In less than a month, on April 20th we will be back at the Saturday Easton farmers’ market slinging tacos and selling seedlings. It feels like forever since we have set up our booth, but at the same time winter seems to have gone by in a flash!
This winter we kicked back and took it easy. But as the days have been getting longer we have slowly been getting back into work mode. Which involves us planning and scheming for this upcoming season.
In the greenhouse we have a new set up to assist in getting great germination and growth for our seedlings. This involves a large heat mat, trays topped with humidity domes, and the use of our hanging propane heater. So far the set up is working as designed, our kale and mustard seeds popped up little leaves in just 4 days! At our first market of the season we expect to have a fun selection of spring seedlings ready for you to plant in your garden. Our tomato seedlings (which are super tiny right now) and other frost sensitive crops should be ready to go to market at the beginning of May. Notification of the actual seedling availability list and your ability to pre-order online for local pick up, will be sent out first through our email list about a week before April 20th.
Out in the field there is not much going on except in our garlic patch. This past fall we planted over 400 bed feet of heirloom garlic seed. We love growing garlic and are always interested in trying new varieties. Right now we have 10 different varieties growing, some trusted favorites but many are new to us. The first chance we will have to enjoy the deliciousness that is local garlic will be late May when we harvest the garlic scapes.
Our plans in the kitchen with Quarter Acre EATS involve continuing to cook our much loved menu: Egg & Cheese Taco using local pasture raised eggs; Veggie Taco a mix of seasonal vegetables, Grilled Chicken Taco made with a marinade that taps into our Yucatan roots, and the Bacon Quesadilla to many folks the definition of perfection!
We will also have our addictive guacamole and pico de gallo available by the container. Plus we’ll be making fresh squeezed lemonade each week. In addition to our regular menu we will have seasonal specials pop up throughout the year like garlic scape pesto during scape season and hot soup in the fall.
We will be rolling out a new POS (point of sale) system to be able to speed up the ordering process at the farmers’ market. As well as allow us to accept a wider range of payments including digital wallets like Apple Pay.
We are so excited for the 2024 season and we can’t wait to see you all again. In the meantime Andrea will be presenting the keynote speech at the upcoming Chesapeake Agriculture Innovation Center’s Producers Unveiled event on April 17th in Milton, DE. This free event is open to anyone, you just need to register ahead of time.
