Farm season is well underway, and the arrival of summer corn has locals happy to bring it home to their tables and grills.
Both Gove Farm and Harper’s Farm & Garden have an abundance of farm fresh goodness up for grabs at their stands. Gove at 930 Mechanic St. in Leominster is currently picking zucchini, lettuce, beets, basil, cucumbers, parsley, kale, cut flowers, and they also have plants and hanging baskets.
Over at Harper’s at 1539 N Main St. in Lancaster, they also have most of the above mentioned plus peaches and other offerings such as asparagus, fennel, and rhubarb, to name just a few, and both farms have customers clamoring for their corn varieties that are always a huge hit and wildly popular during the warmer months.
As always, weather plays a huge role in the success of farming — from planting to caring for crops to harvesting them. John Gove said that just like every year on a New England farm, “this season seems out of the ordinary but that is also what makes it normal.”
“The harsh winter, roller coaster of spring, and extremely dry June all play into the challenge of growing produce in our region,” the seventh-generation farmer said. “This unpredictability, though, is also why we do what we do. No two seasons are the same and we get to challenge ourselves to produce the same crops under ever-changing parameters.”
Dave Harper said that while overall “it has been a pretty good growing season so far” at the Lancaster farm that produces over 100 varieties of fruits and vegetables as well as herb and vegetable plants, the fickle back-and-forth temps have been challenging.
“It was a cold spring, and we had to put out lots of row covers to protect the crops and keep them growing, but the heat waves mixed in pushed the majority of the crops to ripen on time,” he said of the bounty at their fifth generation, 85-acre farm.
They started picking corn at Harper’s on June 29, which Dave said is “about normal” for them.
“Dry years are always better for us with all our fields along the river,” he said. “We have extensive drip irrigation on all our fields to put the exact amount of water needed for each crop.”
Lisa and Paul Gove have been caring for their Leominster farm since taking it over from his parents in 1993 and their son John has been in the mix for many years now.
“The community, with their eagerness for fresh produce and curiosity for how the farm works, both allows us to be supported as a business and reminds us why we do what we do which is produce good food for the local community,” John said.
Dave echoed his sentiments, saying like all farms, their customers are their lifeblood and keep them going year after year, generation after generation.
“We always appreciate our community supporting the local farms in the area,” he said. “It has been a very busy start of the year for us. Not sure if it is because of price of fuel and the higher prices at grocery stores this year, but it is always important to support all the local farms in the area to ensure access to locally grown food in the future.”
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