We are now taking orders for the Saturday May 16 Pickup/Delivery Service.

We still have wonderful fresh produce and artisan food from many local vendors, and are very happy to provide them to as many people as we can.

Please remember there is a very small window for ordering as we usually reach our maximum of orders we can take in about an hour. We apologize for any inconvenience this is causing, but matters are beyond our control and we are doing what we can to serve as many of our customers as possible.

For plants for your home gardens, please see this week’s post detailing what is available, along with instructions on how things work with our plant pickups.

And to all the moms out there, we wish you a safe, healthy and joyous mothers’ day. We appreciate all of you and know how challenging our times are now.

Farmers Market Openings

Many of you are asking about this year’s farmers markets. Considered nonessential by state officials, local farmers markets in Delaware are still not open, though those in neighboring states are.

The Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) continues to delay the opening of farmers markets across the state as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. “The decision made to delay the opening of seasonal farmers’ markets in communities throughout Delaware was not an easy one,” DDA said in a statement. “We know that Delaware family farms depend on the direct sales to consumers at farmers’ markets. Just like you, we want to re-open the markets, but operating changes have to be made to protect the health of our farming community, consumers, and market staff.”

We hope you will read the following announcement from the Historic Lewes Farmers Market. As noted in this announcement, farmers markets in Delaware have formed a coalition and the coalition is working with the state, proposing stringent rules for safe operation of all Delaware farmers markets. All surrounding states consider farmers markets essential services and they are all open as they adhere to new sets of safety rules. We feel Delaware needs to take the same steps.

In the meantime, Hattie’s Garden will continue to operate this pickup/delivery service. We will expand how many we can serve as we begin to bring in our summer crops. Thank you for your business — we rely on you all for our success.

Yours in the Garden,