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At the Wednesday Bushel Basket Market: DeVulders Farm is a family affair

bushel-basket

By Elizabeth Richardson

The DeVulders farm is located in Grass Lake and is run by Pat, her husband, Ralph and son, Hector.

They have 11 acres and 6 greenhouses. By Pat’s count, they grow over 50 different types of vegetables, veggie plants and herbs in the spring and 10-12 different varieties of flowers.

The sunflowers and the radishes they have are perhaps their best sellers.

Pat says, “I’ve been farming all my life, just like my parents.”

vegetables
vegetables

This second generation farming family splits the duties. In the springtime, Ralph and Hector will cultivate the land, do the field work and then will help with the harvest.

Pat is in charge of harvesting the vegetables and flowers with the help of 3 part time workers and bringing them to market.

Besides selling at the Chelsea Wednesday market they also sell in Ann Arbor and Saline. Pat likes to sell at farmers markets because she says, “there is more control and you don’t have a middleman.”

assorted-vegetablesTo Pat, being a farmer is much more than just planting, harvesting and selling. She says she is a jack-of-all-trades and does it all and even has to fix farm equipment when it breaks down

The DeVulders make sure that they have a continuous crop of their best sellers by planting the same crop every few weeks so it is always fresh to market.

You can find Pat DeVulder on the back row of the Chelsea Wednesday Market Basket market.

Stop by and check out her wonderful fresh vegetables and flowers.

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