!

The 2011 vendors for the LCFM have been selected. Many of your old favorites are back, with a number of new additions. All in all, there will be 75 vendors selling with us throughout the season. Be sure to mark your calendars for Opening Day, June 25, to say "hello" and shop the freshest market in town.

We will once again be blogging about our market vendors...if there is someone you'd like to see featured, just let us know!

Applications Now Available!

The Larimer County Farmers' Market is currently accepting applications from interested vendors. Applications are available from our website: www.larimercountyfarmersmarket.org. Click on "Vendor Applications." Make sure to read the 2011 Rules and Regulations carefully.

Vendors will need to fill out the application and sign the EBT, Credit and Debit form; if you are selling any processed foods or potentially hazardous foods, you'll need to also fill out the Health Department application. For a complete list of what forms we need from vendors, please see "Vendor Check-off List."

Vendors can mail their applications, check for $35 and copies of all necessary licenses and/or forms to: Alison O'Connor, Larimer County Farmers' Market, 1525 Blue Spruce Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80524.

All applications are due April 20, 2011. Late applications will not be accepted.

If you have questions regarding the LCFM, please call 970-498-6000.

Your Edible Backyard Gardening Workshop: January 22, 2011

(Special thanks to Carol O'Meara for writing this blog)

What: Your Edible Garden Workshop
Where: The Ranch, Larimer County Fairgrounds and Events Complex, 5280 Arena Circle, Loveland.
When: 9 a.m.- 4 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 22; registration from 8-8:45 a.m.Cost: $65 early bird, $75 after Jan. 14
Information and registration: Contact Weld County Extension at 970-304-6535.

Ask a gardener what they’d love for a gift, and they might look uncomfortable before responding vaguely “oh, I don’t know, anything’s wonderful.” Don’t be frustrated. It’s not that we don’t want to answer you; it’s just hard to explain that the things we cherish are likely to make you avoid us.

Even gardener to gardener, we don’t always know how our gifts will go over. One, regaling me with the tale of how she first got her green thumb, hesitated when it came to describing her dirt-loving mother’s gift for her first garden. “Guess what mom sent,” she said, a little self consciously. “Manure – she mailed a big box of chicken manure!”

Now there’s a memorable gift. Such treasure is what many gardening moms have given, and will continue to give for generations. But the gift of dung isn’t covered by the Dictionary of Etiquette, so if you’re searching for something different to wrap up this year, give the next best thing: knowledge.

Sign up your loved one for Your Edible Garden Workshop, a one-day immersion into food gardening offered by Colorado State University Extension offices in Larimer, Boulder, Weld, and Adams counties. This all-day workshop is Saturday, January 22, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Ranch in Loveland, and costs only $65.

The event, held at the Ranch in Loveland just off I25, features a variety of seminars to suit everyone, from beginners to seasoned gardeners. Here’s a sampling of what’s in store for your gardener:

Successful gardens start from the ground up, and Dr. Jean Reeder will take participants on an exploration how to build great garden soil. “Soil is a living system, providing the fundamental support for all terrestrial life,” says the retired soil scientist, “we need to feed and nurture our soils so they can feed and nurture the plants, animals, and us.”

Other basics to help the novice gardener include demystifying irrigation, with Extension Agent Joel Reich, who will help participants save water while getting tender, sweet vegetables.

Tips for growing vegetables in Colorado will fill one seminar, but if your gardener wants to delve into specialty topics, they can choose from tomato selection, vegetable disease control, strawberries tips, how to grow raspberries and blackberries, or starting vegetables from seed.

If developing skills tops the list for your gardener, enroll them in Fruit Tree Pruning with David Whiting, Professor with Colorado State University. For high yields of quality fruit, fruit trees need care while young and annual pruning to keep them producing for years. Whiting will review the unique needs of each tree type, including apples, peaches, and other tree fruits.

Anyone feeling the pull of the earth while living without a place to garden will love Alison O’Connor’s workshop on vegetable container gardening. Patios, porches, balconies – any place with sun can be converted into an oasis of edibles. The seminar covers space requirements, plant needs, and recommended varieties.

January, says O’Connor, the CSU Horticulture Extension Agent in Larimer County, is the ideal time for this kind of event. With March around the corner, gardeners start planning early. Wrap their registration form with a pair of gardening gloves, trowel, and seed packets to make a gift they’ll remember almost as long as a box of manure.