While we're very excited about our 2010 Farmers Market Schedule and are eager to visit with old friends at our three continuing markets as well as make new friends at the three new markets we'll attend this year, it's hard to say goodbye to the markets we're leaving.

Harbor East is going to be harder for us to leave than Wakefield for a few reasons.  Harbor East Farmers Market will be no more in 2010.  FRESHFarm Markets, the non-profit who operated this market decided to devote their resources to other markets.  I believe this market was a victim of the downturn in the economy - there was not enough customers in that community at this time to sustain a good market.  I personally believe the market would have had a better chance for success had we moved the time back to 10:00 rather than up to 8:00 from the first year to the second year, but that's neither here nor there at this point.  I just wanted to be sure to make I took a moment to thank all of our customers at this market for their patronage and friendship during our stay by the water on Saturdays.  Not only will this community not have a farmers market this season, but we could find no opportunities to remain in Baltimore on Saturdays to maintain the great relationships we developed over those two years.  We'll keep an eye out for such opportunities going forward, but we were forced to look elsewhere.  Again, a sincere thanks to all of you from the whole Wenk/Three Springs family.

We haven't neglected our Wakefield customers either.  We'll miss you all as well.  Fortunately for you, the Wakefield Park market will continue on without us.  All your other favorite vendors will still attend every week and while it won't be the same, we know you'll be well-served by them as we got to know these vendors and enjoyed their company over the previous two years.  We had an opportunity to build up a new market in Washington DC on Wednesdays that conflicted with Wakefield Park and made the tough decision to persue this new opportunity.  However, seeing as they are not only terrific growers who run a terrific stand but also good friends of ours, I know that Kuhn Orchards will be able to provide all our customers with delicious fruit and I encourage everyone to keep attending that market and supporting those farmers. 

We enter every market with the hopes that it will be a success and we can provide for these communities for generations to come.  It's always difficult when it doesn't work out and we must leave a market - we don't like for it to come to that.  Again, we were proud to have served you all and thank you for your support. 

Greetings, locavores!

Its with both trepidation and anticipation that I blog my first entry at our new website!  Not only has the website come along nicely, but so also has a number of other things around the farm.  Meanwhile, we're preparing to attend a few May markets for the first time and, in light of these things, I'm getting awfully nervous about this crop season... but then again, if things always went as planned, I wouldn't have chosen this dynamic, frustrating, unpredicatable line of work in the first place!

The good news - lots of new things happening around here!  Specific to what you can expect to see at these early markets, we have lettuce, broccoli, and radishes we're gonna try to have early for all of you.  These should be ready to plant out next week or the week after (more on this later).  So that's good!  Our first-ever batch of Three Springs Homemade Apple Sauce turned out very well!  In a more broad sense, as you've likely noticed by now, the website, while not complete, has progressed to the point where it feels like "ours" now!  That feels good too.  We've also been busy planting with so much more to come - the 2009 half of our exciting, progressive sweet cherry planting is in the ground!  We have plenty of new apple varieties (old apple varieties but new trees, in some cases), plus plenty more peaches and blueberries all on the docket for our spring planting schedule.

Which leads right into the trepidation!  We certainly needed the rains over the weekend and we were fortunate enough to miss the nasty stuff.  Now, if fortune could smile on us once more, we'd get the 10 days of sun required to take the edge off my worried mind in consideration of all those things above that we've yet to plant.  Right now, the near future is pretty wet, so we'll have to play it by ear.

The countdown is ON!  Here's when you can expect us where to start the season!  The next time you hear from me, it'll be our first "Fresh From Our Farm" update of the season!

From Our Farm To Your Home,

Farmer Ben

OPENING DATES (see also, our calendar):

May 2nd - *brand new* Lutherville, MD Market!  Corner of Joppa and Falls, 2:30 - 6pm
May 3rd - Headhouse
May 3rd - Greenbelt
May 6th - Wakefield Park
June 6th - Harbor East
June 9th - Kenilworth