FARMINGTON – Karla Bock holds up one of Francis Fenton’s big, beefy 20-ounce apples and grins.
“it’s big,” she said looking down at the monster apple dwarfing her hand, “and they’re good.” The Sandy River Farmers’ Market is not about to quit because of a little frost on the old pumpkin. The market’s vendors wanted to go as long as possible this year so the last market Friday will be on Halloween where they will be plenty of pumpkins to choose from and much more.
“The season’s been very good,” said Bock, who is co-owner of the Hoof ‘n Paw Greenhouse and Harness Repair in New Sharon. “The customers are continuing to come.” She believes the increase in business is because more people are interested in buying locally grown foods and there are many more vendors who faithfully show up each week to choose from.
Despite October taking its leave, there’s still plenty of that home-grown goodness left. A glance down the line of the several vendors, who arrive each Friday at the parking lot on Front Street, show a bountiful collection of potatoes, beets, squash, garlic, kale, cabbage. Also home canned goods from earlier harvests, freshly baked breads at the Marble Family Farm stand and Dana Staples of Chick-A-Dee Farm still has bragging rights for continuing to offer homegrown tomatoes fresh from his field’s protected vines.
Bock offers a few of the many heirloom apples from Fenton’s Sandy River Apple Farm in Mercer. Fenton, 92, knows more about the apples of old than anybody and offers an interesting array to try. Bock said a customer bought one of Fenton’s “20 Ounce” apples, that honestly do weigh more than a pound each, and returned that same day to buy all the rest.
The market is open Fridays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
