Saturday, May 28, 2011
Shlagel Farms, nearly a century old, is a vendor at the Greenbelt Farmers Market.
There are only about seven to 10 days left in the “pick your own” strawberry season, according to farmer Russ Shlagel of Shlagel Farms in Waldorf, Md. But if you can’t travel to Charles County, then how about stopping by the Greenbelt Farmers Market on Sunday? Sweet, succulent strawberries, English peas and sweet cherries are just a few of the offerings this week from a family who prides itself on celebrating a century of farming. “We are pretty proud of her [the farm] this year as she turns 100,” Shlagel said. A former tobacco farm, the land was originally purchased in 1911 by Shlagel’s grandfather, Otto, who entered the U.S. through Ellis Island in 1906. In 1988, about a decade before the state’s tobacco buyout program began, Shlagel and…
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Calvert Farm, in Cecil County, Maryland, is a vendor at the Greenbelt Farmers Market.
Traveling east from Monkton along winding roads and through small towns, perhaps the most exciting moments are crossing over the Conowingo Dam, which traverses the lower Susquehanna River. The silver-grey waters churn and roil south towards the Chesapeake Bay. Up ahead, 12 miles or so, just outside the town of Rising Sun, lives a formidable duo who have parlayed their 17-acre farm into a cornucopia of delectable foods enjoyed by residents of Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Meet Pam Stegall Roberts, a self-described Air Force brat, and her husband, Paul Roberts, a heating and cooling whiz — as in HVAC. Together, they own and operate Calvert Farm, a small, family farm that is certified organic and produces 150 vegetables and fruits …
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Gunpowder Bison & Trading Co. is a vendor at the Greenbelt Farmers Market.
Less than two miles outside Monkton, Maryland, an area known for its farms and scenic countryside, lies a bucolic 70-acre parcel of land that’s home to a creature best known to Western ranchers. Trey and Angela Lewis, owners of Gunpowder Bison & Trading Co., could have opted for alpaca, ostrich or rodeo bulls — all considered when Trey Lewis was researching livestock to raise on the farm. Instead, bison was deemed the animal of choice, and the couple launched their dream in 2006 with eight females (cows) and one bull. “Trey really wanted something different. He came across bison at a farm show,” Angela Lewis said, adding that her husband learned bison was making its way back into the market. “He took a gamble.” The gamble appears to have …
Sandra Marquardt
4:49 pm on Sunday, May 22, 2011
We love Calvert Farm's produce at the Forest Estates Farmers Market in Silver Spring near Holy Cross hospital as well! Saturday's 9 a.m.-12 if you can't make it to the Greenbelt market Sunday. See www.forestestates.org. Great story, Kathleen! more ›