Season opening:
Farmers’ Marke
Residents who identify only four seasons in a year really have not been paying attention! There are so many seasons within each season to enjoy in Aroostook County, and a few to enjoy seeing disappear in the rear-view mirror.
In the spring, you can enjoy the end of sledding and the beginning of shedding, especially if you own a large dog. Likewise, you can say goodbye to mud season and hello to black flies in a very short period of time, and look forward to fishing season as soon as the melt water dissipates. Some folks use that time to watch baseball from sun-warmed bleachers while other intrepid souls probe the riverbanks for fiddleheads. Nearly everyone needs to find time to push the driveway back across the DMZ after its insidious climb up onto the lawn or to salvage plow-savaged landscaping. There is dead vegetation to rake away and ruts to fill and smooth flat before the clay hardens; drought threatens ankle-breaking instead of ankle-deep mush.
Crop farmers have these experiences too, though on a much larger scale. For any type and size of farm, there is always something to do at this time of year. There is so much to be done associated with getting in a crop; “getting in” refers both to getting the seed into the ground and to everything associated with getting it to harvest.
Diversified small farmers have crops (plural), all with their own needs and demands that must be met in a reasonable time frame if they are going to be fruitful. Livestock farmers look forward to grass season almost as much as their animals do. Bee keepers speak with enthusiasm about dandelion season, for them a jump-start crop for populous, productive hives. Lucky souls with greenhouses or cold frames are looking at early greens and started tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, etc. just waiting for the soil to warm. Meanwhile, no other place on earth grows field rocks quite as well as Aroostook County!
Members and customers alike look forward to the spring opening of the Presque Isle Farmers’ Market in the Aroostook Centre Mall parking lot on Saturday mornings. Just in time for Mother’s Day, local farmer/members will begin another season. Stop by on Saturday, May 11th or any other Saturday morning right through until Columbus Day weekend between 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to pick up fresh, wholesome, locally grown tastes of spring to take home and enjoy.
This column is written by members of the Presque Isle Farmers’ Market. For more information, visit their website at https://sites.google.com/site/presqueislefarmersmarket/home.
