Saturday, October 5, 2024 | Country Acres • Page 1
Country Acres Saturday, October 5, 2024
Volume 11, Edition 14
PRSRT STD ECR U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #861 Sauk Rapids, MN 2 Second Ave S Suite 135 Sauk Rapids MN 56379
Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment
Jamming with garlic
try to plant Spranger’s garden leads to delicious food We water-loving BY EMILY BRETH STAFF WRITER
ELBOW LAKE — It is no surprise to be able to find fresh produce and freshly made jelly and jam at Andria and Jacob Spranger’s farm, ANJ Meadows.
“We grow just about everything,” Andria said. “On average, I will spend 5-6 hours in the garden per day. Then, in my spare time, I make my jellies and jams and crochet.” The garden is close to 5,000 square feet, with a little over 2,300 feet of it covered by a polytunnel. “One nice thing about the polytunnel is it protects (the plants) from some wind and rain,” Jacob said. “The unfortunate side of it, though, is that we have to water it daily.
plants outside to work with nature.” A value the Sprangers hold closely to them is ensuring they let the crops grow on their own without any outside factors. “I’d rather sell somebody something that is good quality rather than them getting something from the store,” Andria said. “We don’t add any chemicals or pesticides to our vegetables. It grows how it grows.” Garlic is one of the products found at ANJ Meadows that has been growing since one year after Sprangers moved to the farm. “Garlic is actually what started all of this,” Andria said. “We started about seven years ago, and this year we pulled about 3,000 heads.” The original garlic plants were a gift from Jacob’s grandfather, who had been growing it for many years. “We started (going to farmers) markets seven years ago, with me sitting in the back of my vehicle with a cooler of garlic,” Andria said. “Now we sell a bit of the garlic
PHOTO BY EMILY BRETH
Jacob and Andria Spranger stand together in front of their garden Aug. 23 at ANJ Meadows near Elbow Lake. The Sprangers value letting the crops grow on their own, without the use of chemicals or pesticides.
online, but most is through markets.” Some of the leftover garlic one year turned out to be a hit when Andria decided to make jelly with it. “I was looking through the canning book because I had no idea what to do with the garlic, and I came across the recipe for jelly,” Andria said. “When I used to go to the Hoffman Farmers Market, another lady and I would work together because her bread was really good with the jelly.” Now the Sprangers attend farmers markets in Elbow Lake and Battle Lake each week. Andria has even taken over running the Elbow Lake market. “I have gotten a few new vendors this year, and we are working towards getting a winter market set up,” Andria said.
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PHOTO SUBMITTED
A bundle of garlic hangs on the wall Aug. 24 at the Donnelly Threshing Bee in Donnelly. The original garlic plants were a gift from Jacob Spranger’s grandfather, who had been growing garlic for many years.
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Watch for the next edition of Country Acres on October 19, 2024
Publications
COUNTRY:
5
7
Ag learning through family fun Willmar Friends, farmers, teammates Tiffany Klaphake column
11 Unburied treasures Motley
25 Country cooking
14 Harvest photo page
26 Across the acres Apple Q&A
19 Dedicated to community
29 The mindful farm