A variety of farm product choices make it easy to support farms, every season. As the weather warms, many sights and sounds we associate with springtime connect us to farms. If want to use the signs of the season as your guide, here’s a starting point of tasks, events and ideas for spring!
Early Springtime – March and April Suggestions
- CSA sign up time is happening! Late winter to early spring is a good time to choose summertime vegetable, fruit or flower shares. Maine farms offer different ways to buy local, fresh goods. You can choose one that meets your level of need, convenience, and preferences. Subscription boxes and pre-ordering are good choices to build a local grocery list. Some add the convenience of delivery. If you perfer self-selecting local farm products, choose a share you can use at the farm or farmstand.
- Check out the Maine Landscape & Nursery Association’s fundraising event, The Maine Garden + Marketplace. A three-day indoor market for gardeners of all experience levels. Get your ticket for an early start on spring garden planning and supplies!
- Maine Maple Sunday® sites. Save the date for the fourth weekend in March. Tour sugarhouses across Maine. You’re invited to sample, learn, and find your favorite pure Maine maple products. If you miss this event, don’t fret. Many farmstands and sugarhouses sell pure Maine maple syrup year-round!
- National Agriculture Week – Celebrate your favorite farmers! Maine offers a variety of agriculture, and quality farm products. Celebrate and help us thank Maine farms the third Tuesday in March, which is National Ag Day.
Late Springtime – May and June Suggestions
- Fiddleheads! This delicacy is the unfurled head of the ostrich fern. It is plucked before it fully emerges from the ground. Read tips for safe preparation and preservation, and recipe ideas.
- Pause to appreciate the flowers on orchard trees. As we heard in episode four of the Harvesting Maine podcast, there are a lot of delicious apples grown in Maine. It takes work each season to maintain a healthy orchard. As you drive by your favorite orchards, you’ll see that by March, most of the tree pruning is complete. With care and good weather, buds and tiny blossoms appear in spring. The blossoms signal future apple harvests!
- Seedling sales! There are many reasons to entrust a local nursery or farm to start your favorite seeds. Vegetable and flower seeds will get a healthy start and expertise of a professional. And you’ll enjoy a healthy plant, ready to transplant into your garden.
- Find your favorite fibershed connections at the Maine Fiber Frolic! The annual event seeks to celebrate fiber, fiber animals, and fiber arts.
- Look for Maine milk, cheese, ice cream, and other dairy goodness as summer arrives. June begins the seasonal shift to summer and, it’s dairy month! Find your favorite Maine dairy products to celebrate the arrival of summer. We recommend starting with this recipe library.
Springtime Senses – Sights, Sounds, and Flavors
