Freshski's

At long last spring is here with warmer and longer days.  Everything should be improving in the gardens from this point into fall. You may already bee seeing spring greens, radishes, beets and small carrots from your gardens.  And now that the rest of the local Farmer’s Markets begin to open, you will see the many of your favorite vegetables, herbs and fruit, including asparagus and strawberries.

Yes, fresh asparagus and strawberries should be incredible this spring and they will be earlier than normal.  Both are short spring seasons in our area and will last only to the end of the month or a little later.  You should see them everywhere, including farmer’s markets, CSA’s, commercial and local groceries. 

Fresh local asparagus and strawberries have intense flavors making them one of the most prized items during any of our growing seasons. Local asparagus will be very tender with outstanding flavor and texture.  And strawberries will be big, juicy and with a sweet taste that will make you come back for more. Asparagus and strawberries both freeze well and strawberries have the added value of being made into jams, jellies, and preserves.   

If you prefer to pick your own strawberries, there are many U-Pick farms in both Missouri and Illinois that offer you that option.  Nothing better than being in a huge strawberry patch with nothing but time to fill your containers to the top.  It’s a very satisfying experience as you pick as many as you need while occasionally popping one in your mouth. This is one of the real treats of spring and always worth the time and the effort.  

Many local restaurants will also be featuring them as long as the supplies last. The local food magazines, Feast and Sauce, generally publish information on where to find asparagus and strawberries in local restaurants.  Both magazines maintain close relationships with the city’s best chefs and are a source of local fresh information on restaurant scene.  

Now that it is May, expect all of the local Farmer’s Markets to begin to open throughout the month.  Market, markets everywhere, from Tower Grove Park, to Clayton, to Edwardsville, and to Ferguson.  There are too many to list here but most are open on Saturday mornings early until the early afternoon.  A good directory for local farmers markets can be found here:

http://agebb.missouri.edu/fmktdir/index.htm

Farmer’s markets will be loaded with freshness in color, texture and taste.  You’ll see greens of every shape and color, beets, carrots, Swiss chard, onions, radishes, kale, collards, mustards, arugula, parsley, chives, sorrels, mints, and other early herbs.  Later in the month, the first of the peas, beans, zucchini, garlic, potatoes and summer squashes will make the scene.  

May is a very good month to make that commitment to Local Fresh that you have been talking about for some time.  Fresh market shopping is a very good experience.  There will be lots of growers, lots of eggs and meat and lots of things to see and do.  You will enjoy the color, the crowds and the joy of knowing that you are buying the freshest and best products in this area.  It will be habit forming.

Meanwhile, all of your local home growers are also benefiting from the great weather and should be harvesting much of the same things sold at the market. You enjoyment is even greater as you can pick what you grew to feed yourself, family and friends.  There is nothing better for the soul than to walk though your own garden to search for just the right items for your next family meal.  

Commercial produce coming in from the coasts and the south gets better too in May.  You will begin to see corn, tomatoes, melons, cucumbers, and berries.  The quality will be better than you have seen since the beginning of the year, but nowhere near the same as comparable local products. 

Just do a simple taste test between a California and a local strawberry.  The difference will be striking and mainly because of two factors.  Commercial vegetables and fruit are bred to withstand the riggers of transportation and are generally firmer and often picked partially ripe. But more importantly, local fresh products are usually harvested and sold within 48 hours giving them not only the best taste but also the highest levels in nutritional value.  

May is now the time to begin to plant the first of your warm season plants.  By mid-month you should have tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, eggplants, okra and beans in the ground.  The cycle really never ends as you will be harvesting and planting for the next several months.  You should take pride in you garden and use it for that special place in your home.  And for those items that you don’t have or can’t grow, you can always go to Market to Market with your friends and family.