Hit the Farm Tour Sept. 18-19 for Fun and Food

Attention foodies, families and everyone interested in great food from local farms: the 5th Annual Eastern Triangle Farm Tour is on September 18 and 19, 1 to 5 PM on both days. Two market vendors, Edible Earthscapes and Spain Farm, are on this year's tour, along with 22 other sites. Download the farm tour brochure for full details on all the farms so you can map out your route, and purchase a "button" online now or at Whole Foods Market of Cary.

Learn about fourth-generation Spain Farm's stewardship techniques to trying to preserve the land for the next generation. Shitake mushrooms are their specialty, but come see the friendly ducks too! They have Muscovy ducks for meat and Cayuga and Khaki Campbell ducks for eggs, along with free-range chickens, goats and beautiful fig and pawpaw trees! (Please note: Spain Farm is only open on Saturday's tour.)

Edible Earthscapes is a small, sustainable farm with an emphasis on Asian heirloom varieties. See a mixture of Western and Japanese growing techniques and the farm's first-year rice fields in full growth during the tour! Jason and Haruka Oatis are using the model brought to the West by the Fukuoka's famous book, The One-Straw Revolution.

Plus, visit other farms, gardens and wineries during this educational event and fundraiser for the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA). Load up a car with your friends and family, choose the farms you will visit, and enjoy the countryside! The tour is self-guided, and farms and sites are located throughout the Eastern Triangle in Wake, Durham, Franklin and Chatham counties. Visit any farm in any order. Many farms also will have foods for sale so bring a cooler!