gardens of eagan

I had to laugh knowingly last weekend at the Kingfield Farmers Market as I stood behind a woman in the Gardens of Eagan booth. In front of her was a bowl spilling over with these little papery beige spheres and a sign inviting shoppers to try one.

“Ground cherries?” she said, ducking away from them like they might possibly explode. “What are they? I don’t think I’ve ever seen them before. Are they cherries? No stems…Hmm. How do they grow? What do they taste like?”

A market pro, the gentleman working was not fazed by this barrage of questions. He deftly explained that, related to tomatillos, ground cherries grow on bushes and are often compared in flavor to strawberries, pineapple, and sometimes even butterscotch. 

Whenever I make up a batch of quick pickles, I think about my grandmother, who had such a lush, amazing garden, and the food preservation skills to match. She had little in the way of finances, so she was always very frugal about using whatever was on hand so we could enjoy the tastes of her garden throughout the long, cold Minnesota winter months. I remember zucchini, squash, tomato salsas, even fruit pickling. If she grew it, she canned it.

When I grew up and became a chef, I never forgot the way my grandmother would make sure to use produce wisely so that there wasn't any waste, and of course, I never forgot her quick pickles. 

This is the final post in a summer-long series from a young farmer working as a harvest crew leader at Gardens of Eagan.

I turned down seven farming positions at the beginning of the 2013 season. All across the United States I’d submitted applications and received offers from California, New York, Vermont, and Minnesota. In January, I declined an offer to attend an elite apprenticeship program in California. Though this experiential learning position had been my dream since I could say the words, “I want to be a farmer,” I couldn’t afford the tuition of three thousand dollars, plus housing, airfare, books, tools, and shared food expenses.

This is the sixth post in a summer-long series from a young farmer working as a harvest crew leader at Gardens of Eagan.

This is the fifth post in a summer-long series from a young farmer working as a harvest crew leader at Gardens of Eagan. Check out previous posts, Laying New Roots, When Farmers Stay Dry, Building Farm Community, and Bringing in the Harvest.

This is the fourth post in a summer-long series from a young farmer working as a harvest crew leader at Gardens of Eagan. Check out previous posts, Laying New Roots, When Farmers Stay Dry, and Building Farm Community.

This is the third post in a summer-long series from a young farmer working as a harvest crew leader at Gardens of Eagan. Check out previous posts, Laying New Roots and When Farmers Stay Dry.

This is the second post in a summer-long series from a young farmer working as a harvest crew leader at Gardens of Eagan. Also check out the intro post, Laying New Roots.

This is the first post in a summer-long series from a young farmer working as a harvest crew leader at Gardens of Eagan.