Wesleyan’s Long Lane Farm(ers) have begun harvesting crops from the two-acre student-run farm. Every Wednesday from 3 to 7 p.m., the students sell their crops at a farm stand near the corner of Long Lane and Wadsworth Street, and again from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at the North End Farmers Market in Middletown. Cash and Venmo are accepted.Garlic scapes, baby daikon radish, snap peas, collard greens, and kale are in season for mid-summer picking and indulgence. The students started planting summer crops in a greenhouse in March and moved the plants outdoors in April. Garlic, however, was planted last November.
Long Lane is supported by grants and funding sources that provide salaries for up to 12 summer farmers. All students are trained during the spring semester and learn the necessary day-to-day skills needed to plan and run a farm. The students work approximately 40 hours a week from May 24 to Sept. 3 and live on campus throughout the summer.Snap peas prefer damp, cool growing conditions and are one of the first vegetables available for harvest.The tart-tasting red currant fruits in mid-to-late June. The students also donate about a third of their harvest to local organizations working to fight food insecurity.The daikon radish has a sweet flavor in comparison to the spicier, common red radish. The name “daikon” translates from Japanese to mean “great root.”Long Lane Farm is located on Long Lane in Middletown across from the solar farm. In July, the farmers expect to harvest tomatoes, squash, beets, carrots, chard, cabbage, broccoli, and turnips. Later in the summer, they will be selling okra, garlic, onions, leeks, shallots, peppers, pumpkins, potatoes, sweet potatoes, garlic, eggplants, and more. (Photos by Olivia Drake)
Olivia Drake
Mike Mavredakis
Ziba Kashef
Andrew Chatfield