Make your next fundraiser a
MOTHERS DAY PLANT SALE!!

Let’s face it…everyone loves flowers, and hanging baskets in the early spring
when the weather starts to warm up!!

Finally, an EASY fundraiser that gets BIG results!!

How our Mother’s Day Plant Sale Program can benefit YOU….

• Go Green!!  There’s no more eco-friendly fundraiser you can do!
• Give kids an opportunity to buy Mom a gift she’ll enjoy all year…a beautiful, locally grown flowering plant!
• Promote environmental stewardship & gardening while raising funds for your group!
• By using fundraising plants that are custom grown just for you, your group receives a superior product at wholesale cost.  Since you set your group’s own selling prices, you can easily make 100% profit on most items that you sell!

  It’s EASY to get started!

1. Set your Plant Sale date, time, and location.
2. Choose the items you would like to sell…
    –4” Potted Flowering Annuals (Impatiens, Begonia Dianthus, Petunia, & more!)
   –4” Vegetable Plants (Tomato & Pepper)
   –8” Premium Hanging Baskets (Impatiens, Begonia, Petunia, Dianthus)
3. Determine the quantities you need to get started.
4. Give us a call to place your order & discuss your plans…Contact us and commit as soon as possible. Space is limited !
   We custom grow these plants, so we can accommodate only so many groups.  Submit your order. Orders are due by April 1, 2012.
5. While your plants are growing….PROMOTE your plant sale!!  Promote the  flowers and vegetables to your family, friends, and neighbors.
6. Identify & secure the members of your Plant Sale team.
7. Just before your sale, get your customers informed & ready!!

At VonThun Farms, we’re committed to making organizations succeed with the power of nature’s beauty… We consider our Plant Sale Program to be a high-quality alternative to candle, candy, & wrapping paper sales. For the past 15+ years we have helped schools, churches, scouts and many other groups raise the funds they needed. This year, we’d like to help you too!

To speak to Donna, our staff fundraising expert, call us at 732-329-8656.  We’d love to hear from you!
732-329-8656  ***  Cindy@VonThunFarms.com  ***  VonThunFarms.com
519 Ridge Road, Monmouth Jct, NJ 08852   (SouthBrunswickTownship)

Here at VonThun Farms, honey can’t get more local!!

BEE’cause there aren’t enough honey bees to do the jobs  that we need done (pollination!!), we need to bring bees onto the farm.  Stiles Apiaries and Mr. B’s Bees supply us with our busy little beavers that are responsible for pollinating all the crops we grow.  We also have an observation bee hive that we use to help educate the thousands of school kids that visit each year.  The local honey, supplied by both Stiles Apiaries and Mr. B is available in our Country Farm Market.

Here are some cool facts about honey bees:

Who would think that a honey bee would work so hard, for so little!

1. The honey bee has been around for millions of years.

2. Honey bees have 6 legs, 2 compound eyes made up of thousands of tiny lenses (one on each side of the head), 3 simple eyes on the top of the head, 2 pairs of wings, a nectar pouch, and a stomach.

3. Honey bees have 170 odorant receptors, compared with only 62 in fruit flies and 79 in mosquitoes. Their exceptional olfactory abilities include kin recognition signals, social communication within the hive, and odor recognition for finding food. Their sense of smell is so precise that it could differentiate hundreds of different floral varieties and tell whether a flower carried pollen or nectar from meters away.

4. The honey bee’s wings stroke incredibly fast, about 200 beats per second, thus making their famous, distinctive buzz. A honey bee can fly for up to six miles, and as fast as 15 miles per hour.

5. The average worker bee produces about 1/12th teaspoon of honey in her lifetime.

6. A hive of bees will fly 90,000 miles, the equivalent of three orbits around the earth to collect 1 kg of honey.

7. It takes one ounce of honey to fuel a bee’s flight around the world.

8. A honey bee visits 50 to 100 flowers during a collection trip.

Our honey bees live in style! These are their 'condos' located out towards the pumpkin patch

9. The bee’s brain is oval in shape and only about the size of a sesame seed, yet it has remarkable capacity to learn and remember things and is able to make complex calculations on distance travelled and foraging efficiency.

10. A colony of bees consists of 20,000-60,000 honeybees and one queen. Worker honey bees are female, live for about 6 weeks and do all the work.

11. The queen bee can live up to 5 years and is the only bee that lays eggs. She is the busiest in the summer months, when the hive needs to be at its maximum strength, and lays up to 2500 eggs per day. 

12. Larger than the worker bees, the male honey bees (also called drones), have no stinger and do no work at all. All they do is mating.

13. Each honey bee colony has a unique odor for members’ identification.

14. Only worker bees sting, and only if they feel threatened and they die once they sting. Queens have a stinger, but they don’t leave the hive to help defend it.  It is estimated that 1100 honey bee stings are required to be fatal.

15. Honey bees communicate with one another by “dancing”.

16. During winter, honey bees feed on the honey they collected during the warmer months. They form a tight cluster in their hive to keep the queen and themselves warm.

Now, WHY local honey you ask?
BEE’cause of all it’s health benefits, of course!!

Local honey...It's healthier and more nutritious than you think!!

-- Good source of antioxidants: It plays a big role in the prevention of cancer as well as heart disease.

-- Honey is a treat, and is man’s oldest sweetener. It is an excellent substitute for sugar in our drinks and food. Honey is composed of sugars like glucose and fructose and minerals like magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium chlorine, sulphur, iron and phosphate. Has a low calorie level: Another quality of honey is that, when it is compared with the same amount of sugar, it gives 40% less calories to the body. Although it gives great energy to the body, it does not add weight. Rapidly diffuses through the blood: When accompanied by mild water, honey diffuses into the bloodstream in 7 minutes. Its free sugar molecules make the brain function better since the brain is the largest consumer of sugar, thus, reduces fatigue.

– Honey contains vitamins B1, B2, C, B6, B5 and B3 all of which change according to the qualities of the nectar and pollen. Besides the above, copper, iodine, and zinc exist in it in small quantities. Several kinds of hormones are also present in it.

-- If you have a sore throat, take some honey. Honey has powerful antimicrobial properties, which can soothe your raw tissues. Pour a teaspoon of honey into a large serving spoon and then top off the spoon with lemon juice. Swallow the concoction (without water) every few hours until symptoms clear up. Some people add a pinch of black or red pepper to increase blood circulation to the throat.

-- Due to its natural anti-inflammatory effect, it will help to heal the wounds more quickly.It also has different phytochemicals–chemicals found in plants and different foods–that kill viruses, bacteria, and fungus making it a good substitute for wound dressings.

– Do you have a cut? Honey is a natural antiseptic.  By applying honey to your wounds, you prevent infections. Honey contains antimicrobial agents, which prevents infections by killing the bacteria in and around your wounds.  Many types of bacteria can’t survive in honey, so wounds heal, swelling eases, and tissue can grow back.

– Honey may also be effective in the treatment of your ulcers.In Europe, honey has been used internally to help cure ulcers, particularly stomach ulcers. Honey is easily digested: Because sugar molecules in honey can convert into other sugars (e.g. fructose to glucose), honey is easily digested by the most sensitive stomachs, despite its high acid content. It helps kidneys and intestines to function better.

– Burns, too, heal better with honey, studies show. The advantage of honey is that it not only prevents infections from occurring, it actually accelerates skin healing.

After a tough day at work, the bees come home to deliver their goods!

-- Honey is very effective in the treatment of some pathological conditions of the intestinal tract, the respiratory organs, the heart, and the nerves.

-- Supports blood formation: Honey provides an important part of the energy needed by the body for blood formation. In addition, it helps in cleansing the blood. It has some positive effects in regulating and facilitating blood circulation. It also functions as a protection against capillary problems and arteriosclerosis.

-- Did you know that honey can relieve you from the hangover? If you have drunk a lot and it is becoming difficult to get rid of the hangover by mixing two spoons of  honey  with half a cup of orange juice and half a cup yogurt. Blend them together properly and gulp it down.

-- A tablespoon of honey whisked together with an egg white, 1 teaspoon of glycerin and about 1/4 cup of flour makes an excellent firming mask. Just smooth on the face, leave on 15 minutes, and rinse off with warm water. You will be pleased with the results. Honey also makes a great moisturizing pack. Just mix 2 tablespoons of honey with 2 teaspoons of whole milk, smooth over the face and throat, or try mixing honey with lemon, whipped eggs, and yogurt and let it do its job for 15 minutes. Rinse off with warm water, and finish splashing with cold water.

– Honey also makes a great lotion for dry patches of skin on hands, elbows, or other parts. Just mix 1 teaspoon of honey with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and a 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice. Apply to hands, elbows, heels of your foot, etc., and wash off after 15 minutes. Fast relief!

– Honey works well on chapped lips and for acne bMix 1 tablespoon of honey with a cup of warm water. Use it as a mouthwash. Honey cleans teeth and dentures, and kills germs in the mouth.ecause it has antibacterial properties.

-- To give your hair lustrous shine, mix 1 teaspoon of honey into 4 cups of warm water. Use as a hair rinse. And if you’re a blond, add the juice of 1 lemon, too.

– You can also use local honey to help cure dog allergies. Why does it have it to be local honey? Apparently local honey contains very tiny amounts of pollen. These tiny amounts of pollen are not enough to trigger the allergic reaction in your dog when they ingest the local honey. What does happen though is each time the dog eats the local honey, the dog’s body begins to build up a tolerance to the pollen. Eventually, the dog is able to tolerate the amount of pollen usually present in the dog’s enviornment. It works the same way for humans. You can give your dog anywhere from a teaspoon to a tablespoon of local honey once or twice a day. You can also mix it into to their food. Make sure it is raw local honey.

This info is compliment of: http://www.bees-online.com/HealthBenefitsOfHoney.htm

Local honey VS. store bought honey

The nutrients or enzymes that raw honey does contain are destroyed by manufacturers who heat it in order to give it a clear appearance to enhance sales. It is healthier for you to buy ‘local honey’ and not the manufacturer processed honey you find on Supermarket shelves. Much of the honey on Supermarket shelves comes from overseas and you will not really know that fact. Keep in mind that store-bought honey is pastuerized and all of the beneficial bacteria has been “cooked” out of it.

What is CSA?

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture

Jersey Fresh & homegrown!!

Community Supported Agriculture allows individuals to have direct access to high quality, fresh produce grown locally by local farmers.  When you become a member of VonThun Farms CSA Program, you’re purchasing a “share” of vegetables from the farm. For 18 weeks of our growing season, our knowledgeable staff will package a share of produce just for you to receive.  CSA members pay for an entire season of produce up front before the season starts and before the crops are ready to be picked.  This early bulk payment enables the farmer to plan for the season, purchase seed, make equipment repairs, and more.  Our full shares typiclly include 6-8 types of vegetables per week, enough for the average family.  Our half share usually contain 5-6 types of vegetables each week, enough for a small or young family.  Our **NEW** personal shares will most typically contain 4-5 types of vegetables each week, and is designed for individuals or 2-person families.

***For our Harvest Host Program info, CLICK HERE With our Harvest Host Program, an individual (or local business) can be the host to a group of friends & neighbors (or customers) who join as CSA members. Host members can save 50-100% on THEIR CSA share!

***For our Jersey Fresh to Work Program info, CLICK HERE With the Jersey Fresh at Work Program, any local office or business can sign up to be a weekly CSA drop off point for any of their employees who are CSA members. Program coordinators can save 50-100% on THEIR CSA share!

Why join a CSA program? 

White or Bi-Color sweet corn....which do YOU prefer?!?

VonThun Farms CSA Program…BACK AGAIN FOR 2012!!

Harvested, packed, and ready for you to pick up...all in the same day...now that's GUARANTEED FRESH!!

In 2010 we had a few inquiries about starting a CSA program…So, with high hopes for a successful 2011 growing season, we decided to develop a program and offer it to our customers.  Our 2011 CSA program was a HUGE success…so…now we’re looking forward to our 2012 season!!
Here’s the details……….

Cost - A full CSA share -$500  (Which works out to under $28/week)
A half CSA share – $320 (Which works out to under $18/week)
A personal share – $250 (Which works out to under $14/week)
CSA season duration - 18 weeks, starting May 30 through September 26 (tentative)
CSA box pick up - Wednesdays, 2-7 pm (If this is a problem…let us know!)
CSA payment - Since we are offering  a limited number of CSA shares this year, we are requesting that all interested customers return a completed CSA application and $50 deposit no later than February 1.  CSAs may be paid for in full or through payments, however, all CSAs MUST be paid in full no later than April 15.

CLICK HERE for additional FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT VONTHUN FARMS CSA.

Download your VonThun Farms CSA Application

Is the produce organic?

Summer favorites! Raspberries ripen first, then blackberries.

We are not organic certified.  We are responsible with the fertilizers and chemicals that we do use, and are dedicated to our produce, our soils, and our environment.  We work closely with a Rutgers Integrated Pest Management team, and try to prevent disease, insects, and pests before they become a problem.  We not only grow our CSA produce…we eat it and feed it to our children too…so rest assured that all VonThun Farms produce is as healthy, fresh, and delicious as can be!!

Through our farming practices, we strive to help build the soils, protect wildlife and waterways, encourage biodiversity, safeguard human health and produce healthy, delicious food.  We believe that soils are a precious resource.  To protect the soils, we add organic composts, plant nutrient building grasses, and rotate each crop to different fields each year. Our belief is that healthy soils grow healthy food!

How our CSA program works…..

You join our CSA program by purchasing a “share” before our growing season begins. That way, we know how much income to expect and we’ll have the needed resources early in the season when we have the bulk of our expenses. For your share purchase, you’ll get a box of our homegrown, fresh produce each week. You can expect about 18 weeks of food. Your produce can be picked up at the farm each Wednesday between 2 & 6 pm.

Our CSA produce–

We will do our absolute best to grow an abundance of produce for you each week. Some years, due to insects, Mother Nature, wildlife, and human error (it happens occasionally!), you may get less of certain crops that you would have hoped for, but may get more of other crops. We plan on growing and distributing a lot of produce, but the amounts will invariably change from week to week as well as from year to year.  We cannot guarantee a specified amount of produce each week, nor can we guarantee specific crops.  That is the risk factor involved with farming.  We can, however, guarantee that you will receive more fresh, quality produce than you are paying for.  When our crops are plentiful, that abundance will be passed on to you.  CSA members will also receive some special coupons and farm perks throughout the CSA season. CSA is a new endeavor for us…we hope you will join us on this exciting journey, as we offer and provide fresh, homegrown Jersey Fresh produce to our valued customers!

Our 2012 crops MAY include, but may not be limited to:
Sweet corn,  cucumbers, pickles, lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, zucchini and assorted squashes, potatoes, beans, assorted varieties of peppers and tomatoes, onions, raspberries & blackberries, melons, strawberries, peas, apples, beets, radishes, and greens.

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VONTHUN FARMS COUPON

Buy 2 mums, get 1 (of equal or lesser value) FREE

Coupon valid for up to 4 offers.  Coupon valid while supplies last, 2011.
Coupon not valid with any other offers.

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VONTHUN FARMS COUPON

$2 OFF the 2nd Rutgers Football Corn MAiZE at VonThun Farms
(MAiZE open Sept 24 – Oct 30) 

Coupon valid for up to 4 offers.  Coupon valid through October 30, 2011.
Not redeemable for cash or credit.

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VONTHUN FARMS COUPON

$1 OFF Fall Festival Admission
(October 8 & 9) 

Coupon valid for up to 4 offers. Coupon valid through October 9, 2011.
Coupon not valid with any other offers.

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Every week our farm trucks are on the road, bringing farm fresh,
homegrown produce to tailgate markets throughout New Jersey.
See the list below for dates, times and location.

9 farmers markets in 9 towns...visit us at a tailgate market near you!

River Vale Farmers Market
Thursdays
3pm to 7 pm
July thru October
Town Hall, 406 Rivervale Rd.– In the parking complex next to the tennis courts.
For more information call –  201-664-2346 (x 1005)

Newark Farmers Market
Thursdays
10 am to 4 pm
July through October
Bethany Baptist Church, 275 W. Market Street
For more information call –  (973) 623-8161

Highland Park Farmers Market
Fridays
11am to 5 pm
Mid June through October
Senior Recreation Center Parking Lot,
Raritan Ave (Rte. 27) between South 2nd and South 3rd Streets
For more information call – (732) 777-6003

Metuchen Farm Market
Saturdays
9am to 2pm
Mid June to early October
Commuter parking lot at Pearl & New Streets, downtown
For more information call – (732) 548-2964

Washington Township Farmers Market
Check out some cook market photos here!
Sundays
Late June  through late September
9 am to 1 pm
Knights of Columbus-Pascack Road, Township of Washington
For more information call – (201) 664-4404

Ridgewood Farmers Market
Sundays 9 am to 3 pm
July through early October
Ridgewood Train Station parking lot

Our Herd: Oberhasli and LaManchas

Our goats are all dairy goats, which means they are bred to give and produce milk.  Goat milk is very similar to cow milk, and is produced by goats just as a cow produces milk.  All the brown goats look alike, because they are the same breed, called Oberhasli. The black goats are also a Oberhasli (Male Oberhasli must be reddish brown with the black markings, called bay.  Female Oberhasli can be either bay or black.)  The goats with tiny ears belong to Kristie, and are the LaMancha breed.  LaManchas can be any color, but they all have tiny ears. The goats with “elf-like” ears are a cross between the two breeds.  Most of our goats are does (girls) which produce milk.  Our bucks (boys) are used for breeding in the fall.  Kids (babies) are usually born in February & March.

Our goats are milked twice a day and we use the milk to drink, cook, and bake with.  We feed the milk to our baby farm animals in the spring and sell it for orphan animals and as a supplement for litters of puppies. Goats are very picky eaters and get fed a special diet of alfalfa hay and grain.  It is not true that goats eat garbage or tin cans.  Goats are very curious animals so they nibble on things and get into lots of trouble if you let them.

Although the goats are used on the farm for our school tours, they are also pets and are used as 4-H projects by Tim, Kristie, and Kellie.  The goats are shown in both 4-H and American Dairy Goat Association shows throughout the northeast.  Most of our goats have won show ribbons and some are show champions!  All our goats were born here on the farm (with the exception of Cruiser, our Oberhasli buck and Rumor, our LaMancha buck).  The does each have best friends, and sleep curled up next to each other in the barn at night.

Bucks:  The Boys

Cruiser and Rebel are the bay bucks.  Cruiser was born in California.  Rebel was born here on the farm in 2004.  Cruiser came to us as a kid on an airplane.  Rumor is our new LaMancha buck, born in April 2011 in Bordentown.

Oberhasli Does:  The bay girls

All our does were born here on the farm.  Twist is the oldest doe, born in 2001. Rosie, born in 2003, is the 2005 American Goat Society National Oberhasli Champion.  Her favorite treat is bananas!  Sammi is the big black doe. Her sisters are Sparkle and Dreamer.  Sunny, Julianna, and Sweet Dreams are all 2 years old.  Summer (white), DJ (brown), and Rilee (tan) are all yearlings, which means they were just a year old this spring.  Since they’re still young, they are often seen happy – running and kicking up their heels!

LaMancha Does:  With tiny ears

Lucy is the tan goat with tiny ears…and she hears VERY well with those little ears!  Lucy was born in 2003 on a farm in Bordentown.  She is the 2005 AGS National LaMancha Champion!  Lucy is Rilee’s mom. Summer is the white goat…she’s a LaMancha too!

Our Horses…Checkers & Razor

Checkers, born in 1998, came to live with us in November of 2005.  He is an American Quarter Horse and his color (brown with black legs, mane & tail) is called bay. He is ridden both English & Western, sometimes goes to horse shows, and goes to the Middlesex County Fair each summer.  Checkers favorite treats are peaches &  pretzles. He is owned and ridden by Kristie.

Checkers and Razor are best friends.  Born in 2001, Razor came to live with us in January of 2008. He is a Paint Horse that was born in Idaho. His reddish brown color is called chestnut. Razor has a full blaze on his face, has white stocking markings on his front legs and white socks on his rear legs.  Razor is ridden both English and western, occasionally goes to horse shows, and goes to the fair each summer with Checkers. Razor’s favorite treat is apples. Razor is owned and ridden by Kellie.

The Donkeys…Dazzle & Daisy

Dazzle was born in 1998 in Pennsylvania. She is considered a miniature donkey because she is a breed that is smaller than most donkeys. Dazzle eats hay (dried grass) and grain (oats, corn, soybeans, and molasses) just like the other farm animals.  Dazzle’s favorite treat is watermelon.

Daisy was born on the farm on May 26, 2004. She was the first donkey baby ever born on the farm! Her dad still lives in Pennsylvania and his name is Scooter. Daisy is good friends with Jake the farm dog.  Daisy’s favorite treat is grass. We had a big party for Daisy’s 1st birthday…and she LOVED eating her own birthday cake!

Pepsi the Pot-bellied Pig

Pepsi came to us as a shy little 2 month old piggie in 2009. Her birthday is March 1st.  Because Pepsi was raised by her mom along with her many brothers & sisters, she is not too friendly.  Pepsi is super sweet, and really lets you know when it is breakfast and dinner time! Pepsi LOVES fresh fruits & vegetables…her favorites are cherry tomatoes and string beans! Pepsi also loves to snuggle deep in the straw on cold winter days.

Our Little Ladies…

Our flock of chickens is made up of about 70 hens (girl chickens).  Our hens are very sweet.  They take their job very seriously…and all lay one brown egg every day. The fancy colored chickens are mixed breeds and were hatched for us on a farm in Old Bridge by another farmer. We have two roosters (boy chickens). Brooks is an old, little black and white rooster with long feathers on his neck and tail.  He was bought by Kristie many years ago.  Ace is the huge black rooster, also with lots of long feathers.  He was always Tim’s favorite.  Hens lay eggs, roosters don’t. Each hen lays one egg a day. We sell the fresh eggs in the farm market.

The Sheep

In February of 2008, Madison and Sabrina were born here on the farm.  Two years later, Madison and Sabrina each had a lamb…their names are Spring and Daffodil (we call her Daffy).  Girl sheep are called ewes (pronounced “you’s”), boy sheep are called rams, and baby sheep are called lambs.  We don’t usually have any rams on the farm…they can be mean and nasty.  All the sheep are used by Kristie as 4-H projects and are used for Christmas nativity work. Sheep eat hay and a grain that is very similar to what the goats eat. Sheep grow wool to keep them warm in the winter, but that wool must be shaved off each spring – it’s like getting a haircut.  Madison and Sabrina enjoy peas and stringbeans as a treat!

Casey the Cat

Casey is the big, ol’ fat cat that everyone loves. Casey came to the farm as a kitten, and has grown into a big, loveable mush. Casey enjoys wandering the farm at night and can often be found sleeping on the office chair during the day. Casey enjoys being the center of attention and is very affectionate around kids.

The Farm Dogs…Jake & Ellie

Jake is our old farm dog. His breed is called a Large Munsterlander, which is a German bird dog, or hunting dog. Although the breed is very popular in Germany, there are very few Large

Munsterlander breeders in the United States. Jake was born in Michigan, and came to us in the fall of 2004. His birthday is July 19, 2004.

Ellie was born in July of 2008 in Tennessee.  We adopted her from a shelter in November 2008.  She is a mix of 6 different breeds, American Eskimo being the most dominant.  Ellie and Jake, best friends, both enjoy running around the farm chasing rabbits and wild geese out of the fields. When Ellie and Jake are not at the farm, they can probably be found in the house, stretched out and asleep.  Jake likes to sleep on the couch and Ellie likes to sleep on the back deck in the sun.

We hope you will continue to support New Jersey farmers and stop by your local farm stand a few times a week.

Farmers and their family farms are a dying breed.  Without continued support, they will become a thing of the past. Think about it:  There is nothing like Jersey Fresh produce.  Delicious sweet corn, firm, red, ripe tomatoes, and fresh picked string beans are just a few of the wonderful crops that are abundant throughout the summer.

Why not buy your produce right from the farm, right from the grower. It’s picked fresh daily — it doesn’t come any fresher than that! Any fresher and it’s STILL GROWING!!