ZEELAND, Mich. — You can find tart cherries, apples and blueberries across West Michigan, but 13 ON YOUR SIDE looked more into what farmers are calling a "very rare" sweet potato harvest in Ottawa County.
Sweet potatoes typically grow in the south, but the conditions were just right for a family farm to harvest thousands of some of the freshest in the area.
"It's pretty hard to find locally-grown sweet potatoes in Michigan," said Shelby Visser, of Visser Farms in Zeeland, "we don't really have the best climate for it."
Sweet potatoes also take a long time to grow, so with cold weather being a common visitor to the Great Lakes state and the recent drought, it isn't always a great setting.
"We were pretty dry in June, but we were able to irrigate correctly," said Shelby. "It was really good that we were able to time that perfectly."
But this year, Visser Farms had no problem with their crop, harvesting nearly 30,000 pounds of sweet potatoes.
"It's pretty cool that we were able to grow such beautiful sweet potatoes given the environment that we have," said Shelby.
"It's the Lord's blessing is what it is," said Phil Visser, "they're gorgeous."
The Vissers said the size of the sweet potatoes this year are much bigger than usual, making them even more of a health benefit: Full of fiber, vitamins and antioxidants.
"A lot of the nutrients are found in the skin," Shelby said, "so if you're looking to get the health factor out of the sweet potatoes, bake them or boil them with the skin on."
This family said they're honored to be able to grow these beloved potatoes right here along the West Michigan lakeshore, which isn't always easy.
"By getting them here, you're cutting out the middle man and all the miles," said Shelby, "plus you don't get all the extra treatments they have to do to make them last long enough to make it to your table."
"With Visser Farms, you're eating within 36 hours of our produce being picked," she added, "and you're just never going to find that at any store."
You can read more about sweet potato growth in Michigan from Michigan State University Extension here.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.