Oysters in Annapolis next Thursday

Get yourself fresh, local Chesapeake Bay oysters with you CSA pick-up next week to enjoy with the family!
The order deadline is coming up quickly Tuesday, July 14^th at 12midnight, so act fast.  

 

Check out this video from Chesapeake Bay Magazine about this Annapolis Oyster Pop-up Event

and the work CBF is doing to support the oyster farming industry!

Annapolis, MD – Harris Creek Oyster Farm Pop Up

Important – Order Deadline: *Orders must be placed by Tuesday, July 14th by 12midnight Annapolis Pop-up Date:  Thursday, July 16th from 4pm-6:30pm Location: CBF Phillip Merrill Center, 6 Herndon Ave, Annapolis, MD 21403 How to Order: Orders must be placed by Tuesday, July 14th by 12midnight Pricing:  Fewer than 50 oysters  price is $1/oyster 50+ oysters price is $0.85/oyster 100+ oysters price is $0.75/oyster How to Order: Email farmer Alex at alex@harriscreekoyster.com About Harris Creek Oyster Farm: We are 100% family owned, funded and operated oyster farm located between St. Michaels and Tilghman Island, Maryland. We're building on nearly 13 generations of family history farming and fishing on Maryland's Eastern Shore. We’re here to produce a beautiful oyster. Any questions? Please email Farmer Alex at alex@harriscreekoyster.com

 

 

For Pick-Up:

• You must pre-order your oysters by the order deadline!
• Please bring a cooler with gel packs (preferable) or ice!
• We are using contact-less curbside procedures: wear a mask, you will be asked to open your trunk and cooler (with ice!) and oyster farm staff will drop your oysters in your cooler.

How to Care for Your Oysters:

• How to properly store oysters: place immediately in fridge and cover with a damp towel. Do not allow to sit in standing water. Avoid rough handling prior to shucking. They’ll stay optimally fresh for raw consumption for 7-10 days from harvest and up to two weeks for cooked consumption.
• How to properly shuck oysters: use a knife to shuck from the hinge or the bill. There are plenty of video tutorials online or just ask your handy neighbor! You can also use heat (oven, grill, microwave even) to get them to pop open and then cut the meat free.
• How to properly enjoy oysters: any way you want! Raw, grilled, baked, fried. Naked, hot sauce, lemon & horseradish…the possibilities are endless! This is a chance to get creative with nature’s perfect food.

Why You Should Be Eating Aquaculture Oysters!

• It’s a great time to eat farmed oysters to help save the Bay! Read this Washington Post article on how oyster farms have been impacted by the disruptions to the restaurant industry: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/with-restaurants-closed-oyster-farmers-need-home-cooks-to-start-shucking/2020/04/28/7cf0b4be-8986-11ea-8ac1-bfb250876b7a_story.html
• Learn more about CBF’s efforts to promote the aquaculture industry here: [cbf.org/oysterpopups]cbf.org/oysterpopups and [cbf.org/buylocaloysters]cbf.org/buylocaloysters

• We’re proud to help support fellow Chesapeake Oyster Alliance partners through these Oyster Pop-ups! Learn more about our goal to add 10 billion oysters to the Bay by 2025: http://www.chesapeakeoysteralliance.org/

Can't make the pop-up pick-up times or interested in getting oysters delivered to your home? See our list of local oyster farms providing direct-to-customer services

Kick Off the New Season! Clagett Farm Open House This Saturday, May 4

This photo is from Clagett Farm's Facebook page. So cute, right?

 

Spring has fully sprung, and it's time to kick off the 2019 season!

Please join us this weekend for the Clagett Farm Spring Open House. You can explore the farm, and say hello to your farmers. (They're eager to socialize after the long winter!)

We'll have hayrides, garlic scallions for CSA members, and we'll be serving quesadillas hot and fresh from the clay oven.

And yes, there will be baby lambs.

So join us for a lovely afternoon on the farm.

Saturday, May 4
Noon - 4 p.m.
Clagett Farm
11904 Old Marlboro Pike 
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772

 

 

Help us celebrate

What would you do if you met someone who is about to turn 70 and discovered that no one had ever thrown him a birthday party?  You'd throw a big one, of course!  This gentle soul, Mr. Joe Brown, turns 70 this month and we need your help to celebrate.    He is quite shy, after all, and hasn't left the farm much in these 70 years, so you are some of the lucky few he has met.  Don't have a lot to say to Joe?  Don't worry!  Come for the food, cake and good cheer.  The farm staff are throwing the party right after the Spring Open House, so you can come early for the hayride and stay late for the birthday festivities. 

Saturday April 28th

5:00-9:00pm

No need for birthday gifts--just bring yourselves.

RSVP here.

A little history about Joe:

Joe Brown came to this farm with his family when he was 16 years old.  This was a tobacco farm owned by Charles Clagett at the time, and Joe's father was a well digger.  Joe spent his working life planting, hoeing, harvesting, hanging and stripping tobacco.  In 1982 when the farm was donated to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Joe continued to live on the property, while helping our neighbor, Billy Addison, with his tobacco.  In the 90s, Billy stopped farming tobacco and Joe started working with us on the vegetable operation, and helping with mowing and hay.  We appreciated his incredible strength and endurance, and he is quietly kind to everyone he meets, without fault.  Joe is now retired, and continues to live by himself in one of the farm houses.  He takes a walk through the farm every day to check out what's new, and during the CSA pick-up, Joe likes to sit at the bench and watch everyone come and go.  

If you're interested in bringing food to the party, let us know.  Joe likes soft foods (egg salad, tuna salad, pasta salad...).  No need to bring him a bottle of wine--Joe does not drink alcohol.  

 

Spring Open House at Clagett Farm Saturday April 28th 1:00-4:00pm

It's that time of year when we bring out the hay wagon and show off the baby lambs.  The cows will be dressed up in their fresh spring coats.  The calves will romp around playfully.  And your farm staff will be excited to tell you and your friends and family and neighbors and anyone else you can cajole to the farm all about our CSA and how marvelous it will be this year.  Bring a picnic if you'd like!  We'll have a great time.  

Saturday, April 28th

1:00-4:00pm

FREE for all, everyone welcome

  

Photo credits: Instagram user JordanPShreiber (top) and Lauren Winther-Hansen

Spring Open House, Saturday April 29th

Would you (or someone you know) like to learn more about the organic vegetables we grow here at Clagett Farm?  Know anyone who wants a free hay ride tour?  Would you like to pet some adorable baby sheep?  Come to the Spring Open House!  Everyone is welcome.  Saturday April 29th, noon to 4:00pm.    

We still have memberships open in our 26-week organic vegetable CSA, so we would love it if you could invite people in the area who might be interested in purchasing our produce.

 All of the activities are free.  

Spring Open House, Saturday April 29th, FREE

We hope you'll join us on Saturday, April 29 from noon to 4 p.m. for Clagett Farm's Spring Open House.

It's a great opportunity to tour the farm, take a hay ride, meet the farmers and attempt to pet our cows & sheep!

The event is free and open to the public.

Future Harvest conference coming soon: Jan 12-14

Looking for a fun way to hang out with your farmers and talk about food?  We'll be at the Future Harvest conference in a few weeks.  Come join us!  

www.futureharvestcasa.org/conference/2017-conference

Mixer meltdown--no pizza Saturday

We are still planning to have the hayride tours and cow/sheep visits on Saturday.  The lambs are friendly and adorable!  But we will not have pizza.  

At about the time that we made the pizza oven and started making more than 20 pizzas at a time, Rob discovered that he needed the help of an electric mixer to make the dough.  So we borrowed my mother's KitchenAid, which started to overheat.  Then we went out on a limb and bought a Professional-grade KitchenAid, which has a more powerful motor.  Last year for the Burgers and Brews for the Bay event, Rob made dough for 200 pizzas.  He had two mixers going and kept bags of ice on the motors to keep them cool.  But now the Professional grade mixer has overheated and broken.  

We will fix the motor, but considering that pizza dough seems to be the equivalent of a summit climb of Mount Everest for a mixer, we've ordered a Commercial grade version.  Why is a Commercial grade motor stronger than a Professional grade?  Who knows, but they assure us it is.  

Unfortunately, we don't think it will arrive in time to make all the dough for Saturday, so we're not promising pizzas for the Open House.  We considered kneading the dough by hand, but we have lots of crops to plant, and they take priority.  Our first week of harvest is coming soon!  

 Stay tuned, for more pizza news, and in the meantime, we look forward to seeing you Saturday.

-Carrie

(Photo below: the mixer that just wasn't up to the task...)

Clagett Farm Spring Open House THIS SATURDAY, 1-4pm

Ready to get friendly with some sheep?  In the mood for some pizza, hot from the clay oven?  Do you know someone who would enjoy a hayride?  

It's all happening this Saturday at Clagett Farm!  

Saturday April 30th, 1:00-4:00pm.  Entrance and hayrides are free, and open to everyone.

11904 Old Marlboro Pike, Upper Marlboro MD 20772 

We'd love to see you!

New CSA members, you're especially encouraged to come get to know your farmers.  Our fellow Upper Marlboro residents, we also send you a special welcome to get to know Clagett Farm.

 

Spring Open House at the Farm and More Updates

This image of Swiss chard is from Farmer Carrie on Instagram. 
 

Join us on Saturday, April 30, from 1 to 4 pm, for a spring open house at Clagett Farm. That day we invite our members and the general public to join us at the farm for tours and hayrides, and you can meet our new baby lambs! The event is free and open to the public. Feel free to bring your friends! We hope to be able to send members home that day with some greens. 

Here are a few more updates for you:

Know someone looking for a CSA? Speaking of friends, we still have a few slots available in this year's CSA. Know someone who might want them? Send them our way!

Curious about what the weather means for this year's CSA season? Over the weekend Farmer Carrie shared on the blog some thoughts about our recent cold weather and what it means for our crops. Check it out!

2016 Chesapeake Foodshed Feast is April 21. Future Harvest is hosting their Chesapeake Foodshed Feast in a few weeks. Get all the details on the blog. 

First Share: May 11 + 14. We expect to kick off this year's CSA season on May 11 and May 14 with our first shares of the season. More on that as we get closer!

Other questions or comments? Let us know!