It always requires a few weeks after we finish the harvest to take stock of how well the work went and if we left the workers, farm and soil better than the year before. Growing fruits, vegetables and grain can be hard on people and earth. Sustainability must address labor, finances community and ecology.

The year started off with a nice and dry spring. Our Mennonite friends, the Weaver family who own Rainsboro Produce started our tomato, broccoli and cauliflower plants. This was in exchange for us growing their strawberry plugs. Bartering with good people is fantastic when possible. The asparagus harvest was our best ever soon to be followed by a strong strawberry harvest. Next came our currants and gooseberries. The blackberry and peach crops were damaged by the -18°F winter temps. A bright and tasty spot was the donut peaches. They and 2 other hardy varieties came on strong.

Spring has finally broke free out of winter's icy grip on Branstrator Farm. All ready we are seeing the effects of an abnormally cold winter on the farm's produce this year. Often times take for granted how easy it is to go to the grocery store and pick out whatever fresh produce we want even in the dead of winter. This luxury is not a product of the natural world. In the real world we have negative degree temperatures that last 4-5 days in a row. These temperatures affects something call bud hardiness in our fruit trees and bushes. Bud hardiness is a way to measure how cold the temperatures can get and for how long before it negatively affects the fruit bud in the spring. Unfortunately for our  peach trees and blackberry bushes the temperatures from this winter were too low. As a repurcussion of this we do not have any peach or blackberry blossoms this spring meaning we will not have any blackberries or peaches this summer.  It looks like we will have to wait until next year to satiate our customers cravings of peaches and blackberries. Our unfortunate situation does help develop an appreciation for the weather and how it affects the life cycles. The anticipation will only make the fruit taste that much better next year! For more information about bud hardiness and how climate affects fruit production click here. 

Ahhh such is the life of the farmer. Another characteristic of being a farmer is the ability to roll with the punches. Knowing that there will be a lack of peaches and blackberries Jon has been working hard this spring ordering seeds for the year and creating new projects for himself. This year he will be working with Cornell University growing  broccoli and other cruciferous produce. He has 25,000 broccoli plants sitting in a hoop house basking in the sunlight until the time comes for Jon to pick them up like a hot date and plant them in the earth to fester. This project will span across the summer and fall as he will use a successional planting schedule. Some broccoli does well in the warmer weather and some does better in cooler weather. As he plants them across the season we hope to produce delicious fresh broccoli for the masses to make up for the lack of fruit. We hope that this large project will take off and that our customers will enjoy this pleasant change for the year. To read more about this project and Cornell University's involvement click here.

Every year we also like to experiment with new plants to see how they will take to the land and to our customers. This year Romaine Lettuce and Mustard has been chosen to fill that role. We will plant 2500 romaine lettuce as well as various amounts of mustard, cauliflower and brussel sprouts. These are considered trials and with that we leave the possibility that anything can happen...

So take that winter! You may take our peaches and blackberries but you will never slow down the heart of Branstrator Farm. In fact just to show you we are inviting every one back out to the farm for our Fourth Annual Strawberry and Asparagus Festival. 

The Strawberry and Asparagus Festival will take place May 24, 2014 between 10am and 5pm as well as May 25, 2014 between 12pm and 5pm. Every year we throw this big party to celebrate the beginning of our growing season and especially our strawberry you-pick season. At the festival you can take your family right out into the fields to pick your own strawberries. There will be live music, delicious food and unique local vendors from the southern Ohio area. We will have Peaceful Acres Lavender Farm will be selling their relaxing scents, soaps and candles, Sacred Mountain Farm with their cozy soft alpaca made garments just to name a couple. We have a tremendous line up for live music with Vibrant Trabadours, The Steven Gregory Band, Old Man Stuckert's Family Band, and solo acts like Lonnie Stuckert, Kevin Brewer, George Byrd (Mr. Akimbo) and Christine Lynn Inlow. There will be more updates to come daily so make sure to check out our facebook page or here on our website!

As we settle into our busy grove of our growing season we look forward to what this year will bring; friends, loyal customers and fresh delicious produce. We will have our produce in the same locations as last year, Dorothy Lane Market and Pipkin's Market as well as our favorite farmer's markets in Madiera, Loveland and Wilmington. We are excited to be back in action and are looking forward to seeing you at farmer's markets, at our farm stands and in our favorite grocery stores!

As 2013 comes to a close we take a minute to look back on all of our blessings. The weather was better than it has been in years yielding sweet strawberries and the biggest peach season we have yet to see. The Strawberry and Asparagus Festival had the largest attendance we have seen while the Three Sisters Harvest Festival was very eventful but could have seen some better weather. Although the end of the growing season is upon us that is no reason for us to slow down! Jon has been busy attending growers’ conferences to learn more about sustainable farming practices and increase the quality of his crop. He has also been promoting the brand new Zero Wasted initiative at a couple of local holiday events..


This year at the Three Sisters Harvest Festival we began a commitment to make our event zero waste. The dinnerware and other applicable trash at the festival was either composted on our property to be used as nutrient rich soil for our crops, or it was recycled. This left the farm with only one bag of non recyclable and non compostable trash for over 200 people and 10 vendors at the fall festival. Branstrator Farm is in the process of growing this idea and making the service available to other community events in and around our region. This new service is called Zero Wasted. The way it works is the farm will provide all the dinnerware that an event needs as well as clear and concise signs for event guests on where to dispose of their waste. When the event has come to its conclusion the waste will then be picked up and taken to our composting pad at the farm. In providing this service not only are we helping to decrease the amount of trash disposed in landfills but we are also providing high quality organic matter that will decrease our need for fertilizers. If you live in southwest Ohio area and are interested in making your next event a Zero Wasted event please contact us at (937)203-8289 for more information.


At the end of October Jon attended the Cover Crop Solutions Field Day in Lititz Pennsylvania. This field day is intended to provide the latest research in cover crop technology to farmers.  There are many benefits to plant cover crops in fields that are harvested for the year.  Cover crops sequester atmospheric carbon to make stable soil carbon. They also build nitrogen and relieve soil compaction. Vegetables grown on cover cropped soil are much cleaner and will suffer less diseases. Jon was very impressed with the regeneration of soil health brought about by the use of cover crop mixtures. Some of the best plots had as many as 15 varieties. We planted a field to Tillage Radish and Austrian Winter peas after wheat harvest this August. The ‘14 pumpkin patch was planted to rye, hairy vetch Austrian winter peas and tillage radish. We are committed to keep something growing on every field all year long thus increasing the quality of our produce.


Another addition to this years harvest was that of Broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts. Having watched our Amish and Mennonite friends grow a beautiful crop of cauliflower, Brussels sprouts  and broccoli every fall we thought that we would give it a try. Although we have done it in years past this years yield was the best we have grown. The fresh brassicas (cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower) have a sweeter taste and crisper texture than the shipped in ones. We hope to continue to grow these vegetables better with every passing year.


As 2013 comes to a close Branstrator Farm renews its commitment to providing the community with fresh produce that comes from a farm that holds education and research with high regard. The farm is constantly keeping up with sustainable farming practices, consistently looking at ways to decrease our environmental impact and finding more ways to be involved with and support the local community. To run such a large operation is a difficult task and we could not complete it without help. We are grateful for all of the love and support of our friends and community members. We would like to take this time to truly thank our friends, volunteers and partners who have helped make this year such a success. From our table to yours we hope that you and your family have a very beloved and happy holiday season.

Fall season is just beginning and with it comes 30 + acres of the 40 different kinds of squash we grow. We are busy hauling 16,000 pounds of pumpkin per day and planning our much anticipated fall festival. 

This year our fall festival is focused on the Three Sisters; corn, squash and beans. This is a method of sustainable agriculture made famous by certain native american groups in our region. The corn stalk provides a growing region for the beans while the beans provide the soil with much needed nitrogen. The squash that florishes around the feet of the corn stalk provides growing mulch that keeps the soil cool from the sun while the prickly vine keeps away insects that would eat the produce. All three of these plants when planted together use each others' natural resources to create the best product. 

Speaking of using our natural resources, this year will be our first year in using a zero waste method at our festival.  This method was made popular by a group out of Athens County called Appalachia Ohio Zero Waste Initiative. The dinnerware products we will use for our Three Sisters stew and desserts are made from recycled material and is also 100% compostable that will be composted directly on our farm! We will provide methods for our guests to recycle glass and aluminum cans as well as a volunteer to educate guests on the proper method of disposal. Although we won't be completely zero waste this year we will be moving in the right direction.So now that you can sleep easy knowing that our festival will have a small carbon footprint on our planet we move onto the fun part! 

We expect this to be our biggest and most entertaining festival yet. Live local music will be provided by Clinton County Live with various bands such as Teri Singswithraven Rivera, The Steven Gregory Band, Old Man Stuckert Family and Sam Milller & Friends. Our favorite face painters will be in attendance the Mama Yagas and Family Fun Center will also be in attendance for you and your family to play laser tag and bounce in the bounce houses for the duration. To top off the entertainment we will have Brett Sears the Magician at the festival from 12pm-2pm on Saturday. There is going to be delicious food provided by Velvet Smoke Barbecue and Fireside Pizza as well as Branstrator's own Three Sisters Vegetarian Stew. You can enjoy a hayride through beautiful farmland down to our real 20+acres of pumpkin patch and pick your pumpkin right off the vine. Our other vendors include Peaceful Acres Lavender Farm, Sacred Mountain Alpaca Farm, Under the Beautiful Sun, Labeled 1 Design and more! 

This year we are trying out something new for our festivals: contests. This year we are hosting a recipe contest and a pumpkin carving contest. What is a fall festival without a little pumpkin carving competition? There will be three winners in both contests and each person will win $50 worth of coupons to be used throughout the growing season and at farmer's markets! That's $300 of free food!! Click on the links above in green to see the rules and regulations. 


Bounce houses, laser tag, face painting, contests, hay rides, delicious foods and awesome vendors; to miss this will be to miss the event of the year! Mark your calendars now and visit our Festivals page here for all the information you need! If you are interested in volunteering or becoming a vendor fill out the appropriate form or email us at Branstratorfarm.oh@gmail.com with any further questions. Can't wait to see you there!!!   

Summer has been flying by in a hurry!  We have been busy picking our bountiful fruit, attending farmer's markets, delivering produce to exceptional retailers, planting fall produce and getting ready for our fall festival Three Sisters Harvest Festival. 
      The farmer's markets are one of our favorite things to do. We enjoy seeing our first time customers turn into our returning customers. Also,we love hearing that people wait all year just to bite into one of our juicy and delectable Saturn Donut peaches, or that 'those blackberries are the biggest they have ever seen!' 
      Branstrator Farm is represented at three different farmer's markets. Tuesday evenings from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm you can find us at the Loveland Farmer's Market while on Thursdays from 3:30 pm to 7:00 pm you can find us at the Madeira Farmer's Market. We finish the week close to home at the Clinton County Farmer's Market from 8:30 am to 12pm. We appreciate all of our customer's support and can't wait to see you again this week!  
     If you can't make the farmer's market we also wholesale to a few different stores and keep our produce stocked in our farm store. 
All three Dorothy Lane Markets, Pipkins, Schucter and Yankee Street Market stock all of our best produce. Our farm store is the best place to buy produce. It is always stocked with the freshest fruit that is in season and is always at a great low price. We are open 24 hours a day and now accepting credit cards! 
    August is a great month to eat local! There are two events that will be featuring our fruit and other produce that were all grown locally. Supporting these events are a great way to reduce the carbon footprint on our planet and also to support local businesses. One such unique event called Dinner in the Fields will be hosting our peaches and blackberries on August 9, 2013 right on a local farm in Clinton County. Dorothy Lane Markets will also be hosting an event called Honestly Local Harvest Dinner on August 15th that will feature our peaches. If you are interested in either event click on the links above to buy tickets today!
    Lastly, we are proud to announce our fourth annual fall festival called Three Sisters Harvest Festival October 5th and 6th. The Three Sisters are the three main agricultural crops of various Native American groups including corn, squash and climbing beans.Learn more about this interesting technique the first weekend in October at the farm! For more information event page.
    We want to thank everyone again for their continued support of our farm and wish everyone a great couple of last weeks of summer!

The farm is buzzing with new life and lots of activity.  The peaches were in bloom this month as well as the strawberries.  Asparagus is starting to get picked and the compost pad is filling up thanks to some generous tree trimmers.  

Have you ever eaten a pumpkin?  Did you know that you could?  Are you one of the many who think it is just a cool piece of fall decor? Well, not anymore.  We have found some great recipes for food you can make and eat in a pumpkin.  We hope you enjoy these wonderful dishes.  Stop on out to the farm and fill all of your pumpkin needs. 

This is a roasted breakfast pumpkin filled with eggs, ham, cabbage, garlic, and a few other things.  You could substitute any of the items for your favorite breakfast grub.  Click here for the recipe.

For all of our vegan friends, here is a great recipe for a veggie and quinoa stuffed pumpkin.  (You have to scroll a little over half way down the page.)  The recipe includes red and white quinoa, broccoli, zucchini, and various herbs and spices. 

Let us know which of these are your favorites.  The farm has many different sizes and shapes of pumpkins, all of which, would be great for these recipes!  Happy Fall!

There are many ways to help with the Freestore Foodbank like Volunteering, being a Freestore Foodbank Advocate, and/or donating food by dropping food off, shipping food, or by donating through their Virtual food drive.  This is a great way to give back to your community.