They Came, They Saw, They Bought Their First Locally Grown Tomato

By Dottie Evans

If you like organically grown fresh fruits and vegetables from arugula to zucchini, the Sandy Hook Organic Farmers’ Market is the place to be on Tuesday mornings from now through October.

Building on the success of last year, the local outdoor farmers’ market opened July 6 in the field behind St John’s Episcopal Church at 5 Washington Avenue, and a steady stream of visitors came and went between 9 am and 2 pm during the market’s scheduled hours.

Most of them were regular customers from the inaugural 2003 summer season, and they were eager not only to buy whatever fresh vegetables were in season, but also to scope out the new exhibits and see what would be offered during the 2004 season.

In a nutshell, everyone agreed the farmers’ market looked better than ever –– more spacious and more room for more vendors with more wares.

“I try to come every Tuesday,” said longtime resident Margaret Warner, whose husband Hawley Warner had once owned a dry goods business in the Brick Building across the street.

People were glad to see familiar faces. Among these were Sandy Hook organic farmers Jim and Sue Shortt whose tables were loaded down with leafy green lettuce, flawless plump zucchini, fragrant basil, flowers and herbs, and several exotic offerings such as Chinese radishes and tatsoi greens (“Very healthy and good for you,” said Ms Shortt.)

The Shortts were also selling young blueberry bushes raised from bare root in their greenhouses at $15.95 each. The bushes were already three feet high and the branch-ends were covered with ripening berries.

“They’re easy to grow, you just have to cover them with netting when they start to turn blue so the birds won’t get the fruit,” said Ms Short.

Their corn was picked in Windsor, Mr Shortt said, “which is a Connecticut farm we can always depend on. I remember picking corn for them when I was a boy –– and that was a while ago,” he added.

Fort Hill Farm from New Milford also was among the vendors, showing a full array of spring greens as well as tomatoes ripened in farm greenhouses.

Shadow Moon Farm in Southbury was a new vendor, displaying decorative and edible flowers to use as garnishes for summer salads and sandwiches. These included bright red monardia blooms, also known as beebalm, Johnny jump-ups, nasturtiums, calendula, and pansies.

“The purple chive blossoms look terrific with potato salad,” suggested an onlooker.

The vendor said her red carrots were gone by 10 am, “but I’ll have one more crop ready for next week.”

Other vendors were Goose On The Loose of New Milford by jewelry maker Jennifer Grant, who featured handwrought necklaces, bracelets, rings, and earrings. Jodie Moriarty Massage was there with her padded chair, herbologist Dawyn Cloud-Alter sold calcium teas, tinctures, liniments, and herbal scrubs and gels, and Lunch To Go offered hummus and avocado wraps by Priscilla Rose Kitchen.

A glance across the white exhibit tents to the meadow beyond afforded a peaceful view in soft greens, as tall grasses were interspersed with native with black-eyed Susans, white Queen Anne’s lace flowers, and Russian olive trees.

While the older people enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and visited the various booths, family groups sat down with coffee or juice and fresh baked muffins from Karen Yacovelli of Priscilla Rose.

Farmers’ Market organizer Mary Fellows of The Little Green Barn greeted visitors as they walked past the entrance sign nearby two antique tin horse troughs, and everyone commented about the newly mulched and widened farmers’ exhibit area.

“We took down that dirt mound and graded it with a little slope so the water would run off,” Ms Fellows said.

“We’re off to a great start and almost everyone is back. We miss The Egg And I pork farm, but that farmer was ready to retire and we’re happy for him that he did. Next week, we’ll have more vendors including baked bread, Super Seed, and Bear Hills Pottery.”

That’s Tuesdays, 9 am to 2 pm in The Hook. Be there.