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It’s strawberry season!  Have you had any yet?!

They are so delicious this year.  Customers keep telling us how sweet they are and how amazing they smell!

It is looking like it is going to be a short season, if you have not gotten any yet try to stop by this week.

What else are we harvesting right now? Tomatoes, sugar snap peas, zucchini, tons of greens, new potatoes, sweet spring onions, cucumbers, radishes.  So many new crops coming in.  Have I mentioned I love this time of year? 🙂

Sugar Snap Peas – You can eat the whole thing with these peas, no need to shell them!  Steamed, roasted or just eaten raw.  These peas are delicious!

Tomatoes – Grow in our greenhouse, these are vine ripened and full of flavor!

Here is where you can find us:

• Muskegon Farmers Market:  Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday | 7am – 1pm.
• Kalamazoo Farmers Market:  Saturday | 7am – 2pm.
• Trufant Flea Market:  Thursday | 7am – 12pm.
• Crisp Country Acres Farm Store:  Monday – Friday | 8am – 6pm & Saturday | 8am – 5pm.

Have a great week!

– Lindsey

PS – Want to try out a new recipe?  Here is our families favorite strawberry shortcake recipe.  Enjoy!

Strawberry season has arrived!

Here is where you can get your strawberries:

• Muskegon Farmers Market:  Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday.
• Trufant Market: Thursday
• Kalamazoo Farmers Market: Saturday.
• Farm Store:  Monday – Friday, 8am – 6pm & Saturday, 8am – 5pm.  Address: 5888 120th Ave, Holland, MI 49424.

See you soon!

The fields are greening up.  You can almost watch the plants grow, we love it!

Soon it will be time to stock your pantry and fill up the freezer with local produce.  We want to make sure you don’t miss out on preserving any of your favorites.

Check out our canning & freezing guide:

Looking to grow your own produce this summer?  We have plants available at the farm store!  Get your garden off to a great start.  Here are the plants we have available:  tomatoes, bell peppers, beans, zucchini, summer squash, pickles, lettuce, broccoli, kale, parsley, cilantro, dill and basil.

May is just around the corner.  That means it’s time for the summer farmers markets to open!

Lots of exciting things happening this market season.  Check out the market schedule and see when you can find us near you!

– Kalamazoo Farmers Market:  Two big things this season.  First,  we are MOVING!  Due to construction the market will be located at Mayors’ Riverfront Park this season.  The address is 251 Mill Street, Kalamazoo.  Second  big Kalamazoo announcement is that the summer market is opening a week early!  We will be having a soft opening at the new market location THIS Saturday, April 24 from 8am – 1pm.  Come and check out our new location to stock up on your veggies for the week.  If you shop with us in Kalamazoo make sure to check out all of the details & new market map HERE.

– Muskegon Farmers Market: You will find us here this Saturday, April 24. Then starting in May the market will be open Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday!

– Crisp Country Acres Farm Store:  Located on the north side of Holland.  Address is 5888 120th Ave.  Open Monday – Friday, 8am – 6pm & Saturday 8am – 5pm.  The store has all kinds of produce, meat, eggs, cheese, bread, butter and so much more.  We have added new items like lamb, fish, chips, ketchup.  We strive to be your one stop shop for local food!

See you soon!

I absolutely love walking into the greenhouse this time of year.  Every time I go in, I find something to take a picture of.  This lettuce has been a favorite lately.  Check out that color!

The greenhouse is full of greens that we are enjoying right now.  Lettuce, chard, salad mix, spinach, arugula &  baby kale.  Also a few surprises like radishes, green onions & rhubarb!  The new greenhouse has made it possible for us to have more variety early and try out different crops.

Another favorite has been the tomatoes!  We found the first cherry tomatoes turning color this weekend.  I am looking forward to enjoying a good tomato again!  You will start to see the cherry tomatoes at the markets and farm store with in the next couple of weeks I think.  Slicing tomatoes will be ready in May.

We also have growing baby plants that will soon be heading to the field!
Here we have red onions:

And Brussel Sprouts:

We also have baby peppers, tomatoes, celery, kale, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, collards, chard, cauliflower all growing.   We will be having plants available for your gardens again this year.  Watch for more info to come on that in a few weeks.

I hope that you have enjoyed the tour!

Don’t forget the markets are open.  You can find all the greens, root veggies & more.  Here is a list of where we are.

Thank you so much for supporting your local farmers.  We look forward to seeing you soon!

– Lindsey

PS – Do you shop at our farm store in Holland? Check out our April specials! 

Spring is right around the corner.

Planting has started for the field.

And we are finding the first TOMATOES in the greenhouse! The cherry tomatoes come first, but the slicing tomatoes have blossoms and before long we will be seeing large tomatoes.

Finding the “first” of each crop is always so exciting.  The first tomato, the first strawberry, the first bean.  It never gets old!

Soon we will be enjoying fresh tomatoes, strawberries, sugar snap peas and green beans.

What crop are you most looking forward to this summer?

– Lindsey

P.S. -Did you know that the farmers markets are still open?  We are in Kalamazoo & Muskegon every Saturday.  The farm store in Holland is open Monday – Saturday!  Get all of the details here.

Have you ever been to the market or farm store and thought…

A potato is just a potato, right??

What is with all of the colors?

Those purple ones…are they really potatoes?

Find out what is special about each one of 8 potatoes we grow!

Blue Potatoes – This beautiful potato is full of antioxidants because of its color.  It has a sweet, nutty, earthy flavor and is perfect for boiling, baking, mashing, grilling and frying.

Butterball Potatoes – A creamy, rich, buttery potato.  Perfect for steaming, baking, frying & mashing.

Fingerling Potatoes – This potato has an earthy, nutty flavor.  Good for roasting and steaming.

Red Skin Potatoes – This customer favorite has a mild, earthy, buttery flavor.  They are perfect for boiling, mashing, baking or roasting.

Russet Potatoes – This dry potato has a mild, earthy flavor and are good for baking, mashing or fries.

White Potatoes – The white potato is more starchy and has a rich, nutty flavor.  It is perfect for baking, roasting or frying.

Yukon Gold Potatoes – This all purpose potato has a creamy, buttery flavor.  It is great for roasting, grilling, mashing, sautéing and boiling.

Sweet Potatoes – Like their name implies these potatoes are sweet!  Great for baking, mashing or roasting.

The best way to store your potatoes is in a cool, dark place.  **Note:  In the early summer when we have our new potatoes it is important to keep them in the fridge!  The new potatoes are dug when the plants are still green and the skins are very tender.

Potatoes are one of our favorite things to grow. While we love to eat them all I think some of our favorites are Red Skin & Yukon Gold potatoes.  Baked Sweet potatoes are also staple side dish for us this time of year.  The Red, White & Blue potatoes are a must during the summer holidays!

Let us know below which kind of potato is your favorite!

Here are few recipes we are loving this winter:

Farm Market Breakfast (We often make this or a variation for lunch.)

Potato Kale Soup

Creamy Potato Leek Soup

Have a great week!

Winter is here.

Gone are the days of fresh green beans and sweet corn.

So, the question is…

I want to eat local, but what do you have available in the winter?  Greens, apples, brussel sprouts, cabbage and ROOT VEGGIES!

Root veggies are full of flavor and nutrients.  They store well and are just plain delicious!

Are you ready to give the root veggies a try?  First, let start out with what they all are:

What do they taste like? 

Beets:  We grow 2 kinds – Gold and Red.  Gold beets are the most mild beet that we grow.  They do not have a strong earthy flavor and are great for a person who does not like red beets.  Never tried beets before?  I always recommend you start out with the gold beets.  Red beets are your traditional earthy beet flavor.

Rutabaga: Rutabaga is a creamy color on the bottom with a purple top.  They are more milder in taste than a turnip, often substituted for potato when mashing.

Turnips: Turnips are very white on the bottom with a purple top.  They taste like a cabbage/radish cross.

Parsnip:  They look like a white carrot, but have a thicker skin.  They are sweeter than a carrot when cooked.  I would not recommend eating parsnips raw.

Radish:  These come in lots of colors & varieties.  They have a spicy, peppery flavor.  I highly recommend giving the watermelon radishes a try.  They look plain on the outside, but inside they are full of color!

Celery Root:  This odd looking veggie does get the attention it deserves!  It tastes just like celery.  Great to be eaten raw, added to salads, roasted or for soups.

Carrot:  Carrots come in all colors.  Our carrots are super sweet and delicious raw or cooked.

Potatoes: We grow a potato for every dish!  Red skin, russet, white, purple, butterball, yukon gold, fingerling & sweet.  All different flavors, all delicious!

Onions: Available in red or yellow.  Onions are a great addition to many meals!

How to I store them?

Keep your root veggies for weeks in a bag or container in the fridge.

What do I do with them?

The first thing I always recommend to do is roast them.  Roasted veggies can bring out completely different flavors, often making the sweeter.  Here is how we recommend to roast them.

Need more ideas?  Check out the recipe section on our website for more recipes.  The recipes are organized by the crop along the right hand side.  Find the veggie you are looking for and click on it for more ideas.

Along with the root veggies we also have greens, brussel sprouts, potatoes, fall squash, onions, apples, eggs, meats and more available so you definitely won’t be going hungry this winter.

What is your favorite root veggie?  Let us know below!