Autumn Winds Blast Great Lakes, Challenging Eat Local Efforts

Frost is on rooftops and lawns in the morning, and clouds of leaves are swirling out of gloomy gray skies from Duluth, MN to Rochester, NY and beyond. So while people on the West Coast, across the South, and pretty far up the Mid-Atlantic are continuing to peruse their bountiful farmers markets, things are different here in the North. Our ride on the "eat local" and "real food" bandwagon has turned overnight to a brisk hay ride through fields of dried corn stalks. How can we still enjoy produce that is grown and offered "locally" if the growing season is simply over?

There are three things that can help:

1. Expand the "local" perimeter to the south. Growing seasons are longer (and start sooner) the farther you go south. So, for instance, in the Chicago area, there will still be vegetables and some tree fruit coming up from the southern parts of Illinois, Indiana and from Missouri. Produce from these areas can still be found in farmers markets that run through October. But then what?

2. Start trying recipes for colder weather crops like squash, pumpkin, cabbage and brussels sprouts. There will be fewer places to buy these items, because most of the "folding table at the end of the farmer's driveway" type vendors will have put the table away until May or June, but the larger produce stores, and some co-ops will remain open until the dead of winter. I hope to compile an index of produce-oriented markets for the Great Lakes states, which of course I will post here.

3. Grow Your Own. The obvious choice for the most local food of all. Those who are experienced gardeners probably already know what to plant in mid-summer for fall harvest. But for everyone else, here is a concise two-page guide published by the University of Minnesota Extension that provides helpful tips on what to plant, and how to prep the soil. If it will grow in the cool autumn of Minnesota, it will grow nearly anywhere else across the Great Lakes region.

One more thing: like so many methods and practices that make up the "eat local" movement, what our grandmothers did can help us enjoy locally-grown fruits and vegetables from late autumn through late spring. Canning and preserving was simply part of life until the last few decades. Nearly everything harvested during the growing season can be preserved for eating later. This topic could be its own blog, but I will add articles and resources whenever I can to help first timers try their luck.