Spring is in the Air (Or Soon Will Be!)

Spring is in the Air (Or Soon Will Be!)

Spring is In The Air (Or Soon Will Be!)

by Mary Ward 

After what feels like a “real” New England winter, we’re starting to see some breaks, and a spring-like light at the end of the tunnel!

Warmer days are bringing maple sugaring back, albeit a bit later than we’ve seen for many years. That and the promise of eventual steady warming has many of our farmers coming out of hibernation with an eye to pre-spring seed starting in preparation for full-scale planting ahead. 

Here’s a look at what’s going on on the pre-spring farm and sugar scene, as well as some leads on goods (vegetables and eggs! and more). There are some great events coming up in the next couple of months, too.

Late Winter and Early Spring -- Our Sweetest Season!

Guild members Megan and Joe Raskett at Hardwick Sugar Shack say things are in full swing at the sugar house. They’ve added a new bottling room this year, which is a serious upgrade and has been a real necessity. 

Megan tells us “It was much needed. Before, Joe was tucked into a tiny corner, trying to bottle all the syrup in a space that barely fit him, let alone the equipment. Now, we have a much more organized and spacious setup. But, as with all good things, getting here wasn’t simple. The extra work, planning, and inevitable construction chaos added a whole new layer of stress to the start of our season.” 

For the first time ever their first boil of the season coincided with their first-of-the-season March Open House. That’s actually something of an anomaly. 

The Rasketts host their open houses every Sunday in March, something they’ve done for many years running. Usually, the sap is running by February, and sometimes even earlier, but this year things stayed too cold for the sap to run. 

Megan says it’s been a whirlwind, and it’s all been a bit overwhelming, but they’re ready for us and the scent of sweet syrup is in the air on Jackson Road!

“Now, with the warm days and cold nights finally lining up, the sap is flowing, and we’ll be boiling. If you stop by, you’ll get to see it all in action—the steam rising, the syrup taking shape, and the familiar rhythm of the sugaring season finally settling in.

So, here’s to another year of syrup-making, the chaos of new beginnings, and the sweet reward of seeing that first batch pour out of the evaporator.” - Megan

Did you know? 
Hardwick Sugar Shack taps over 1300 trees every year!


Visit the Sugar Shack on Sundays through the Month of March:

Open House every Sunday in March from 11-4 pm. 572 Jackson Road, Hardwick, MA

Find them online at https://hardwicksugarshack.com/ 

Maple Barn and More at the Hardwick Winery:

For even more maple fun and goodness, head to the Hardwick Winery (maybe before a Sugar Shack tour!).

Every Saturday and Sunday in March, the Hardwick Winery hosts their Maple Barn Breakfasts. The food is delicious and plentiful, featuring one of our favorite classic New England sweet treats.

This is the Winery’s 17th year hosting families, friends, and visitors for this event. 

Sign up is required ahead of time and tickets are available for purchase online. There are two seating times available, at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. The menu is impressive and you won’t want to miss it!

Sign up for Hardwick Winery Maple Barn Breakfasts on the “Events” tab at www.hardwickwinery.com 

Up and Coming! More to do at the Winery this Spring:

The fun doesn’t stop at the Maple Barn Breakfast, though. John and Company have plenty planned for us this spring:

Hardwick Has Eggs!

We know the news of the bird flu is concerning, but to date bird flu has not affected Hardwick farms or their chicken flocks or egg supplies. 

Demand is high, but if you look around, you’ll find that there are many local eggs still available, and prices are lower than anything you’ll see in the grocery stores. As we’ve watched commercial egg prices soar, we haven’t seen our local egg prices do much of anything! That is the way it tends to be with local farm products -- they’re much more stable and less volatile then ever-changing commercial goods.

Check out local farm stores and farm stands, and some good community partners, too, who are selling local eggs. 

Here are some great places to find great quality local eggs -- for less!

  • Briar Ridge Farm, 670 Ridge Rd, Hardwick (508-479-9954)

  • Four Acre Farm Store in Hardwick Center (across from the Highway Dept.)

  • Clover Hill Farm Store, Barre Road

  • Rosy Goat Farm, 233 Upper Church St., Gilbertville

  • Stillman Quality Meats, Greenwich Road

  • Still Life Farm (please contact the farm for pickup by emailing contact the farm: StillLifeFarm@aol.com) 1643 Petersham Road

  • Old Furnace General Store, Lower Road

  • Hardwick Farmers’ Co-Op, Lower Road

What about chicken meat and poultry?

So far, bird flu has only been an issue for egg laying flocks and has not shown to be a problem for the chicken meat or poultry industry (either large or small). Local Hardwick farms still have excellent quality meat and poultry for sale. 

Shop locally for these items, too, to help support our Hardwick farmers so they can keep bringing you high quality eggs and meat products. 

Shop for all the other meats and vegetables, too. There is no vacuum in farm finance -- every product you buy helps local farmers continue to produce and every dollar spent with them supports all their products and efforts…so they can be here when the going gets tough in the commercial stores and the larger supply chain!

Spring Vegetable CSA’s Happening Now!

Believe it or not, there are already vegetable CSA’s up and running!

Still Life Farm’s Spring CSA is happening right now and goes from March through May in collaboration with Stillman's Farm in New Braintree.  

There’s still time to sign up and get some fresh, local greens and vegetables back in your diet!

Go here to sign up: stillmansfarm.com/product/spring-csa-3-2/

Hardwick Co-Op is both a Local Learning and Supply Resource

The Hardwick Farmers’ Co Op has been a great support to the Farmer’s Guild of Hardwick. They can be a great resource for you, too! They feature a number of local products and services. 

The Co-Op is currently hosting their late winter and spring workshops.  Pre-orders are open for honeybees, and others will be up and coming soon. 

Check out their website or call or stop in for workshop listings, preorders, and more.

Continuous Support Keeps Hardwick’s Farmers “Here When You Need Us”

As a final note, let’s all remember to support our local farms and farmers steadily and continuously, not only when things look bleak in commercial and mainstream markets. 

We’ve seen our share of food shortages, supply chain, and warehouse breakdowns in recent years. The way things are looking, we’re bound to see more. But as we can see, our local farms are really helping to fill in those gaps and keep high quality food available and affordable.


This is our reminder to support these farms now in consideration of today’s pressures, but also the rest of the time, too. We can’t expect farms to be there only when we “need” them. We need to help them survive the days throughout and in between, too!

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