News and Blog
ATTRACTING BUTTERFLIES
Butterflies are one of the most fascinating and mesmerizing creatures on our planet. I could spend hours watching them drift from flower to flower. Most of us love having them in our garden and are happy to grow certain flower for their pleasure.
You can lure butterflies to your garden by planting flowers that bloom in succession. For early spring blooms, consider violas or pansies; for mid to late summer, purple coneflower, lantana, verbena and sunflowers are a few of their favorites.
Butterflies love variety. Think about planting feathery herbs, such as dill, fennel, and parsley. these herbs serve as host foods for larvae of the black swallowtail butterfly. Be sure to include all of them when designing your herb garden.
If you want to get in on the spring tours we encourage you to plan early. 
Indigo Farms Spring Tour 2012
Welcome to Indigo Farms! This tour is designed to provide an interactive and educational experience for children of all ages. Come enjoy spring on the farm!
The highlights of a tour are:
The hay ride around the orchards and fields. Your guide will explain what you are passing.
A walking tour of barnyard. Your guide will provide information about the various animals.
The experience of picking strawberries or vegetables.
A great opportunity to get out and learn about agriculture and our environment!
The instructional part of your tour will take 1 to 1.5 hours. Please allow extra time if you plan to eat lunch or a snack. Please let us know if you plan to eat lunch or a snack. We have picnic tables available and an on site bakery serving lunch and assorted baked goods. If you would like to place an order with the bakery, please call the week before your tour. See numbers below.
About the tour:
Enjoy a guided educational tour of the barnyard. You will see and learn about our horses, geese, peacock, turkeys, goats, sheep, pigs and Hershey the hinny . We usually have baby goats, spring chicks, and/or goslings.
In the greenhouse you will see dozens of plants, in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors! Students will learn what plants need to grow and why we can't live without them.
On the hay ride you will see our blueberry, peach, grape, asparagus, and strawberry fields as well as various other seasonal crops. At frequent stops along the way your guide will tell you which crops you are seeing and some of their uses. As you ride around the farm you will have an opportunity to learn about some of the native plants that we protect and why they are important. You will see our bee hives and learn the reason honey bees are important to farms. At some point along the ride you will stop and pick either strawberries or a vegetable, preferably strawberries.
What you will take home: Each student will receive an Indigo Farms Spring coloring book that reinforces the information presented during the tour. They will also take home a cup of strawberries and get a flowering plant to grow. We have additional educational information available, just ask!
Price:
The cost is $7.00per person. This includes all parents and siblings over one year old. One teacher and assistant are free per class. Special ed. classes may qualify to have additional adults free.
Additional Strawberries: There will not be time for adults to pick extra strawberries during the tour. If individuals or groups want to order berries let us know in advance of your tour and we can have them ready. Call the day before your tour to place an order. 910-287-6794 or 843-399-6902
Weather: If the weather is questionable please call to inquire about the weather here, or to reschedule. Should you cancel for any other reason it is important that you let us know a week in advance of our tour date.
Parking: We encourage you to car pool as we have limited parking. Please park behind the Farm Market. Park with your group. We like to keep groups together so that no one gets blocked in. Please try to be at the farm 5 - 10 minutes early. It usually takes that long to get everyone paid and ready to start. We want your tour to be relaxing and enjoyable, not rushed. If you arrive late your tour may be shortened. CALL FOR RESERVATIONS: 910-287-6794 or 843-399-6902 and ask for tour reservations.
Web address www.indigofarmsmarket.com for summer tours, fall tours and more.
Other Activities for the Whole Family!
Available year-round:Visit the Barnyard; Birthday Parties for all ages
Available in the Spring and Summer:
Pick Your Own Strawberries and Blueberries; Ask about picking tomatoes, garden peas, and other crops. Please call for the days and hours our fields will be open.
Our Summer farm tours are a relaxing way to spend your morning! Groups pick blueberries, receive a guided tour of the farm and barnyard, and get a group watermelon.
Available in the Fall:
Night time hay rides and bonfires; Pumpkin Patch Hay rides (Certain days and times only, please call for additional information.)
Free Fun For Everyone!
We invite you to our Fall Event Days. There is no admission fee, so bring the whole family! (There are fees for some activities.) Hay rides, pumpkin patch hay rides, our hay maze and Naspig racing are ongoing during both of these days.
Farm Heritage Day, October 6, 2012, is a time to visit the farm and learn about local history. We have lots of different exhibitors at the farm to show how this were done in the past. In pervious years we have had a blacksmith; the Horry County Museum demonstrating a 1915 engine; spinning, weaving, and dyeing demos; basket making, and much more.
Pumpkin Day, October 20, 2012, is a fun day to enjoy the fall. Activities include pumpkin painting; corn shucking/shelling/throwing races; sack races, a special section with activities for young children, and more!
STOCKPIG Racing on both event days!!
The winter season has made a much harder and earlier impression than anticipated. December weather was as cold throughout as any December in memory. But we hope that you have experienced the warmth of a rich , meaningful Holiday season.
The market is closed until late January, about the 19th.
If you are interested in sweet potatoes, collards, turnips , lettuce, radishes, flour mixes, honey, meat, etc. we suggest you call 910-287-6794 or 843-399-6902. Please be sure to talk to someone instead of simply leaving a message.
If you want something from the Garden Center please call 910- 287- 6457 or the above numbers.
The winter strawberries have been affected but there is ripening fruit out there now. As of January 2 much of the fruit looked as if it would come through the cold. Most all the blossoms that were open or close to opening were killed. It appears that we can pick some strawberries but will need to work on February and March for better production.
We have some organic lettuce and radishes that are growing now. If the weather is more normal this should be available. We would be glad to help you so please don’t hesitate to call, but try to speak to someone rather than depend on leaving a message.
It is the season for pruning peach trees , grape vines, cleaning blueberry bushes, repairing equipment and making plans where and what to plant for the spring , summer and fall.
Now is a great time to get heirloom tomatoes. We are picking our late crop and keeping them from the frost so we hope to make them go as long as we can. We also have baby romas and other tomatoes as well. Fresh mustard , turnips, peppers, basil and greens are coming off the farm. We still have some persimmons.
We have a good supply of pie pumpkins and some heirloom pumpkins. Thanksgiving is coming so keep the bakery in mind if you want to add some special items to your Thanksgiving dinner.
For all you Naspig fans the season has ended and it was a very tight finish for the points winner!Number 3 ( Cinderella ) held on with a good many 2 and 3 place finishes to retain the point lead.Meanwhile number 1( Howden ) actually begin to win races that Number 7 ( Iron Man ) had dominated in mid season that made the point race far more interesting. The final results were Cinderella had 155 points, Howden had 143, Iron Man had 141 and Lumina had 118.
The barnyard is still open during the market hours. The hay maze , corn stalk teepee and scarecrows are out so it allows some quieter time for a family to be together. If it is a little cool you can warm up afterwards with something warm from the bakery. It can make a for a pleasant time together no matter what age your family may be.
We have some very good quality sweet potatoes and one of the best apple selections around. We will be making apple cider again this week. Be sure to check out the apple pies in the bakery.
This a good time for honey as well. There are lots of mixes and things to go with honey. If you want Sarah’s honey, she will have some available ( ask for it if you do not see it on the shelves).
We will have Pumpkin patch open on Friday the 29th. That will be the last time for this year. It will not be open on Saturday. the 30th. If you are interested in night time hay rides please call 843-399-6902 or 910-287-6794 for reservations. You can still buy pumpkins at the garden center.
Thank you for being a part of PUMPKIN DAY here on the farm! I hope your time was good and it becomes one of those cherished moments.
Special thanks to the people who helped out for the day. It was particularly challenging with such a large turn out. It takes people who care to create a safe and pleasant environment. So please know your help is valued.
We apology to all who found themselves waiting in a long line to go to the pumpkin patch. I had made some adjustments to help eliminate the long lines. However it wasn’t enough. There really needed to be two wagons for the pumpkin patch not one.
This Friday afternoon(October 22, 3-5pm) and Saturday morning ( October 23, 10am-1pm) we will have the pumpkin patch open. This Saturday we will have another pig race at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. There will still be lots to do and see at the farm although the farm games and pumpkin painting will not be available as they were on Pumpkin Day.
There are still some times left for night time hay rides. See web site for more information. Just call or email to see about reservations.
Don’t forget about the Garden Center for flowers, pumpkins, Fall decor and very importantly Holiday gift ideas. Now is a great time to shop and buy for the gardener.
The Produce market has some very good apple cider, grape juices made right on the farm. The apple selection is very good as well. We still have heirloom pumpkins, persimmons, chestnuts, sweet potatoes, and soon more heirloom tomatoes. The weather has slowed the ripening on the tomatoes but they will come. We have some good mustard greens and peppers, basil, beans, acorn squash and more.
The Bakery is getting ready for the Holidays too. So don’t forget to let them help you this year also.
Pumpkin Day is October 16, this Saturday, 9am -4:30pm.
For many people
Pumpkin Day holds some of their most pleasant memories. If you haven’t been to Pumpkin Day it is much more than something to do. It is something to experience. It is a very good way to celebrate the Fall season. The farm atmosphere brings many simple joys and reminds us that life is not about ourselves. The old farm games provide an opportunity to be a kid again and for good reasons. You can share the moment with your kids in way you rarely get to. You have lots of opportunity to encourage your child as they do things that may be new to them or maybe they tried them last year but they just know they can do them this year. Positive reinforcement, genuine desire to help them achieve simple success on their own level. Relating without the distractions, the parent can share the moment and build rich meaningful memories. So whether it is painting a pumpkin or participating in animal sounds, stilts or sack races seize the opportunity.
This is the climax for the Naspig season. There are more pig races through out the day than any other day. The races usually determine the outcome for the leaders in the point race. The pigs usually have developed an interest in running by now. Old farm games such as sack races, corn shelling, cob throwing, pumpkin archery, seed spitting, apple eating, stilt races, tug of war, pumpkin pull. Pumpkin Day , what to look for. The younger kids have their own village to themselves with games as well, just for them. Box train, teepee, straw house, many little houses, ring toss, cob throwing, stick horses. The hay maze, the hand pump, the barnyard and scarecrows, the pig races, stilts and the games are all free. The music and dancing entertainment is free. There are lots of places to take pictures. Plus there is no admission. Other activities do have a fee. Painting pumpkins is $7-8, Pony rides are about $5 ( I think?) , hay rides are $2, Pick your own pumpkins to the Pumpkin Patch is $16 which includes the whole family riding the wagon and the first pumpkin. You can pick more pumpkins if you want. They are priced according to size, large $8, med $4, small $2, mini jacks and gourds .25. If we introduce a hay jump it too will have a small fee, possibly .25-.50 per jump.
There is food available at the snack wagon or in the bakery. Be sure to try our apple cider. It gets very good comments. The farm market is open as well, the produce market featuring a good selection of Mountain apples, tomatoes, beans, sweet potatoes, greens, organic heirloom pumpkins, persimmons, chestnuts and more. The bakery has lots of pies and desserts. The Garden Center has tons of Fall decor , pumpkins, straw bales, corn stalks and then a whole line of fall flowers such as large, colorful mums in many colors. Keep in mind they have some good holiday gift ideas too. Don’t forget about night time hay rides by reservation .
We at Indigo Farms thank you for allowing us to serve you. Please help spread the word not only about Pumpkin Day but about the many ways we can help you throughout the seasons.
