Le Plus ça Change of This Spring's Crops
A little behind, maybe, but not as much as it may appear
Plus ça Change, or the Same Old Same Old
Wednesday was another downslope on our spring weather roller coaster, with showers and temperatures in the 50s. Tomorrow the highs are supposed to be back in the 80s, then back to the 60s over the weekend.
The progression of spring crops at Chicago area farmers markets remains pretty slow. There is plenty of asparagus, lots of spring onions, the hothouse heirloom tomatoes are coming in strong, and there are still quite a few storage crops from last fall’s harvest. There was a rhubarb sighting, and a rumor that we might yet see strawberries before the end of May.
But is it really that much slower than last year? It feels that way because in 2021, some above average temps in late March and through April sent ramps and asparagus springing up unusually early. But I just took a trip on the wayback machine (aka Google Photos) to the same time last year and the photos I took show that there was plenty of asparagus, lots of spring onions, the hothouse heirloom tomatoes were coming in strong, there were rhubarb sightings, and still quite a few storage crops.
That doesn’t mean that our seasons haven’t become unpredictable because of global climate change or that there aren’t variations from crop to crop. But there’s also a bit of the old French saying, “plus ça change, plus c’est le meme chose” (the more things change, the more they remain the same).
Here are some photos from my visit to the Wednesday Green City Market:
Comings and goings: New rhubarb, peak season asparagus, and still some early season ramps at the stand of Ellis Family Farms (Benton Harbor, Michigan),
Someday maybe I’ll count how many photos I’ve taken of asparagus from Mick Klug Farm (St. Joseph, Michigan).
The growing pile of hothouse heirloom tomatoes from Nichols Farm and Orchard (Marengo, Illinois).
Jacobson Family Farms (Antioch, Illinois) featured teeny carrots, spring onions and mushrooms.
And more spring onions from Kankakee Valley Homestead (Walkerton, Indiana).
My small haul: Mick Klug Farm asparagus, fresh oregano from Smits Farms (Chicago Heights, Illinois); bratwurst from Finn’s Ranch (Buchanan, Michigan); white mushrooms from River Valley Ranch (Burlington, Wisconsin); and a sweet and spicy eggplant tofu salad from Phoenix Bean.
Coolio!