Now Hiring for 2024!

We’re seeking 1-2 orchard assistants for summer and fall of 2024. Our family farm is located just 8 miles from downtown Menomonie. We grow certified organic mixed fruit, with a heavy focus on apples and other tree fruits. We market locally and in the Twin Cities through a CSA-style fruit share, farmers markets, food co-ops, and other small wholesale accounts. This position is mostly seasonal, with possible limited hours through the winter, and the opportunity to return in future years. 

20-40 hours/week, hours are somewhat flexible. We welcome working with students, and can accommodate shorter hours in the fall. We can schedule around classes or another job. Starting pay $14-15/hr. 

Must be able to work with a small team, and also be comfortable working independently at times, with instruction. Must be able to work in hot or rainy weather, and come prepared for weather conditions. Excellent position for someone interested in farming, horticulture, natural resources, environmental studies. Most work hours will be spent harvesting, sorting, and packing fruit, but we can offer opportunities to learn and be involved in other aspects of orchard and farm management. 

Tasks include 

• Harvesting — raspberries, blueberries, and currants in July; plums and apples in
  August; apples, pears, and raspberries September-October 

• Sorting, packing, and preparing fruit for farmers market, CSA share, co-op

• Irrigation and care of newly planted trees and shrubs, including weeding and mulching

• Pruning, training, and other tree care

• Pest monitoring — placing and monitoring traps, scouting for disease, recording notes
  

Orchard/Fruit experience not required, but some farm/ag experience, or other experience working outdoors preferred. Candidates must be able to work outside for 8 hours/day in various weather conditions, lift and carry 20-25 pounds frequently, and lift up to 40-50 pounds occasionally. Harvesting berries involves kneeling/squatting/bending for long stretches. Harvesting tree fruit may require ladder use. Most work will be outdoors. Packing fruit requires attention to food safety (training provided). Prefer availability from June-October, earlier start dates welcome. 

Questions can be directed to Rachel Henderson - henderson.r@gmail.com or 612-280-2438

Fruit Shares full, but Apple Share sign up now open!

Thanks to overwhelming support from the community, we’ve sold out of our Full Season Fruit Shares for 2020. You can sign up for a certified organic Fall Apple Share now! At this time, we are not taking names for a waiting list.

What’s in a Fall Apple Share? This option is JUST the fall portion of our regular share. During the fall, all boxes are the same.

Every other week in September and October, for a total of four deliveries, apple share boxes include at least 4 varieties of apples (10+ lbs per box), as well as pears and fall raspberries when available.

Some of our many apple varieties include: Chestnut Crabapple, Williams Pride, Crimson Crisp, Ginger Gold, St. Edmunds Russet, Gideon, Priscilla, Haralson, Sweet 16, Spartan, Alkemene, Liberty, Jonagold, Grimes Golden, Florina, and Keepsake. And others! We grow a mix of disease-resistant, heritage, and unique varieties, and our Apple Share provides a sampler of all the flavors and textures apples have to offer.

Time to Jam

It can be hard to carve out time for kitchen projects during the busy summer, but it can be positively heartbreaking to suffer through cold winter mornings with no homemade fruit spreads for your toast.  It's worthwhile to take advantage of the market season and prepare.  My favorite jams are black currant and gooseberry, and the season for both is upon us! 

If you're intimidated by the prospect of huge batches, pressure canners, and all the equipment, fear not.  Jam can be made in small batches, with nothing more than what your kitchen already contains (except possibly jars, which are easy to find in stores at this time of year).  If even hot water bath canning is out of the question for you, they're also easily frozen. 

I have posted this recipe from David Lebovitz before, but I love it for its simplicity.  It's easily scaled up for the more ambitious, too: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/black-currant-jam-recipe/

Gooseberry jam, in addition to being supremely flavorful, is also one of the prettier things I make.  While this article describes gooseberries as green, we grow and sell a number of varieties, ranging from green-ripe to red and deep purple.  I love to make jam (and pie!) with berries that are at a mix of stages of ripeness, so that there's a tart complement to the sweetness.  http://www.westoftheloop.com/2014/07/13/farmers-market-find-gooseberries/

What to do with Currants

While some people feel a nostalgia when they think of picking currants as children, or their grandmother's jelly, for a lot of us, currants offer a completely new set of flavors.  Accordingly, it can be a challenge to learn to use them.  If you like tart fruit, they are great for snacking on.  But here's a few additional ideas:

Red, white, and pink currants are all very similar, and can be used interchangeably.  The red are the most tart, but also have the strongest flavor.  White and pink are more mild, and slightly sweeter.  Black currants have a very different flavor profile.  They aren’t as tart as red, but have a musky or earthy flavor. 

For an easy, no-cooking-involved currant topping, pull red currants off the sprigs and mix them with a little sugar (or other sweetener) to taste.  This mixture will store in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.  It’s great to put on yogurt, oatmeal, or ice cream.  Mix colors together for an attractive fruit salad.  I’ve served this with whipped cream at a brunch party.

Black currants are great as used above, but also work well in savory applications.  Make a lightly sweetened and spiced sauce to put on meat, or serve with a cheese plate.  Put whole black currants in a green salad, especially nice with a goat cheese.

If you like to preserve, red currants make a beautiful and flavorful jelly.  I like to add a little cinnamon to it.  I usually make jelly using low-sugar recipes with Pomona’s Universal Pectin: http://www.cooksinfo.com/red-currant-jelly.   And if you prefer to bake, this looks like a fantastic cake: http://bibliocook.com/2010/08/redcurrant-almo/

Black currants can be a good jelly, but make an even better jam.  Here’s a simple recipe, complete with a lovely tribute to one of our most distinctive fruits: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2013/08/black-currant-jam-recipe/. 

For a more ambitious baker, black currants offer deep flavor that can make for spectacular creations.  Here's a pair of recipes from Nigel Slater that showcase their special qualities. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/aug/16/nigel-slater-blackcurrant-recipes

Black currant juice is also a great thing to pull out in the middle of winter, and simple to make.  Just put clean black currants in a saucepan and cover with water.  Simmer for about 30 minutes.  Mash the currants if you like (this will make the juice less clear, but won’t hurt the flavor), then strain.  Sweeten to taste if you like, but cooking takes some of the edge off the flavor, and, depending on your tastes, the juice can be nice unsweetened. This can be canned like jam, or frozen.  The juice will be concentrated; we like to mix it with equal parts sparkling water for a natural soda.

Looking for an Orchard Assistant in 2017!

We are seeking an orchard assistant for this summer, June-October minimum, but prefer an earlier start date.  Approximately 30 hours/week -- availability on Fridays is essential, other hours are somewhat flexible.  Room and board are available.  We have about 5 ½ acres established with mixed fruit that has been certified organic since 2016, and a new orchard block of apples.

Tasks include

• Harvesting -- raspberries and currants in July; plums, grapes, and apples in August; apples, pears, and raspberries in Sept-Oct.

• Sorting, packing, and preparing fruit for farmers market, CSA share, co-op, and restaurant sales

• Care of newly planted trees

• Weeding and mulching

• Pest monitoring

For someone interested in organic fruit production, we can offer opportunities to learn and be involved in other aspects of orchard management.

Orchard/Fruit experience not required, but some farm/ag experience preferred.  Candidates must be able to work outside for 8 hours/day in various weather conditions, lift and carry 20-25 pounds frequently, and lift up to 40-50 pounds occasionally.  Harvesting berries involves kneeling/squatting/sitting for long stretches.  Harvesting tree fruit may require some ladder use.  

Questions can be directed to Rachel Henderson - henderson.r@gmail.com.

Mary Dirty Face Farm is Certified Organic!

We are excited to have received organic certification this week!  Since we started planting our orchard in 2009, we have been following organic standards.  We believe in farming in ways that mimic and complement natural systems, and that it is possible to produce high quality organic fruit in Wisconsin through intensive management practices.  Our choice to certify this year was driven in part by our increasing production, and in part by our commitment to furthering the organic movement.  By certifying, we can help demonstrate to the world that organic agriculture is possible, and economically important!  You can get our certified organic raspberries, currants, and gooseberries at Fulton Farmers Market and Menomonie Market Food Co-op right now, and our organic apples later this season!

On Sauce and Seconds

As we harvest apples, we sort out the top-quality apples for selling fresh, and save aside seconds, or imperfect apples.  This time of year, we see a lot of imperfection.  We use some of these to make apple butter (that we sell at the farmers market), applesauce for our son (who will eat like a quart of it a day if we let him), or cider.  We'll also bring some seconds to the farmers market, and have them available for sale at a reduced price.

What makes an apple a "second"?  Most of them have a little too much surface blemish, or slight cracks, or stings from an insect feeding on the sugars. Some are deformed where some bug tried to lay an egg in them early on.  We don't sell apples that have been bird-damaged, or where something has completely broken through or eaten away at the skin.  It's not impossible to find a small worm in a 2nd, usually in the core, though that's rare.

Now is the perfect time to save a little bit of autumn's abundant deliciousness for those cold, bland winter days.  Purchasing 2nds makes preserving more economical. If you've never made applesauce before, you'll be surprised at how non-intimidating it is to make, and even to can (though if you don't feel like canning, you can also freeze it).  Here's a straightforward recipe, that requires so special equipment:

http://extension.illinois.edu/apples/applesauce.cfm

Keep in mind that the sauce will taste sweeter while it's warm, so once you've got the texture you'd like, it's a good idea to take out a dollop and put it on a plate or a shallow bowl to cool quickly.  Evaluate the sweetness of this cooled sauce to decide if you want to add sugar (or honey, or your sweetener of choice).  Ditto with the spices, if you're using them.   

Once you've made the sauce, it's only a matter of reducing it on the stove (or in a slow cooker) to make rich and spreadable apple butter.  

I always think that the best applesauce comes from a nice mix of apple varieties, though some varieties make good sauce all on their own (like Chestnut Crabapples!).  When we sell 2nds, we like to mix up varieties, so you can get a lot of different flavors.  With a mix of sweet and tart apples, I never find that I have to add acid (lemon juice) or sugar to applesauce.

If you really need plum ideas...

We're happy to finally have a plum harvest this year.  We've been picking our favorite variety -- Black Ice, developed at UW Rive Falls -- for a week or so, and are starting on LaCrescent, a small yellow variety.  We should have a couple more to bring to market before the season ends.  Mostly, these plums just get eaten up in our house, but here's a link to a few awesome recipes, should you really need one.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/sep/07/nigel-slater-plum-recipes