Bad Apple Farm adds tea to menu

Bun Appetit Bakery’s dining area was the venue for a tea party Jan. 30, hosted by Dave and Sue Bishop of Bad Apple Farm, 952 Lick St.

The Bishops’ newest venture, the creation of organic teas, had its public launch at the tea party, where approximately 40 people stopped by to sample the teas.

Some tea tasters learned about the tea party from a brief in this column, and some had heard about it from someone else.

Vince Mehringer of Lansing was there because his co-worker at Glyph Technologies in Cortland, Dawn Stockton, told him about it. Stockton is also employed part-time at Bun Appetit and said she knew Mehringer enjoyed drinking tea.

Mehringer said he has stopped at Bun Appetit periodically in the past as “a nice weekend treat.” After trying the Bad Apple Farm teas and learning they will be available to purchase there, he said he would need to stop in more often now.

“I like tea, and having someone local to get it from is great,” he said.

Bad Apple Farm is known best for its farm stands on Main Street in Groton and at the farm on Lick Street open during the spring through fall seasons, when it offers vegetables, fruits and flowers. The Bishops also have their own beehives from which they harvest and sell fresh honey, and the organic tea production was introduced about a month ago.

“Dave has done extensive research on herbology to find ways to self-treat his chronic Lyme disease,” Sue said. “That led to sourcing herbs from different places to make tea, which then led to wanting to help others with the tea.”

Born to John and Linda Bishop, Dave grew up on his parents’ dairy farm in Locke and attended Groton Central School from kindergarten through his graduation in 1985. On the farm, he was well acquainted with milking cows and growing crops.

After high school, Dave worked as a veterinary entomologist at Cornell University, where he remained for six years, but he then “went back to work on the family farm until it dissolved,” he said.

Dave purchased the farmhouse from his family with the 8-acre piece of property on which Bad Apple Farm stands today, but it was not until five years ago that Bad Apple was officially named and established.

Prior to that, in 1996, Dave went to Alaska to work as a fishing guide, and when he returned a year later, he purchased Farrell’s Bar and Grill on Main Street.

“That was not my life’s ambition,” Dave said. “But the opportunity presented itself, and it worked for me at the time.”

Dave owned and operated Farrell’s from 1997 to 2012. He met Sue when she came in as a customer in 2003. Sue also grew up in Locke but attended Moravia schools. They soon began dating, Sue started working there shortly thereafter, and by 2007, they were married.

Dave’s life took a drastic turn, and his stint with Farrell’s ended in 2012 when his Lyme disease hit and kept him essentially bedridden for the next year and a half. By then, four of the Bishop’s five children had been born, and Sue was busy with them and working at a day care center in Ithaca.

As Dave began to feel more functional, he started working on a friend’s farm growing and harvesting vegetables to regain his strength.

“I realized it was a viable business,” Dave said. “So, I applied what I knew about business and started the farm stand on Lick Street.”

The following year, they added a stand on Elm Street, near the elementary school, and moved it to its current location on Main Street the next year, which tripled the volume of sales.

The Bishops work hard raising specific crops for the farm stands on their 8 acres and supplement their offerings by contracting with other farmers for products that they do not grow themselves.

“It’s a win for everyone,” Dave said. “It gives other farmers an outlet for their products when they are too small to sell on their own and gives our customers more choices and options.”

Dave further explained that all their produce comes from other local farms, including some Mennonite farmers who supply flowers and hanging baskets in season, mushrooms from Jason Oliver’s Back East Farm and maple syrup from Happy Jack’s on Chipman’s Corners.

The Bishop children all attend Groton schools and also help on the farm. Joseph (grade 11), Abraham (grade six), Carmen (grade four), Phoebe (grade three) and Adam (kindergarten) each have their own garden rows in which they grow vegetables for the farm stands.

“They can choose to grow whatever they want in their rows,” Sue said. “We pay them for their yield so they can learn how to make their own money.”

Sue started her own in-home day care in 2013 but also keeps busy coaching youth basketball and soccer. She is also a member of the GCS Board of Education, and the entire family is active at St. Anthony’s Church. In addition to all that, Sue plays an integral part in running Bad Apple.

When asked if she thought about farming when she was growing up, her response was, “That was never on my radar — and I’m still not sure how that happened — but it’s all good!”

This year will mark Bad Apple’s fourth season selling CSA (community supported agriculture) shares, beginning in June, wherein customers can purchase a weekly box of fresh produce.

“People really like it because it gets them to try new things they might not try on their own,” Sue said.

In its first year, the CSAs totaled 36, and last year, it had grown to 137. This year, due to the sheer volume, Bad Apple will be capping its participants at 150, but there is still room to sign up.

To sign up or ask questions, contact Dave or Sue at badapplefarm952@yahoo.com, 315-481-8503, or Bad Apple Farm on Facebook

Groton on the Inside appears weekly. Submit news ideas to Linda Competillo, lmc10@cornell.edu or 607-227-4922.

In brief:

Takeout lasagna dinner

The Disciple’s Fellowship of McLean Community Church, 50 Church St., is sponsoring a takeout lasagna dinner from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6.

Lasagna, garlic toast, salad and brownie dinners are available for $12 each. Reservations only. Register by calling 607-423-3998 by Wednesday, Feb. 3. Please enter through the parking lot.

Cub Scout Pinewood Derby

The Groton Cub Scouts Pack #10 Pinewood Derby will take place Saturday, Feb. 6 at the Masonic Lodge. It will be closed to all but immediate family to watch during their own Scout’s shift. COVID-19 protocols will be in place.

For those who will be attending, please stay home if you or anyone in your family is feeling unwell. Sign in upon arrival, enter one-way only at the side door, watch your Den’s heats and exit through the front door on Main St.

For those who would like to participate in some way, you can vote for the “best in show” car by casting your vote on Facebook. Find them at grotonnycubscoutspack10. The cars will be available to see 48 hours before the race, and likes will be counted through 8 p.m. Feb. 7. The registered scout with the most likes on their car will be declared the winner.

Blind date with a book

The Groton Public Library is giving readers an opportunity to win a goody bag just for reading and reviewing a book.

Visit the library on Facebook or Instagram and choose a book from the virtual display, based on its description. Next, call 607-898-5055, email infoaide1@grotonpubliclibrary.org or message them your book’s number. Pick your book up during curbside hours and get a free chocolate. Read it, review it and earn an entry to win a goody bag.