Farmers’ markets in Franklin County will be going strong through October and beyond. School is back in session and the nights are getting chilly, but the season for fresh produce and other local farm products is far from over. In fact, tomatoes and other veggies are at their peak, and winter squash has hardly started ripening. Meat, cheese, fresh local baked goods, honey & maple syrup, canned jams & pickles, dried herbs & vinegars are always in season; some veggies and frozen berries will be available throughout the winter; and milk and eggs are available nearly year-round. Farmington’s Saturday market even features an Event Tent, where you may enjoy performances by local musicians, demonstrations of chick hatching or grain milling, henna body art—something different each week.
The following farmers’ markets will all be open through the end of October:
- Farmington: Tuesdays 2-6 pm, Front St, across the Better Living Center in the Narrow Gauge Cinema parking lot.
- Fridays 9am-2pm, Front St, across from the Better Living Center in the Narrow Gauge Cinema parking lot.
- Saturdays 9am-noon, District Courthouse, 129 Main St.
- Kingfield: Wednesdays 3-5:30pm, Schoolhouse Gallery, 266 Main St.
- Phillips (new this year): Saturdays, 10am-2pm, at Hunnisett Reed Antiques, 53 Main St.
- New Sharon market, Saturdays 9am-1pm, will be open through the 10th of October, at Douin’s Market, intersection of Routes 2 & 27. The New Sharon market will be closed for Common Ground Fair the 24th of September.
When the outdoor markets close for the season, the indoor winter market at the Farmington Grange Hall, on Bridge St in West Farmington, opens the first Saturday of November, 9am-noon.
The online farmers’ market, www.WesternMaineMarket.com, serves local residents year-round, offering free delivery to downtown Farmington, Strong, and Freeman in addition to pick-up locations in Farmington, Kingfield, Phillips, Rangeley, Stratton, East Wilton, and Rumford. Western Maine Market features many of the same products and vendors found at the regular markets as well as some not available at other local farmers’ markets, including: yogurt from Tide Mill Creamery in Washington County; locally roasted-to-order coffee from Kingfield’s Carrabassett Coffee Company; scallops in season from Maple Ridge Farm & Fishery of Sabattus, frozen berries from Blue Sky Produce and Rasmussen Farm; yarn, fleece and roving from Fields Edge Farm of Leeds; alpaca fleece, eggs, meat & occasionally livestock from Lone Antler Farm in Temple; and much more.
When you shop at local farmers’ markets, you generally get fresher, more flavorful food, sometimes at a lower price than in grocery stores. At the same time, you support the local economy and reduce your carbon footprint by limiting the distance (and time from harvest) between your kitchen and where your food was grown. Crack a local egg and you’ll notice a thicker shell and deeper yellow yolk. The full flavor of an heirloom tomato or the sweetness of corn eaten within a few hours of when it was picked, before the sugar turns to starch—there’s no comparison. Large scale farms that ship nationwide select the varieties they grow based on hardiness, appearance, and tolerance of pesticides rather than taste. Local farms can grow heirloom varieties with exquisite taste that won’t travel as well.
Most local farms are small farms that adhere to organic practices and avoid use of chemicals even if they are not Certified Organic, making food safer for your family to eat and safer for local wildlife. Without pesticides, produce may not look as perfect as what you find in the grocery store, but the taste more than makes up for any cosmetic imperfections. You can learn more about the practices of specific farms by going to their vendor webpages under the “Meet Our Farmers” menu at www.WesternMaineMarket.com or www.SandyRiverFarmersMarket.com, and you are always welcome to ask questions at the farmers’ markets.
You probably won’t find pineapples or citrus fruit at a Maine farmers’ market any time soon, but you will likely discover treats you won’t find in grocery stores, such as duck eggs—higher in protein than chicken eggs so they keep your cakes & soufflés higher after they cool, Boothby’s Blonde or lemon cucumbers, ground cherries (physalis, also known as husk cherries or pineapple tomatoes), kohlrabi, sorrel, Hakurei salad turnips, and a great variety of tomatoes, peppers, squash and potatoes.
Did you know that what we usually call a turnip is actually a rutabaga? To see both turnips and rutabagas side by side, go to Island Farm’s market booth. Whitehill Farm grows hundreds of varieties of tomatoes. Marble Family Farms has developed an incredibly delicious yellow and red beefsteak tomato that often weighs in at more than two pounds per tomato. Stone Corner Farm grows garlic with huge cloves. Rasmussen Farm plants things they’ve never even seen but just discovered in seed catalogs: purple asparagus, cardoon, salad burnet (a salad green that tastes like cucumber)… A trip to the farmers’ market can be a great treasure hunt.
