Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in cleveland, OH

Fresh Produce Coming to a Neighborhood Near You

by Naomi

March 09, 2009

Last summer, my kids and I spent a lot of time at the local farmers markets.  We made an effort to go EVERY Saturday and thoroughly enjoyed our time there.

Farmers Markets are so much more than simply an alternative to the grocery store.  They provide amazing learning experiences for your kiddos!  Not only that, you are supporting the "Buy Local" initiative AND providing your family with produce that is so much fresher than what is on the shelves of your grocery store.

Most vendors have samples out for tasting, smelling, feeling.  Make a point to ask questions of the vendors, what is the easiest vegetable to grow?  What is your favorite flower?  Why do you make cheese?  

Turn the outing into a lesson on colors  - can they spot a yellow vegetable?  Can they find a red flower?  

To find a farmers market near you, visit The Farmland Center for a partial listing.

I am very excited THIS season to participate in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), a way for folks like US to participate in receiving shares from a local farmer ... all fresh, all local and all delicious!

To find a CSA near you, visit Local Harvest. 

For those of you living in Geauga County, there is a new CSA coming to town!  Geauga Family Farms Cooperative is offering individuals or households a share (or half-share) of produce and, for 24 weeks beginning in late May, will provide a weekly delivery/pickup of whatever is ready for harvest.

Full shares will typically consist of a box or bag of various items that will feed a family of four for a week.  Half-shares will
typically feed two people for a week. Weekly shares will vary in size, weight, and quantity depending on the time of season and on growing conditions.

   * A certified-organic share delivered to the Co-op is $660 for the season.
   * A certified-organic half-share delivered to the Co-op is $410.
   * A "conventional" share (not certified-organic but naturally and
sustainably grown, without pesticides, except in the case of apples)
is $535 delivered to the Co-op (or $475 if picked up at the farm).
   * A "conventional" half-share delivered is $335 (or $275 if picked
up at the farm).

For more information, you may call Daniel Fisher (certified organic farmer) at (440) 693-4632 or Kathleen Webb (salesperson/contact) at (440) 286-5326 or (216) 408-7719 (cell).

If you live in Cuyahoga County, check out City Fresh for all of the information on that area CSA!

I can smell the fresh produce already!

Looking back on November.

by Naomi

November 30, 2008

Did you miss these posts? Some of my favorites (or some of the most important ones, anyway) from the month of November: How would they reach your loved ones? Have you been to Shaker Lakes Nature Center? Need a Christmas gift that is literacy based and keeps on giving? Get creative with your kids! Here's hoping that November was full of great fall hikes, lots of jumping in the leaves and  Read more...

How to cultivate a green (and very teeny) Cleveland thumb

by Naomi

October 22, 2008

We only have so much longer here in Northeast Ohio to enjoy the fall weather. The cool mornings and changing leaves will soon give way to that cold white stuff. Get one last hurrah in with your kiddos and PLAY IN THE DIRT! Find a neglected 12x12 spot in your yard. There has to be at least one corner of your property that is begging for a miniature shovel and some pint-size garden  Read more...