Farms Prepping for Summer Growing Season
Some of our CSA farmers raise sheep - beautiful animals… until they do something baaaaaaad!
Our Community Supported Agriculture Manager, Maureen, visited many of our Medina County farmers last week. They’re all getting ready for a busy summer growing season.
It’s been a chilly but rainy April and May this year. Many of the farmers reported that they have seeds in the ground, but the cool weather is slowing down the growth of some crops.
Many have planted lettuce, but it won’t be ready for our first week of the CSA, June 5th.
One grower told us that she planted lettuce, but the sheep got out of their pen and ended up eating much of it, so she had to replant! They will be set back even further than the other farmers. Because lettuce is so scarce, the first week, we’ll be getting hydroponic lettuce from Tyler’s Farm in Oberlin, Ohio.
Many farmers supply spring strawberries for us. Two farmers grow an early spring berry, and we usually just catch the tail end of their harvest. This year, it looks like those early berries will be ready right on time for us. Other growers will supply different varieties of strawberries in the following weeks.
Also, one of the Grace Brothers owners, Kevin, just bought some new cows to raise. He says keeping cows is one of his favorite farm activities and the smell of a cow barn is unlike any other. Maureen appreciates knowing who takes care of the beef she eats and that rainforests in Central America aren’t being cut down to make cattle pastures.
Maureen talked with farmers who reported that they planted zucchini, yellow squash, cabbage, cucumbers, beets, peas, beans, broccoli, yellow watermelon, carrots, tomatoes, and spinach. There’s a lot to look forward to in the coming season!
In the first few weeks of our summer CSA, we’ll probably see basil plants, garlic, possibly scapes, rhubarb, spinach, and green onions. And definitely strawberries! We’ll have angel food cake from our Amish baker to go with them at the farm stand at our North Royalton pick-up location.
In the meantime, if you haven’t already done so, enjoy fresh local produce all summer long when you sign up for the Summer CSA today!
Your taste buds will thank you.