Family Farm Tradition: A Year Round Business at Stuckmeyer's

Janet Leckrone is anticipating spring. Spring is when her family’s farm market, reopens after being closed for the winter.  And while the market and garden center has been closed, the Stuckmeyer’s farm was far from dormant. Oh contraire, unlike home gardeners who work from spring to fall, farmers work year round.

“We don’t take winter off. There’s always something to be done,”Leckrone said.  “ Well, we do take a little time off in December. That’s when the guys do their farm-related sales and figure out what to order for the coming year and us girls go shopping.”

Janet is the third generation working the family farm that her grandfather Walter Stuckmeyer purchased in 1954. Today Janet’s dad Ralph and uncle Walter oversees general farm operations along with other family members who continue the tradition on the 150-acre track that’s located in Fenton at Highways 141 and 21.  All 150 acres are under production, including two acres of green houses, which has been the center of activity for the last few months.

“The other day we placed the plastic on the greenhouses. Today we’re cleaning them up and moving some of the plants around,” said Janet.

The day I visited there were hundreds of lettuce plants that had been started from seed a few weeks earlier.  In another greenhouse were flowers, flats of geraniums being nurtured and readied for the market’s opening in mid March. By then, the fields will be ready to accept this year’s crops starting with potatoes, which, according to farm lore, need to be planted on St. Patrick’s Day. 

“That’s what the old timers used to say. Potatoes should be planted on St Patrick’s Day,” Janet said. “Some would plant by the light of the moon and some still do, but we plant when the ground is ready. You can’t plant if the ground’s too wet.”

When spring arrives it will usher in the first of the season's new crops,  lettuce and asparagus. The following two recipes celebrate these favored early srping vegetables, when in season you’ll find at Stuckmeyer’s Market Farm.

SPRING GARDEN WILTED LETTUCE

• 2 pounds leaf, limestone, or Boston lettuce
• 6 slices of country-style peppered bacon
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 6 to 8 green onions, finely chopped
• 2 hard cooked eggs, chopped

Wash and drain lettuce, break into bite-size pieces; place in a large salad bowl and chill.  Fry bacon in a heavy skillet over a medium high heat until crisp; drain and crumble bacon. Set aside.  

Remove all but 1/4 cup of bacon drippings from the skillet.  Whisk in vinegar, water and sugar; bring to a boil and cook until smooth.  Season dressing with salt and pepper. Sprinkle green onions and chopped hard cooked eggs over top of lettuce; add reserved bacon and toss with warm dressing. Serve immediately. Makes 4 - 6 servings.

• 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and cut into julienne strips
• 1/4 cup olive oil (or the oil from the sun-dried tomato jar)
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoon minced fresh basil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Kosher salt and pepper to taste
• One pound thin fresh asparagus, trimmed and steamed until tender

In a large skillet, sauté the sun-dried tomatoes fro a minute over a medium heat. Add all the remaining ingredients except the asparagus and cook until sauce is slightly thickens. Pour sauce over steamed asparagus, toss and serve. Makes 6 servings.