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One thing I wish everyone knew…
Local food is available YEAR ROUND!!
Yes, that is right.
We are deep into fall, well on the way to winter.
Most people think that local food is done, but that is not true!
Here are all the ways you can enjoy local food this winter:
Farmers Markets:
- Muskegon Farmers Market: Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday until Thanksgiving. Every Saturday, December – April.
- Kalamazoo Farmers Market: Saturdays until December 17. Location details for December – April will be coming soon!
Market at the Farm:
- 5888 120th Ave, Holland. Open Monday – Friday, 8am – 6pm & Saturday, 8am – 5pm.
- All kinds of local food available at the farm. Produce, dairy, meats, bread & so much more!
CSA Program:
- Get a box of fresh produce from the farm every week!
- Find out more details HERE.
Local Restaurants:
- Are you a chef? Let us know if you would like to incorporate local produce into your menus.
- Enjoy a delicious meal at a local restaurant. Next time you are at the markets ask us about some of the restaurants that we work with.
Wondering how we will be able to have local produce available? Take a look!
The greenhouses are filling up with all kinds of greens. Spinach, salad mix, chard, kale, radishes & onions.
We have been harvesting root crops and putting them into cold storage. We keep them dirty and wash them as need so they stay fresh. All kinds of carrots, beets, potatoes, parsnips, turnips & radishes.
Then there are crops in the field that can take some cold! Cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts & cabbage.
Thank you so much for supporting your local farm. We appreciate all of you!
See you soon!
Have you tried a colored cauliflower?
We get a few different questions about the cauliflower this time of year.
“Why is it different colors?”
“Do they taste the same?”
“Do we cook them the same?”
Well, let’s answer all of your cauliflower questions today!
We grow different varieties of cauliflower. Each color is a different variety.
I don’t notice a big taste difference between the kinds, but some people think the colors are sweeter!
As far as cooking goes, you can cook them the same way you would white cauliflower. One of my favorite things about these varieties is that they keep their color when you cook them!
We have really been enjoying roasted cauliflower this year. Here is a delicious roasted cauliflower recipe for you to enjoy.
Alright, plan to stop by the farmers markets or the farm this week and try a new colored cauliflower!
Have a great week!
Lindsey
PS – The Fall Harvest Event is at the farm THIS Saturday, October 22 from 10 am – 2pm. We would love to see you there! Farm address is 5888 120th Ave, Holland. There will be free wagon rides and free games for the family. We will also have the u-pick pumpkin patch open and all kinds of fun fall snacks.
Come and visit us at the farm!
We are SO EXCITED to announce our Fall Fest happening October 22, 10am – 2pm.
We are planning to have wagon rides in the field, U-Pick pumpkins & all kinds of games for the family!
The farm’s address is 5888 120th Ave, Holland, MI 49424.
RSVP here on our facebook page.
We can’t wait to see you all at the farm!
How to preserve pumpkins & gourds.
How to preserve pumpkins and gourds with just three ingredients.
Fall has arrived. It’s time to purchase gourds and pumpkins to decorate your home with. Use this cleaning method to make sure your pumpkins and gourds last all season.
Ingredients:
- 1-gallon hot water
- 2 tablespoons bleach
- 1 squirt of dish soap
Directions: Soak gourds/pumpkins for 30 minutes. After the soak, rinse and let air dry. Make sure to soak pumpkins before carving.
That’s it! Use this method for your gourds, decorative pumpkins and carving pumpkins.
A few other tips for you:
- Keep your pumpkins and gourds away from sunlight if possible.
- Avoid setting them directly on the pavement. Try to set them on cardboard, hay or wood. I have even seen them placed in hanging baskets!
Alright, let the decorating begin!
Here is where you can find all of the fall decor:
- Market at the Farm: Monday – Friday, 8am – 6pm & Saturday, 8am – 5pm. Address is 5888 120th Ave, Holland, MI 49424.
- Muskegon Farmers Market: Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday, 8am – 2pm.
Enjoy the season!
3 things we learned in the last week.
Good evening, friends,
This email is going to be a bit different, but we wanted to share something from our hearts.
This has been one of the hardest weeks of our lives. Last week Thursday, Doug unexpectedly passed away.
We lost our husband, father and grandfather.
Our teacher, mentor & friend.
He was an incredibly positive and compassionate person. The stories that have been flooding in the past few days from customers, employees and friends have been amazing. His smile and kindness touched so many people.
Doug appreciated all of the little things in life. Doug would get so excited to show everyone all the crops growing. A great looking field of potatoes. Giant heads of broccoli or a big butternut squash.
Doug was a full speed ahead kind of person. Full of energy. An incredibly hard worker. He only stopped at coffee time and he would want everyone to join him. He loved people. He genuinely loved life and lived it to the fullest.
He had incredible faith. “Don’t worry so,” he would say. He trusted God to take care of us, always. One of his favorite verses was Matthew 19:26: “With God all things are possible.”
So, friends, a few reminders and lessons we have learned from one of our favorite farmers:
Kindness matters. Kindness is something the world desperately needs right now. This was a way of life for Doug. He proved to us that a smile and kind word can have a huge impact on people’s lives.
Appreciate all of the little things. Farmers appreciate the little things in life because they know every little thing counts. Every blossom, every honeybee, every earthworm in the dirt, every drop of rain that falls. Doug knew this. He loved the simple things in life like beautiful produce and a good cup of coffee.
Don’t worry so. Doug lived this. It takes incredible faith to put a seed in the ground and believe that it will grow a crop to provide for your family. He trusted God and did not worry about the future. “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34.
We are so grateful for this special man. He left us an amazing legacy of faith, family and farming.
Thank you all for your support this past week. The outpouring of love from the community has meant so much to us. We truly appreciate each & every one of you.
– The Visser Family
Where does your food come from?
Where does your food come from?
Take a photo tour around the farm and see where your food is growing!
Picking sweet corn! Our corn is picked by hand. It has been delicious this summer!
Cutting lettuce in the field. We grow 3 kinds – Green Leaf, Red Leaf & Romaine.
Beautiful field of fall squash! We will start to harvest fall squash in the next month.
Harvesting broccoli. It has been a great summer for broccoli. If the weather cooperates, we should be harvesting broccoli until Christmas!
Potato field full of blossoms! Potatoes are one of our favorite things to grow. We raise 7 kinds – Red Skin, Russet, Yukon Gold, Fingerling, Butterball, White & Blue.
The bell peppers are turning color now. I think this is the prettiest one I have found so far!
Harvesting candy onions. They are big and beautiful this season!
The weeding crew! Does not matter the weather, the weeds just keep on growing! This crew works hard to keep the fields weed free.
It’s tomato season! Wagon loads of tomatoes come out of the fields this time of year.
It has overall been a dry summer and we have had to do lots of irrigating. Here the traveler is giving a potato field a good drink. After the rain we got the past few days we think it is safe to put the traveler away for the season.
Here the harvest crew is picking zucchini and summer squash. Zucchini, summer squash, pickles and cucumbers are picked first thing in the morning Monday, Wednesday & Friday.
Brussel Sprout field. These are one of the more unusual looking plants! We will start to harvest brussel sprouts very soon!
Carrots are another one of our favorites to grow!
Alright friends, that’s all for now! Thank you so much for coming along on the tour with us.
See you soon!
It’s salsa time!
Get those salsa jars ready!
All the tomatoes are coming in now and it’s time to get your canning done.
We have regular canning tomatoes, roma tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, onions & jalapeno peppers available right now.
Wondering where to get your tomatoes? Find us at these local markets:
Muskegon Farmers Market – Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday.
Kalamazoo Farmers Market – Saturday
Market at the Farm – Monday – Friday, 8am – 6pm. Saturday, 8am – 5pm.
Trufant Market – Thursday
Can’t wait to see what you all make!
-Lindsey
PS – Want to try some fresh salsa recipes? Here are a few of our favorites.
The best chocolate cake recipe!
My daughter recently made the most amazing chocolate cake for my birthday.
You will never guess her secret ingredient.
It was zucchini!
So moist, the perfect amount of chocolate.
The best part? My son had no idea that there was zucchini in it.
We decided to freeze some zucchini in the next few weeks so that we can make it this winter.
Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Sweet corn is ready!
What do you have planned for this weekend?
Make sure you include a trip to the market!
The most exciting new crop right now is sweet corn!
We also have broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, beets, carrots, tomatoes, candy sweet onions, beans, sugar snap peas, new potatoes, green onions, swiss chard, kale, salad mix, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, pickles, summer squash, blueberries, radishes, celery, & bell peppers.
Find us at these local markets:
Muskegon Farmers Market – Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday.
Kalamazoo Farmers Market – Saturday
Market at the Farm – Monday – Friday, 8am – 6pm. Saturday, 8am – 5pm.
Trufant Market – Thursday
Looking for a new recipe? This recipe for Stacked Vegetable Quesada’s is a favorite every year. It uses all kinds of summer veggies that we have available right now.
Have a great weekend. We look forward to seeing you soon!
-Lindsey
Have you tried a purple bean?
Good Morning!
Hope you enjoyed a fun 4th of July and are doing well!
As we head into July you will start to see more summer crops available.
One of my favorites are beans. We have green beans, yellow beans and PURPLE beans!
Have you ever tried a purple bean?
They are a beautiful purple color on the outside and green on the inside. I think they taste similar to the green beans.
Plus, you can do a fun magic trick for the kids with purple beans. Once you cook them, they turn green!
Stop by the markets this week and pick some up to try.
See you soon!
– Lindsey
PS – Planning to can pickles this season? They are ready! Make a plan to get those preserved in the next month.