Get produce fresh from the garden

The roadside sign that calls out “Fresh Asparagus” at Hillcrest Garden Market, located just a few miles north of the Tanger Outlet Mall, has gone up much earlier than usual this year.

“We're picking a month early for asparagus and red rhubarb,” says longtime owner Karen Olson.

Most years, Karen and her husband, Dick, are just starting to gear up in late April. This year, “we have been picking for the last three full weeks. With that warm 85 degree weather we had, it brought it on so much.”

Mind you, she's not complaining. The Olsons truly enjoy spending time in the garden. In fact, the market has grown and evolved over the years as an extension of their own garden. Today, their roadside market has become the go-to place in Iowa County to buy fresh garden produce.

The Olsons got their start some 30 years ago with a pick-your-own strawberry patch. “We started when the kids were small,” Karen says. Now both retired, Karen worked for years at St. Luke's Hospital and Dick worked for Quaker Oats.

Some years ago, when their strawberry patch got washed out by 11 inches of rain, the Olsons decided to branch out with other vegetables.

“People would say, ‘Why don't you grow this or that?'” she says. “We just kind of developed the garden, growing what people wanted.”

Today, their garden has grown to 30 acres, with an ever changing variety of produce available throughout the growing season. “We have about three acres of asparagus and about 300 red rhubarb plants,” Karen says. She's quick to note that their rhubarb is an extra sweet variety. “Those are our first two crops. We just go through the season after that.” She notes that radishes will be available soon. “We have a schedule that we print out so people can know what different things we grow.”

On a typical day, “we usually try to pick in the morning from 8 to 10 a.m. so it's always fresh, and then we open at 10 a.m.,” Karen says. “And we are usually open until 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.”

Although it may be true that fewer people have their own gardens nowadays, Karen has noticed that people still seek out fresh grown produce. “People are appreciating more and more the fresh grown, and anything Iowa grown,” she says. “We have a lot of people seeking us out because we pick fresh and grow fresh. People are getting back to that.”

Feel free to call (319) 642-3445 to check on what's in season.