Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Growing and Buying Heirloom Apples

heirloom applesAs Eve so famously discovered, apples are alluring. These brightly colored orbs tempt us with crisp flesh and juicy sweetness. It’s no wonder that apples have spread throughout the temperate regions of the world.

The mother of all apples, malus sieversii, which originated in the rugged mountains of Central Asia, has given rise to thousands of varieties over time, bearing names ranging from regal to whimsical, including Maiden’s Blush, Blue Pearmain, Bellefleur, Duchess of Oldenburg, and Seek No Further. Apples first arrived in the Americas in the 1600s, and by the early nineteenth century were being grown to make everything from cider, sauce and pies to apple butter. » Continue Reading.


Friday, October 14, 2016

Gingerbread Contest Theme Is “Camps and Cottages”

gingerbread houseThe 2016 Sugar & Spice gingerbread display will open at The TAUNY Center at the organization’s annual Holiday Open House, on Saturday, December 3. Bakers are encouraged to get creative and imagine the camp or cottage of their dreams, build a model of their own camp or cottage, recreate a landmark, or find their own way to interpret this year’s theme to craft their own unique gingerbread house.

Since 2002, contestants from throughout the region have competed annually in various age categories as well as for the People’s Choice award, which is announced at the end of December. Past themes have included local landmarks, fairy tales, children’s literature, and gingerbread around the world. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Old Forge BrewFest Set For Saturday

old forge brewfestView, the multi-arts center in Old Forge, has announced the 2016 BrewFest will be held on Saturday, October 15, 2016 from noon to 5 pm. The Blind Owl Band will be at BrewFest from 1 pm to 5 pm, a bluegrass-rock-country-folk band, hailing from Saranac Lake.

BrewFest Craft Beer Festival will take place at the North Street Pavilion in Old Forge. Old Forge on Tap will showcase over 60 releases from some of America’s best craft breweries. Attendees will receive three hours of sampling along with a souvenir sampling glass. » Continue Reading.


Friday, September 30, 2016

Precision Apple Orchard Management Project Results

precision-apple-project-sensory-panel-members-evaluate-honeycrisp-apples-sampled-weekly-from-several-orchards-throughout-new-york-stateThe Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has posted the results of recent precision apple orchard management research evaluating the impact of applying precise orchard management practices to improve the yield, fruit size and quality of the regional apple crop for a more consistent higher economic return per acre.

Three specific strategies are under evaluation by a research team of Northern New York apple growers, Cornell University faculty, and Cornell Cooperative Extension personnel. The orchard management practices, designed to enhance the efficiency of apple production, include precision orchard thinning, irrigation, and harvest timing. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Adirondack Rural Skills and Homesteading Festival Saturday

adirondack homesteading festival, 2012The 2016 Adirondack Rural Skills and Homesteading Festival will be held Saturday, October 1st at the Paul Smith’s College’s Adirondack Visitor’s Center.

The festival features exhibitions on logging and farming with draft horses, and a demonstration of competitive lumberjack sports by the Paul Smith’s College Woodsmen’s Team, along with workshops on canning, cider making, woodworking, renewable energy, cord wood construction, small-scale farming, and primitive skills. » Continue Reading.


Saturday, September 24, 2016

An Abundance of Caution: Wild Food and Risk

solanum nigrum“I’ve got a botanical question for you,” my friend said as he came into my classroom the other day. “Is black nightshade edible?” He’d found some growing near his chicken coop. “I took the tiniest bite,” he said. “I’m not sure if I felt funny because of what I ate, or because I was nervous.”

I told him that black nightshade is edible, if what he had was actually black nightshade (note: there is also an unrelated plant called deadly nightshade, which is toxic). I asked him to describe the plant, and after some discussion, he asked if I had ever eaten it. I never had. “Why not?” he asked, and I had to pause. At least partly, I haven’t eaten it because of fear. » Continue Reading.


Monday, September 19, 2016

Willsboro Hardy Grapes Nursery Being Remodeled

Grape GrowersThe cold Hardy Grape Variety Research nursery in Northern New York is getting a make-over.

With new funding from the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program that helped establish the nursery at the Cornell Willsboro Research Farm in Willsboro in 2005, old vines have been removed, the soil is being refreshed, and new varieties of grapes have been selected for planting in 2017.

The evaluation of new varieties has been named a priority by growers associated by the wine grape industry across New York state. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Champlain Area Harvest Fest, Hamlet Hikes Sept 16-17

CATS hikeThe Adirondack Harvest Festival will be held at the Essex County Fairgrounds in Westport on Friday and Saturday, September 16th and 17th. The event, which celebrates local farms and farmers with food, drink, music, and hikes, is supported by supported by the Hub on the Hill, Adirondack Farmers Coalition, Champlain Area Trails Society, Cornell University Cooperative Extension, The Adirondack Cuisine Trail, and adirondacks, usa.

The fairgrounds will feature a farmers’ market, over forty vendors, farming demonstrations (learn how to make sausage, cheese, and more), Ben Stechschulte’s film “Small Farm Rising,” and “Eat, Meet, & Be Merry,” a get-together hosted by Essex Farm’s Mark Kimball and the Adirondack Farmers Coalition, to sample local foods and exchange stories about our area’s new farming culture.

» Continue Reading.


Friday, September 2, 2016

Last Farm 2 Fork Festival in Saranac Lake Saturday

IMG_5392According to Adirondack Green Circle and Farm 2 Fork Founder Gail Brill “All good things come to an end.” In its seventh and final year, the festival that connected people to regional farmers through local food using traditional recipes and techniques will go out with a bang. For anyone knowing Brill and her passion for local food, “over” just means reinventing.

This year’s Farm 2 Fork Festival, a collaboration between the Adirondack Green Circle and Ausable Valley Grange, is bringing local food under the Big Top. This year’s circus themed festival continues to celebrate local food and farmers with other fun activities. In addition to the tasting ticket, there will be stilt walkers, face-painters, live music with Slow Pony and even a dunk booth. » Continue Reading.


Saturday, August 27, 2016

Saranac Lake Farm 2 Fork Festival September 3rd

farm 2 fork festivalThe seventh installment of the annual Farm 2 Fork Festival will feature a new twist. For 2016, Farm 2 Fork presents the “BBQ Under the Big Top,” a celebration of local food and farmers infused with a circus atmosphere.

Farm 2 Fork is a collaboration of the Adirondack Green Circle and the AuSable Grange. The festival’s mission is to expand support of local foods and farms, and promote food awareness in the northern Adirondacks. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, August 18, 2016

High Peaks Happy Hour: Ledge Rock Hill Winery, Corinth

LRH_SignsWine making in the Adirondacks dates back to early settlers who fermented wild grapes and other native fruits and berries. Grape cultivation in this region is no easy feat. Thanks however to new hybrid varieties and a greater understanding of the region’s terroir, the number of vineyards are growing.

New York State recognizes five wine grape growing regions, or American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), including the Finger Lakes and the Hudson Valley, but a group of local growers are petitioning to create an Upper Hudson AVA. Like the Farm Brewery Law, which has led to a local increase in hops and barley farming and the beer and distilling industries, an Upper Hudson AVA is expected to encourage similar growth in the wine industry. Gary Akrop, owner and founder of Ledge Rock Hill Vineyard and Winery in Corinth, is among those working toward this goal. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, August 18, 2016

Missile Silo Stout Launches At Big Slide Brewery Grand Opening Saturday

big slide breweryEight months ago, the makings of Lake Placid’s newest soon-to-be brewery were tucked away in one of the Adirondacks’ most unusual places — a decommissioned Atlas Missile Silo built during the height of the Cold War. The silo, now operating as Atlas Hoofed It Farm, is perhaps the perfect site to age Big Slide Brewery’s Grand Opening beer however, a Russian Imperial Stout dubbed “To Russia with Love.”

While the kegs were aging, the plans for Big Slide Brewery & Public House were also coming to fruition. The new restaurant and brewery located at 5686 Cascade Road in Lake Placid features a hybrid 3.5/5 barrel brew-house at its center, modern industrial-style dining room, and a semi-open kitchen. A soft opening in June previewed beers from Big Slide’s sister brewery, The Lake Placid Pub & Brewery, as well as its own, with a plan to push the envelope of beer styles. » Continue Reading.


Sunday, August 14, 2016

New Book: Spring Trout And Strawberry Pancakes

spring trout and strawberry pancakesAuthor William J. “Jay” O’Hern’s new book, Spring Trout & Strawberry Pancakes: Quirky Cures, Camp Recipes & the Adirondack Characters Who Cook Them Up, looks at some old Adirondack folks, their stories, and how their favored recipes brought mouthwatering meals to Adirondack tables.

With vintage photographs, Spring Trout & Strawberry Pancakes highlights hand-picked camp recipes, background stories of old camps and characters, historic photos, tales, time-tested household cleaning tips and old-fashioned remedies for common ills.

Each chapter highlights appealing recipes and a look back at an Adirondack site, or camp, and the people associated with it, from the 1890s to more recent times. The format features recipes for breads, pastries, soups, casseroles, stews, goulash, practical main meals, desserts, beverages, picnic menus, camping trips, and holiday gatherings. » Continue Reading.


Friday, August 12, 2016

Recent Crop Study Shows Good Results For Ginger

freshly harvested gingerThe farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has released the results of field trials indicating that fresh market baby ginger produced by regional growers can sell for four times the price of conventional ginger sold in stores.

But should every grower start planting ginger?

The market potential of ginger as a season extension and profit builder for Northern New York growers was evaluated as part of the Advancing Season Extension and Protected Culture Efficiency Project funded by the farmer-driven research program. The project also included enterprise budgeting for growing the high-value alternative high-tunnel crops of ginger, turmeric, summer lettuce and basil. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Adirondack Murray Inspires Local Whiskey, Rye and Vodka

A vintage poster reminds us of the celebrity of W.H.H. MurrayRandall Beach, an Albany attorney who grew up in Plattsburgh, has always been fascinated by W.H. H. Murray and the role that he played in opening the Adirondacks to tourism.

And with good reason. The New England cleric was a great-great grandfather on his father’s side.

With access to family papers, many of them never seen before, Beach is writing Murray’s biography. The last biography, published in 1905, was written by Harry Radford, better known for his efforts to re-introduce the moose and the beaver to the Adirondacks and for his death at the hands of his guides in Alaska. » Continue Reading.



Conditions
Conditions

The Adirondack Almanack

The Adirondack Almanack is a public forum dedicated to promoting and discussing current events, history, arts, nature and outdoor recreation and other topics of interest to the Adirondacks and its communities

We publish commentary and opinion pieces from voluntary contributors, as well as news updates and event notices from area organizations. Contributors include veteran local writers, historians, naturalists, and outdoor enthusiasts from around the Adirondack region. The information, views and opinions expressed by these various authors are not necessarily those of the Adirondack Almanack or its publisher, the Adirondack Explorer.

General inquiries about the Adirondack Almanack should be directed to editor Melissa Hart. To advertise on the Adirondack Almanack, or to receive information on rates and design, please click here.
Web Services & Search Engine Optimization By: Suloff Designs

Wait! Before you go:

Catch up on all your Adirondack
news, delivered weekly to your inbox