One Saturday a month during the growing season, several of the CSA farmers open up their farms for an open house. We can go out and see the produce being grown, meat being raised and meet the farmers. Today, we had an opportunity to see 3 farms. We also stopped at Geauga Farms Country Meats.
We met Lester Miller first. They have a “hobby farm” and are raising 4 cattle.
Sally and Nick really liked the chicken coop.
The farm was so picturesque today. The weather was perfect for a visit. The porch swing in the shade was welcome after our time in the sun.
Next we headed to the farm of Tom Byler. One advantage of having my husband along is I end up with photos of me.
We took a look at the fields, saw a few animals, bought a loaf of bread ($3) and a plate of molasses cookies ($3), and enjoyed a cold drink. The bread was still warm when Mrs. Byler brought it out. It doesn’t get much fresher than that!
Next, we were off to see Jonas Byler. I got really lost trying to find this farm last year. I was happy to have better directions and the Welcome CSA member sign at the road was a nice addition for all of the visits this year. Jonas is mostly growing sweet corn and tomatoes. Since there isn’t much to look at with the corn, we enjoyed some time in the tomato house.
The tomato plants are huge. He offered a few for picking. Nick jumped at the opportunity. When we get cherry tomatoes in our pick up, they don’t even last a day at home.
Although it was a bit of a drive from the farms, we ended our day at Geauga Farms Country Meats. We purchased a $70 frozen box of meat. We have a roast, 2 rib eye steaks, 2 sirloin steaks and 11 pounds of ground beef. We had brought a cooler with ice packs to help keep it frozen on the drive home. We’re looking forward to trying it.
We saw a few others out at the farms, but none of them were busy while we were there. I hope others got to take advantage of the beautiful day and enjoy the scenery.