Submitted by Mary McCallum
After last year’s disappointing growing season it’s a joy to find vendors loaded with a sampling of Vermont’s finest fruits and vegetables at the Ludlow Farmers Market this summer. One of them is Julie Baker of Posie’s Place farm stand in Ascutney. Baker runs the small farm operation with her family and is in her second year as a vendor at the Ludlow market.
“Last year I was invited to participate but it was a tough season for growing anything,” says Baker. “The weather was cool and wet. But this year our garden is doing great.” Her stall on one Friday evening is laden with green and yellow wax beans, Butter Sugar corn, potatoes, summer and winter squash, pickling cucumbers, fresh eggs, and five varieties of tomatoes, including the flavorful yellow Lemon Boys. Large golden sunflowers sold by the stalk tempt shoppers, along with bunches of fresh herbs and local fruits in season.
“I pick the berries, plums and Asian pears myself,” says Baker. “Our apples come from an orchard in Cornish, New Hampshire. People love that they’re unsprayed and pesticide-free.” Open April through Christmas, Posie’s Place farm stand on Route 5 sells a changing variety of products as the seasons unfold, ending with Christmas trees and wreaths in December.
“This has been a good market venue for us,” says Baker. “It’s bigger than last year and is gaining momentum. Now I have repeat customers every week lining up for my eggs and produce.”
Two stalls away from Posie's is a vegetable stand with a slightly different flavor. Podge Sirjane and his son Emmett, 13, sell vegetables and condiments from their Caravan Gardens market garden. Sirjane's family works a small parcel in Cuttingsville and sells the produce from a roadside stand on Route 103 and at the Ludlow Farmers Market. "This is our first year at this farmers market," says Sirjane. "Farming has its ups and downs and I couldn't do this without the help of my wife and kids."
Sirjane's display is heavy on robust vegetables like garlic, onions, beets, leeks, carrots, crisp broccoli, hard to find kohlrabi and large green globes of cabbage. There are bags of spicy greens, containers of homemade pesto, and fresh herbs. And for the adventurous there is Korean kimchi made of fermented cabbage and root vegetables that adds kick to any meal.
Sirjane praises this year's consistently good weather for his farm's success as well as the good weekly turnout at the farmers market. "It's been a great season and we hope to be back next year."
Ludlow Farmers Market runs every Friday from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. through Columbus Day weekend. Look for the colorful awnings and happy shoppers on the shady green on Route 103 south of Ludlow.
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