Three Weeks to Morton Grove Farmers' Market: Meet the Faces Behind Lyons Fruit Farm

Basil of every variety, rosemary, tomatoes, strawberries, baskets of gorgeous flowers overhead: All this bounty was in just one of the greenhouses at Lyons Fruit Farm. 

One of our market committee's goals for how we run our Market includes a visit to each and every farmer that attends the market. On Sunday we visited Lyons Farm just north of South Haven, Michigan. 

Rich Block and I drove more than two hours through the very wet morning to Tom Lyon's doorstep. 

As we pulled up, he came right over and greeted us with a big smile of welcome, as his two big dogs enthusiastically nuzzled our hands. 

"It's so nice to have market people come out to see what you do," he said. 

He has been farming with his family for years, and his parents live right next door. 

We were very impressed by the greenhouses he has, which are loaded with plants ready to go out into the fields as soon as the sun returns. 

He then showed us the expanse of fruit trees behind the greenhouses: cherries, apples, peaches, nectarines and more, all in bloom, with asparagus growing nearby. 

He told us that though it's ideal to use no pesticides on your fruit trees, it's really difficult to do that and keep the fruit healthy and vibrant, so he does use minimal spray. 

He currently attends eight markets each week during the regular season, and is excited to come to our market. 

As we got in the car to return to Illinois, his dogs excitedly ran next to us for nearly half a mile, sending us on our way home.  

Come meet Kristen, Burt and Tom at their booth each Saturday.  Welcome, Lyons Fruit Farm!