Early Spring Brings A Select Few Crops

While it’s still early in the growing season, there are a few vegetables you can purchase at the Easton Farmers’ Market.

We were around early in the morning  and only lingered at a few stands. Eric Shubert, of Blue Blaze Farms in Moore Township, seemed like he was probably answering the same question throughout the morning: “What have you got?”

no images were found

The answer: radishes and kale. You’ve got to give the farmers a break, it’s early in the growing season. This isn’t the supermarket where tomatoes are available in January. This is the real deal — food grown straight in the dirt of Northampton County and surrounding area.

Eric said he’ll probably have some arugula on Saturday and spinach next week. In the meantime, he’s fighting back a hungry hoard: the furry little creatures that live in the woods around his farm. The deer and groundhogs especially love to nibble at his tender, young plants.

Howard Klein, of Hidden Splendor Farms in Lower Mount Bethel Township, had some wintered-over spinach and other leafy greens. We picked up a bag of spinach. It was $2.50 for a huge bag and appeared to be waaaaaay more than you would get at the grocery store. Plus, it’s non-certified organic.

To go with our spinach we snatched a dozen brown eggs from Keepsake Farm & Dairy of Lehigh Township. Internet, if you have never had a really fresh egg, you need to try one. We’re never buying sweatshop eggs ever again. The yolks are yellower, the shells are harder and they taste amazingly good. They were $4 a dozen.

Why would we buy eggs to go with spinach? That’s easy — check out Feaston to see what we cooked up.

And say, now that we have your attention, if you’re interested in fresh, local food, consider joining a CSA. What’s a CSA? Community Supported Agriculture. It’s where you pay a farmer an upfront fee–a share–and they give you loads of vegetables and herbs once a week or every other, depending on your plan. Blue Blaze and Hidden Splendor both have CSA programs. The benefits include a wider variety of produce, easy pick up (some even deliver to the farmer’s market!) and because the produce is always what’s in season, it’s cheaper and tastier and fresher than what’s at the grocery store. To find one near you, visit Local Harvest.


Similar Posts