| 2008 Events |
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| June |
Kid’s Sunflower Planting Workshop
Saturday June 7th
11 a.m. FREE Admission Age 12 & Under
FREE workshop includes a cup, soil, plant marker and sunflower seeds. Children will learn about the lifecycle and care of sunflower plants in a hands-on workshop. Kids will take their planted seed home with them to plant in their family’s yard or garden. No charge to children under age 12.
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Frontier Day
Saturday June 21st
(note this is a date change!)
11 a.m. – 3 p.m. FREE Admission
Celebrate our area's farm and western heritage at Jack Creek Farm's first annual Frontier Day. The event will feature a number of old time skill demonstrations including butter churning, goat milking, wheat grinding, throwing a lasso, making corn husk dolls and more! Live music and FREE pony rides for the kids from 11 - 12. Wild West shoot out by the El Chorro Valley Regulators at 1:00. For folks of all ages. FREE admission.
 
The first photo is courtesy of Scott Loy Productions
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| July |
Herb Garden Tour
Saturday July 12th
11 a.m. FREE Admission
Jack Creek Farms will be hosting a FREE culinary herb garden tour and talk. Guests will learn how to choose and use fresh herbs. Sample many different varieties of basil and other naturally grown herbs right in the field where they were grown. Learn how to make a simple basil pesto, flavor sauces and entrees.
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| August |
Gourd Birdhouse Natural Finish Workshop I
Saturday August 16th
11 a.m.
Jack Creek Farms will be hosting a gourd making workshop. Learn how to choose, clean, stain and create a delightful natural gourd birdhouse for your feathered friends. $18 fee includes a gourd and all the tools and materials to make a finished birdhouse. Space is limited. Please call 238-3799 to make reservations.
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Gourd Birdhouse Painted Finish Workshop
Saturday August 23rd
11 a.m.
Jack Creek Farms will be hosting a gourd making workshop. Learn how to choose, clean, paint and create a delightful natural gourd birdhouse for your feathered friends. $18 fee includes a gourd and all the tools and materials to make a finished birdhouse. Space is limited. Please call 238-3799 to make reservations.
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September |
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| You
and your family are invited to attend an |
| Old-fashioned Threshing Bee
Saturday
September 6th
10 a.m. 1 p.m. FREE Admission!
at
our farm in rural Templeton - Paso Robles, California |
Threshing
Grain
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Bring
the whole family for a fun afternoon. Step back
into a simpler time and connect with the past. Starting
with standing wheat we will bind, stack,
thresh, sack, clean and grind the grain into flour
the same way it was done in the early 1900s. We
will have several restored antique tractors
on display. Visit with the farm animals,
view the growing crops (including a large pumpkin
patch and gourd field), play horseshoes,
lasso Bailey our dummy roping steer and sample
honey, apple cider, pomegranate granitas,
fudge & jam.
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Forking
Wheat Bundles into the Threshing Machine
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Atillio
Sacking Grain
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Restored
Cat Thirty
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| Threshing
Bee Details
David
Barlogio will be overseeing the demonstrations.
On Saturday the grain threshing will take place.
We will start with standing wheat in the field,
and finish with wheat flour and whole wheat bread
samples.
The first step is to bind standing
wheat using an Adriance Grain Binder
that grandpa Miles Barlogio restored.
It dates back to the early 1890s. The binder uses
cutting knives, a wooden reel and a canvas belt
system to cut the wheat and tie it into small
bundles (also known as stooks or sheaves) using
twine.
Next the wheat bundles will be
hand stacked with three-tine pitch forks using
the same configuration farmers utilized 100 years
ago. The bundles then will be forked into a McCormick
Stationary Threshing Machine owned by
Dick and Carson Wiley of Arroyo
Grande. The McCormick Thresher will be powered
by their 1917 Advance Steam Tractor.
Inside the thresher the grain
is separated from the stalks and husks. Then the
grain will be augured into burlap sacks. The sacks
will be hand sewn. We have some old-timers who
still have their antique sack needles that are
volunteering to sew and keep us historically accurate
as to the process. The next step is to run the
wheat through a 1910 era Fanning Mill.
The fanning mill uses a series of screens to separate
unwanted weed seed and remaining chaff from the
grain. We will have a small hand grinder on site
for folks to grind wheat into flour. We will give
out free samples of whole wheat bread for folks
to enjoy.
What exactly is a Threshing
Bee?
In early days wheat was flailed
by hand. In America in the 1700s small round barns
were built with special slatted flooring. Horses
were trained to walk in circles on the wheat to
remove the grain from the stalk. In the 1800s
an exciting new piece of machinery, the Stationary
Thresher, was introduced. This new piece of machinery
could separate the grain from the stalk and husk,
and assist in sacking.
Most farms were small and could
not afford to purchase this new “high tech”
equipment. Sometimes a “custom” thresher
came to an area. Farmers paid a fee to the machinery
owner to have their wheat threshed. Other times
farmers pooled their resources to purchase a machine,
and the machine was moved from farm to farm. Most
farms did not have enough labor resources to do
this manual labor themselves, so all of the neighboring
farm families came to help. The men operated the
thresher, pitched bundles, sacked grain and loaded
wagons, while the women cooked and fed the crews.
Though the work was hard, this
became a harvest celebration of sorts. It was
a time of sharing. A time of socializing for young
and old alike. These harvesting events came to
be known as “Threshing Bees”.
Here at Jack Creek Farms we would
like to honor the heritage and farming traditions
of our family and community. We want you to have
the opportunity to help us celebrate our harvest
and preserve past traditions. We hope you become
a part of our circle of sharing and friendship.
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Filled
Sacks of Grain - A Job Well Done!
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~
A special thanks to David, Bob & Tim
Barlogio, the Dick & Carson
Wiley families, Darrell & Milene
Radford, Jim Greer, Ernie
Perlich, Attillio & Tony Busi,
Paul Valentine, & Art
Von Dollen. With out you this event wouldn't
take place! ~
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Heirloom
Tomato Tasting
Saturday
September 20th
1
p.m. FREE Admission
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Join
us for an afternoon of fun as we sample the many
different varieties of heirloom tomatoes grown on our farm.
Heirloom tomatoes come in different shapes, sizes
and a festive rainbow of colors. |
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Varieties will include some of your favorites
including Cherokee Purple, Pineapple, Mortgage Lifter Radiator Charlie, Basinga, Box Car Willie and Black
Krim. |
Admission is FREE. We will provide
the tomatoes, plates, forks, salt and fun.
Your job is to bring along your friends and enjoy
an afternoon at our farm :-)!
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Apple & Apple Cider Tasting
Saturday September 27th
1 p.m. FREE Admission |
Jack Creek Farms grows many different apple varieties. Here is your chance to sample some unusual varieties you perhaps haven’t tried before. Varieties will vary depending upon the current day’s harvest. You will also have the opportunity to sample fresh 100% pure juice apple cider made from a blend of fresh in season apples. Admission is FREE!
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October |
Pumpkin Painting Workshop
Saturday October 4th
1 p.m. |
What could be more fun than a friendly Jack-o-lantern in early October? Instead of carving; paint your pumpkin and it will last all month! Children ages 7 and up are welcome. A $9 fee will includes a freshly picked from the field small sugar pie pumpkin and all supplies to paint and decorate it. Space is limited. Please call 238-3799 for reservations.
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November |
Heirloom Winter Squash Tasting & Workshop
Saturday November 1st
1 p.m. FREE Admission |
| It is so easy to transform winter squash into fabulous autumn dishes. The folks at Jack Creek Farms will give you tips and detailed instructions on how to make a variety of dishes using heirloom winter squash. There will be a presentation, a cooking demonstration, and an opportunity to sample at least 5 different varieties of winter squash. Take home recipes and your dish will be the highlight of your family’s fall festivities. You’ll be so proud, and your guests will be impressed. You can do it . . . it’s easy! Admission is FREE! |
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