Looking for something tasty and fun to do on Saturday? You might consider a day trip to Featherstone Farm in Rushford Village, MN. They’ve invited the whole community to their Spring Open House on Saturday, May 15, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Jack Hedin and Jenni McHugh started Featherstone Farm in 1995, and since then they’ve been building their reputation as a sustainable producer of high quality local fruits and vegetables in the area. I adore their famous crisp sugarsnap peas, snow peas, and asparagus.
They run a popular Twin Cities CSA, and also have produce available at Twin Cities’ co-ops such as The Wedge and Linden Hills Co-op, among others (for more general information on CSAs in the Twin Cities, see last week’s blog post about CSAs).
Something interesting about their operation is their utilization of the land. Featherstone manages a variety of micro-regions on their land for growing produce. Some of their land is composed of rich, loamy soil where they grow spring crops such as broccoli and greens. Another area of land is sandy, dry soil for summer crops like melons and green peppers.
Featherstone’s open house this weekend will feature heirloom plant sales, guided tours, and demonstrations of tractors and other tools used at the farm. You can learn about their season extension strategies such as starting seedlings in the greenhouse, floating row covers, raised beds, and plastic mulch, all of which allow them to get their products to market earlier in the season. Learn about their summer Thursday afternoon markets or sign up for a CSA share. See their new greenhouse, hoophouse and warehouse, and sample rhubarb cake.
The farm is located just east of Tri-county Electric in Rushford Village, about 2 ½ hours southeast of the Twin Cities.
Featherstone Farm
43090 City Park Rd.
Rushford Village, MN 55971
