Fresh from the Farm

[Robo410]

I'm feeling lucky living in Amish country in PA. Just down the road is a great enclave with a market selling picked that day produce. Right now tomatoes, potatoes, grn beans, squash, onions, lettuces, spinach, chard and kale, not to mention fresh eggs, and butter and cheese. The local jack is fine and the pepper jack the best I've had. PLenty of baked goods too, though the Amish love of sweets is not to my liking as much. Good breads including a simple nutty whole wheat. Oh and pick your own flowers and herbs!

So this is not the only such place in the country. What's near you? Where do you go for fine fresh produce and dairy?

Last night we ate fresh: grilled sandwhiches of pepper jack, tomatoes and fresh basil leaves. Corn, and sauteed squash. Gotta love summer!

 

[Loprraine]

I have a few great local farmer's markets near me. The one thing I can't seem to get is fresh butter.

 

[kadesma]

I feel doubly lucky I live on 8-1/2 acres so we do tomatoes,cucumbers, lettuce,herbs,eggplant,long green Italian sweet peppers, cantaloupe,we have 3 peach trees, 1 apricot, grapes,a grafted peach/nectarine, 1 nectarine,1 tangerine, anything else my favorite market will get anything asked for and carries many many wonderful veggies..Plus we do have farmers market, but the country side is filled with on site produced veggies and fruits, onions,potatoes,garlic,all is sold at little stands on the property..There is nothing so good as picking it and walking into your kitchen and preparing it.

kadesma

 

[Jeekinz]

LOL

There are some real nice produce stands within a 40 minute drive from me. There's one held in my town every weekend, but my town is filled with so many yuppies, it's cheaper to go to Whole Foods...lol

 

[BreezyCooking]

I have a 21-acre farm that we're SLOWLY developing, & one of our aims is towards growing organic produce for the local farmer's markets. I'd also like to get back into chickens, which I used to raise for eggs back in NY.

These days, however, we buy from our local farmer's markets - mostly organic/free-range eggs, free-range poultry, local honey. Veggies & herbs we pretty much grow ourselves.

 

[oneoffour]

I grow my own tomatoes in three types. Types this year are roma, supersonics and husky cherry. Have basil, dill, fennel, mints (spear and pepper), oregano, parsley (flat), tarragon and thyme. Strawberries were great this spring. Blueberries were a light harvest. Seedless table grapes are getting their first clusters this year. Yellow summer squash are mixed into the shrub beds and doing well.

Belong to a local farm co-op you help do the work and get shares of the field crops.

 

[Robo410]

Jersey, especially south of Trenton is truly awesome for summer crops of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants etc. It's also nice you live near a whole foods! one of my faves and I have to drive 45 min to get to the closest. Callifornia is unbelieveable...only been there three times: once north twice south but the produce is beyond belief and there is a real taste and texture difference to pick cook serve within minutes!

I wish I had a greener thumb, but count myself lucky to have good neighbors who do!

 

[gto]

When we get ready to do our canning we always go to produce auctions to buy in bulk and reap savings.

 

[Maverick2272]

We have several farmers markets in the area that we go to during the summer, plus what we harvest from our own garden. A stop at the Amish is always in order when we visit the Amana Colonies in Iowa.

 

[AMSeccia]

When we get ready to do our canning we always go to produce auctions to buy in bulk and reap savings.

I have not heard of a produce auction ... cool idea, wonder if it's a regional concept?

We are just getting plants in the ground here, as we had a hard freeze not two weeks ago. This rain is going to wash away my t'maters, and I planted several heirloom varieties this year that I'm excited about. I planted Stupice, Mr. Stripey, a German something or other for my daughter the German student, a white cherry variety, a silver fern in a hanging basket ... lots of yellow pear and Mexican Midgets. Oh, and one called Pilgrim. I haven't had good luck with heirlooms in my clay soil, even amending with lots of compost, so I went a bit overboard this year. I do not know what I will do with everything if the rain subsides and I end up with a bumper crop. If you have suggestions on deterring rotten cottontails (as my daughter calls them), I'm all ears.

Can't wait for our farmers markets to start, which I think is this week. Not that they'll have much to sell yet, but some have flowers, herbs, crafts, etc.

 

[holbear]

I live in Maryland and am fortunate to have an Amish market here. They come down with their goods and are open Thurs. - Sat. I love their cheese and fresh butter. Their meats are also excellent. And I love the sweets.. yum shoefly pie! LOL

We have some good pick your own farms here. We just picked a ton of strawberries and I've been busy with jam, bread, ect. They sell lots of great local products as well.

 

[DaveSoMD]

I'm in Maryland also. We have an Amish/Mennonite farmer's market up the road and a lot of local farmers have stands down here. I also have a smal garden and grow tomatoes, green & yellow beans, lettuce, peppers, cucumbers, squash and herbs (although this year it is looking pretty pathetic)

 

[larry_stewart]

Im on long island, about 1 (+) hour east of New York City. Whats great is that I dont live too far from the East end farms. About 15 minutes east of me are many " pick your own" farms, where we pick strawberries, black berries, raspberries, tomatoes, peppers , eggplants, peaches, apples, pumpkins......depending on the season ( Lewin Farms) . They also have a market open from may - about thanksgiving, for those who dont want to pick their own. As you ride further east, you will see smaller, private farmstands, of people selling local produce, jellies, pickles...... Then a little further east is a goat farm which sells fresh goat milk, goat cheese, goat fudge..( Catapano Dairy Farm), The many Wineries. So, what is nice about where I live , is that I can travel an hour west and be in one of the most populated, modern cities, or , I can drive an hour east, and take a step back in time and have homegrown produce, homemade cheeses, Homemade fruit pies ( Briermere pies)

What is also nice, is you will pass, from time to time, a table in fromt of someones house, with potatoes, eggs... And a box there. Basically it goes by the honor system. Grab 20lbs of potatoes, and toss the $3 in the box.

Oh, I almost forgot about the Asparagus Tractor, sitting in front of someones house, filled with bunches of asparagus $3 a bunch, once again, by Honor system.

LEWIN FARMS

Welcome To Catapano Dairy

Long Island Wine Country


Welcome to the Briermere Farms Website

 

[babetoo]

how lucky you all are. we do have a farmers market on old main street one day a week.

lots of vegs. some fruit and bread.

babe

 

[Maverick2272]

I live in Maryland and am fortunate to have an Amish market here. They come down with their goods and are open Thurs. - Sat. I love their cheese and fresh butter. Their meats are also excellent. And I love the sweets.. yum shoefly pie! LOL

We have some good pick your own farms here. We just picked a ton of strawberries and I've been busy with jam, bread, ect. They sell lots of great local products as well.

Oh, we have loved shoo-fly pie ever since we got it from the Mennonites in Iowa!