Market Scene: Newton, Massachusetts
Since 1980, the Newton Parks and Recreation Department has sponsored a large and popular farmers' market every Tuesday in Cold Spring Park, which brings together 25 vendors and as many as 1,000 shoppers during peak season.
Nicewicz Family Farm has been selling at the market for 20 years. They have a reputation for outstanding peaches and corn. Alan Nicewicz explained that even before his grandparents purchased the farm in 1929 there were peach trees on the land. "The soil is very good up there. It's hilly. We have a lot of clay which adds to the sweetness of the peaches. As for the corn, I think we grow some good varieties. We work very closely with the seed companies." For the past four years, a variety called Cameo has proven especially popular with customers.
Over at Old Friends Farm, customers were distracted from beautiful fresh-cut flowers by even showier organic carrots. A basket full of Atomic Red and Cosmic Purple beauties was the center of attention. As a counterpoint to those bright red carrots, farmer Casey Steinberg was offering coolers filled with very clean, ready-to-eat bags of baby lettuce, baby arugula and mixed greens. If you hate spinning lettuce, this is the farm stand for you.
Asian greens were available from Hmong Farms at Flats Mentor Farm. On this donated land, immigrants from Asia and Africa have been growing food for their own needs since 1985. Today, some families have expanded to commercial operations, which provide market shoppers with a welcome selection of diverse choices such as: pea tendrils, amaranth, pac-choy, hukurie, daikon radish, and fuzzy gourd.
"In addition to fresh produce, the market offers turkey, pies, jellies and jams, honey, cider, baked goods, fresh fish, goat cheese, beef, plants, flowers, ice cream, gelato, and sorbet," noted Newton farmers' market manager Judy Dore.
The Newton Farmers' Market at Cold Spring Park is held each Tuesday from 1:30 to 6:00 p.m. at the 1200 Beacon Street entrance (map). This year, the market will run until October 27, 2009.
In Season
Corn
Peppers
Eggplant
Zucchini
Carrots
Peaches
Plums
Potatoes
Heirloom Tomatoes
Coming Soon
Cantaloupe
Apples
Watermelon
Winter squash
Storage onions
Cabbage
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4 Comments:
Great report! I was just in Mass for a few days and saw Hmong Farms at the Westford Farmers Market. Lovely little vendor.
Any news on how tomato blight is affecting your vendors?
Jen Maiser at 3:45PM on 08/03/09
Yes, and the news is sad. More than 400 farms have been affected according to an article last week in the local paper.
Here's a link to that article:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/07/31/disease_that_spawned_irelands_potato_famine_hits_new_england/
BostonZest at 5:16PM on 08/03/09
This is just down the street from me. Old Friends Farm bagged lettuces are fantastic. They also offer farm grown fresh ginger, which looks divine. I must get some today. I am also a fan of the goat cheese. My friend swears by the turkey pies- can't say I agree on that.
mrsegg at 10:01AM on 08/04/09
I just recommended the Old Friends Farm ginger on a BostonZest post. It is fantastic. It's hot and so full of flavor that I have to tell myself that it is another product that I can only get for a very short time. It makes you wish all ginger could be so fresh.
You can use the leaves and stems to make ginger tea or ginger broth. I like to use them when I make Asian chicken stock.
BostonZest at 11:56AM on 08/04/09