Early Frost Farm (Embarrass, MN)
Established 2014 by Jack & Ericka LaMar
How did Early Frost Farm get started?
We started off with a few laying hens and then got into bees. By the third year, we were growing more food than we could keep for ourselves and started to market our produce. Natural Harvest was a great fit for us because of the shared values we have.
What inspires you to be a farmer?
We are so very blessed to be able to grow food for ourselves and others. It just seems natural for us to grow what we can and share with others. Growing healthy, chemical free is also important to us.
What is the most difficult part of the farming process?
Weather and pests can be very problematic. It can be too cold or too hot in a matter of hours. This year was very challenging because of the extremes. In one week, we had below freezing temps and close to triple-digit temps. On top of that, we had so many grasshoppers. It is also difficult without automation to irrigate the crops and open our hoop houses to cool things down.
What is your favorite thing to grow?
I have discovered how versatile and yummy Kohlrabi is. It is easy to grow, pest resistant and you make it into Asian slaw or cube it and grill it. Ericka’s favorite is purple cauliflower because it is so beautiful.
Tell us something most people don’t know about Early Frost Farm?
Well, we hosted live events on the farm and this year it was an Opera. How cool is that? We are working with a theatre group to put on another production in July of 2022. We also have an on-farm store where we sell ice cream treats and canned goods from the farm. Those are items we are not able to sell at Natural Harvest because of the limitations of our license.
Check out their website:
https://www.earlyfrostfarms.com/
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