Cootes Store Farms

Cootes Store Farms Valleys Connection for Farm Fresh Cherry & Apple Varieties, Lumber, sawmill, kiln, heirloom furniture

“Hidden Past” (current past, idk?!?!? Enjoy your weekend)The Apple Butter Camps of Shenandoah, Virginia – 1933In the Blu...
06/05/2026

“Hidden Past” (current past, idk?!?!? Enjoy your weekend)

The Apple Butter Camps of Shenandoah, Virginia – 1933
In the Blue Ridge hollows during the Depression, orchards still bore fruit even when money didn’t. Families from Page County started “apple butter camps” each October. They pooled windfall apples too bruised to sell, peeled them in all-night circles while telling ghost stories, and cooked the mash in 50-gallon copper kettles over open fires. Women stirred with long maple paddles for 12 hours straight, trading shifts so no batch burned. Children sealed hot jars with rags and beeswax. One kettle made 80 jars, enough to barter for winter shoes, flour, and kerosene. When a frost killed half the crop in ’33, five families combined what was left and still filled 400 jars. They called it “sweet survival.” The camps ended with WWII, but mason jars of that batch were found in cellars 60 years later, labels faded but seals still tight.

💦 🌲 ⚾️ 🎣 8 Science-Backed Reasons for Letting Your Kids Play Outdoors 💦 🌲 ⚾️ 🎣                              (“Big kids a...
06/04/2026

💦 🌲 ⚾️ 🎣 8 Science-Backed Reasons for Letting Your Kids Play Outdoors 💦 🌲 ⚾️ 🎣
(“Big kids alike”)

1 | Better vision
Multiple studies show that sunshine and the natural light of outdoors lowers the chance of nearsightedness and improves distance vision in children. Kids who spent more time outside had better distance vision than those who prefer indoor activities. A recent study from Ohio State University mentions that 14 hours a week of outdoor light is effective for better vision.

2 | Better resistance to disease
Multiple studies show that playing in the dirt (soil) outdoors helps kids stay healthy. Bacteria, viruses and other gross things in the soil actually help the immune system, and brain develop. Playing the dirt can also improve a child's mood and reduce anxiety and stress.

3 | Increased Vitamin D
It's difficult to get enough of this nutrient strictly from food. 80-90% of our vitamin D actually comes from sunshine. Sensible unprotected sun exposure of 10 to 15 minutes will do it. After the first 10 - 15 minute exposure, it's best to cover up with sunscreen.

4 | Less Stress
It's safe to sat that outdoor recreation reduces stress. This comes from a combination of factors producing positive physiological and psychological responses. 90% of kids who spent time outside said being in nature and taking part in outdoor activities helped relieve stress.

5 | Better attention spans, even for kids with ADHD symptoms
Over time, we have learned that natural settings and green outdoor activities reduced ADHD symptoms in children. Activities outdoors specifically had greater positive impact than other settings. These positive effects are measured in children as young as age five. A 2008 study at the University of Michigan found that memory performance and attention spans improved by 20% after subjects spent an hour out in the nature.

6 | Better physical fitness
Outdoor play increases fitness levels and builds active, healthy bodies. One in three American kids who are obese. Running around, climbing, walking, exploring, and getting dirty burn calories and strengthen growing bodies. Bonus: there's ample evidence linking physical fitness and academic achievement. Likewise, simply taking a stroll outside increases creativity.

7 | Better classroom performance
Multiple studies show that kids who spend time outside (including during the school day) do better in all academic subjects. Factoring out other variables, studies of students in California and nationwide show that schools that use outdoor classrooms and other forms of nature-based experiential education produce significant student gains in social studies, science, language arts, and math.

8 | Spark curiosity & imagination
As kids grow, indoor environments become known, understood, and familiar. However, outside environments are dynamic and ever-changing. They are outside our control. As such, they invite the mind to wander, looking, observing.

🪵 🌲 🪵 🌲 More FOR SALE!!!!!🪵 🌲 🪵 🌲  ******Hard Maple V-groove on one side, flat on the other tongue n groove******-the po...
06/02/2026

🪵 🌲 🪵 🌲 More FOR SALE!!!!!🪵 🌲 🪵 🌲
******Hard Maple V-groove on one side, flat on the other tongue n groove******

-the possibilities are endless!!! You could use this for flooring, paneling, roofing, vertical paneling to a crown moulding etc. once again you could use BOTH sides as a surface!!!!!!!

All is approximately 4” wide and 3/4” thickness with most 8’ long. Around 600 bdft available!

🍒🍒 🍒 IMPORTANT INFORMATION 🍒🍒 🍒 We will NOT have CHERRIES this Year.  (will NOT have CHERRIES this SEASON).  We complete...
06/01/2026

🍒🍒 🍒 IMPORTANT INFORMATION 🍒🍒 🍒

We will NOT have CHERRIES this Year. (will NOT have CHERRIES this SEASON).

We completely FROZE OUT during two “cold events” this spring and will not be Purchasing any as they are in short supply! We hope you enjoy your Early Summer Months!!!!!!!!!!! 🍒 🍒 🍒 🍒 🍒 🍒 🍒 🍒 🍒 🍒 🍒 🍒 🍒 🍒 🍒

It’s difficult to describe and put into words at times (the barn made it through the civil war) my grandad (and grandma)...
05/31/2026

It’s difficult to describe and put into words at times (the barn made it through the civil war) my grandad (and grandma) started the chicken business here in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. This is not the “oldest thing on the property but things can be difficult at times! I tore down grandads old machine shop but it was already pretty much down and no way it could be repaired! (Before I get on too much of a soapbox their used to be a small community here on the farm with so many buildings (all I have is a painting) but they used to even make their own shoes here!

Anyhow this “chicken house” hit different notes with me demolition it with the guys. I’ve got pictures from when it was basically brand new till now! In the Valley Turkeys used to be King as this was what was originally in this chicken house! I think it had been “upgraded 3-4 times over the years and wouldn’t you believe it old Alford was a tightwad like many of us in Agriculture. It’s hard to believe metal was cheaper than wooden trusses, but the only structures to come down because of snow was the metal as the wood is still standing!………short story for probably a 90ish year old building………

Incase anybody was wondering and watching a few papers or news articles, this will open your eyes!  This is the worst fr...
05/28/2026

Incase anybody was wondering and watching a few papers or news articles, this will open your eyes! This is the worst freeze in over 20 years! It has affected the entire East Coast to a certain extent.

One interesting fact for consumers, did you know that fruit and timber are “Non-commodities”? Which means the government has little control on pricing.

As you see highly increased pricing on many things fruits have really NOT changed very much over the past 5 years. This is no soap box but many people do NOT realize this as fuel, insecticides, herbicides, fertilizers, labor and packaging costs increase. How much has 1 lb of beef changed compared to 1 lb of apples?

🍎 🌲 🍏 We’re over the hump for the week! Close it out STRONG!!! 🍎 🌲 🍏

Apparently you can still be Beechy and Popular at the same time?!?!?!?Picking up some very nice Beech logs and Popular l...
05/26/2026

Apparently you can still be Beechy and Popular at the same time?!?!?!?

Picking up some very nice Beech logs and Popular logs (let me know if you’d like anything made from it! You don’t see very much Beech in this area either!)……Also…..

Be on the lookout for some NEW MERCHANDISE while you’re out on the roads!!!!! Made by Muddy Feet Graphics

🌲 🌴 🌳 WINNER, winner, chicken dinner!!!!!  (At the BOTTOM of the post)🌲 🌴 🌳 It’s time for an EXOTIC lumber sale!!!!  EXO...
05/21/2026

🌲 🌴 🌳 WINNER, winner, chicken dinner!!!!! (At the BOTTOM of the post)🌲 🌴 🌳

It’s time for an EXOTIC lumber sale!!!! EXOTIC boards!!!!!

-Very RARE and difficult to find Honduran Mahogany!!!! It is “old growth and was barn kept for 30+ years. Available in 4/4 and 8/4 with most 8’ long. 4/4 235 board feet, 8/4=91 bdft. VERY VERY difficult to find this quality and old growth!!!

-Next up is Leopordwood, found in central and South America. In 8’ and 5’ lengths 4/4. 55 board feet available.

-Purpleheart, from central and South America. 4/4 in 5’ lengths and 23 board feet available in this.

-And finally Canarywood from central and South America. Available in 5’ lengths in 4/4.

The WINNER is Sue Ann Hensley , please pickup your FREE live edge/slab by 5 pm Monday May 25. (It’s difficult to believe that I was picking up “reclaimed” wormy chestnut and did not realize this tree is an American Chestnut, haha)

Can anyone ID this tree?!?!?  It was located in rural West Virginia HIGHLANDS and the people around there were not sure....
05/19/2026

Can anyone ID this tree?!?!?

It was located in rural West Virginia HIGHLANDS and the people around there were not sure. I only saw 2 the entire trip!

If we come to a consensus win 1 free live edge board/slab piece of no greater than $75!!!!!

🪵 🌲 🪵 Well, well well, have we got a FOR SALE that everyone should enjoy!!!!!  Has anyone heard of “WORMY CHESTNUT?” “AM...
05/15/2026

🪵 🌲 🪵 Well, well well, have we got a FOR SALE that everyone should enjoy!!!!! Has anyone heard of “WORMY CHESTNUT?” “AMERICAN CHESTNUT “?!?!?!?!?!? 🪵 🌲 🪵

“The American chestnut (Castanea dentata) is a large, fast-growing deciduous tree of the beech family native to eastern North America.[3] As is true of all species in the genus Castanea, the American chestnut produces burred fruit with edible nuts. The American chestnut was once common in the Appalachian Mountain range and was a dominant species in the oak-chestnut forest region of its central and southern range.”

“It is estimated that the blight killed between three and four billion American chestnut trees in the first half of the 20th century, beginning in 1904.[8][9][10] Four mature American chestnuts exist within its former range, although many stumps and root systems continue to send up saplings. Most of these saplings get infected by chestnut blight, which girdles and kills them before they attain maturity.”

USES

Furniture and other wood products
edit. The January 1888 issue of Orchard and Garden mentions the American chestnut as being "superior in quality to any found in Europe".[143] The wood is straight-grained, strong, and easy to saw and split, and it lacks the radial end grain found on most other hardwoods. The tree was particularly valuable commercially since it grew at a faster rate than oaks.[21] Being rich in tannins, the wood was highly resistant to decay and therefore used for a variety of purposes, including furniture, split-rail fences, shingles, home construction, flooring, piers, plywood, paper pulp, and telephone poles. Tannins were also extracted from the bark for tanning leather.[3] Although larger trees are no longer available for milling, much chestnut wood has been reclaimed from historic barns to be refashioned into furniture and other items.[144]

"Wormy" chestnut refers to a defective grade of wood that has insect damage, having been sawn from long-dead, blight-killed trees. This "wormy" wood has since become fashionable for its rustic character.

As European settlers arrived and displaced native peoples, they learned that chestnut wood was rot-resistant, straight-grained, and suitable for furniture, fencing, and building materials. It was preferred for log cabin foundations, fence posts, flooring, and caskets. Later, railroad ties and both telephone and telegraph poles were made from chestnut, many of which are still in use today.

American chestnut (Castanea dentata) was once a climax forest tree in the oak-chestnut dry woodlands of the eastern United States, but since the recognition of the chestnut blight in1904 in New York, the entire forest population has been destroyed. Most of the intact, living trees in the wild were gone by the 1950s, and all that remains today are a few stump sprouts that still linger (attaining heights of about 25 feet before they succumb to the fungus). Breeding programs that have introduced resistance genes from Japanese and Chinese chestnuts into moderately resistant strains of American chestnut have met with some success, but the ultimate goal of large scale re-introduction into forests will not occur for some time, if ever.”

🪵 🌲 🪵 🌳 AMERICAN CHESTNUT FOR SALE!!!!! Serious Inquires only!!!!! Over 2,000 board feet of tongue and groove available and over 900 board feet of 2” thick material available!!!!!!!!! 🪵 🌲 🪵 🌳

It came from a mid to late 1800’s house in rural West Virginia!!!!!!!

Address

13285 Turleytown Road
Broadway, VA
22815

Opening Hours

Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 1pm - 5pm

Telephone

+15404216781

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Cootes Store Farms posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Cootes Store Farms:

Share