Farm Stands

Discussion in 'Shopping & Sales' started by Ken Anderson, Nov 12, 2015.

  1. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I'm not sure how it's done in other places these days but, in Maine, fresh vegetables are usually sold from farm stands. Generally, the stands are placed along the roadside at the end of the farmer's driveway, and are unattended.

    Prices are posted on the wall and there is a container in which to place the money. I asked one of the potato farmers who was there one day if they have much of a problem with people taking potatoes without paying for them, and he said that it does happen, that there has been times when people have taken everything in the stand but that, more often, people leave more than they owe for what they are buying, since there's no way to make change. They might leave $5 for a $3 bag of potatoes. He said that it more than evens out in his favor, particularly when you figure out the cost in time of having someone at the stand throughout the day, and that no one has ever stolen the money.

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  2. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
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    Thats great that you have such honest people around you! We have lots of farmer's markets here but I seldom go because the prices arent cheaper and the produce isnt really any better!

    What I always wonder about here in Fresno and even In California is all the fruit orchards and all the crops that grow along the side of roads....my drive to my daughters takes me past orange and nut trees here with lots of fruit on the ground just rotting there and I never see anyone stopping to pick it up...maybe its against the law?

    Then as I get closer to the coast its Broccoli, cauliflower, artichokes, avocados, lettuce and of course strawberries everywhere....I often think if you had no money just walking along the road when its dark you could fill a bag with fruits and vegetables easily!

    Im close enough to walk to some vineyards and many fruit trees within walking distance of my subdivision.
     
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  3. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Our land up north includes a couple of potato fields that we lease to a potato grower. It's been a couple of years; since he's grown potatoes there since last year was a very short growing season, a lot of the local growers chose to plant it in something to improve the soil. However, when they plant potatoes, the machines that harvest the crops leave all of the small potatoes behind, and they are free for the taking. When I am there at the right time, I can glean as many potatoes as I can fit into my Chevrolet Tracker.

    When I lived in Texas, I had two orange trees in my yard. The one in the front yard grew beautiful oranges, but the taste was only so-so. The tree in back grew smaller oranges, with thinner skins, that didn't look nearly as attractive, but they were perfect eating oranges. Just one tree produced more oranges than I could eat.
     
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  4. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
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    When I moved to Fresno I planted a miniature orange tree in my yard but it didnt do well at all.

    My daughter has a fuji apple tree that is doing well and some other fruit trees but their problem is the deer.
     
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  5. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Yeah, the trees have to be protected for several years, until they get large enough to no longer be threatened by deer.
     
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  6. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
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    Yes, they have wire fencing around them.
     
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  7. Corie Henson

    Corie Henson Veteran Member
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    I don't know how I'm going to write this. But farm stands is what I see. There is a vacant lot that I pass by everyday. The land of about 1,000 square meters is planted to banana stalks and some vegetables. There is an old man that I see under a small tree with a wooden table in front of him. Apparently, he is selling sweet potato tops - a kind of vegetable from a vine that is cheap and mostly eaten by the poor - and katuray flowers - a white flower that is made into a salad which is rarely eaten now. I pity the old man because he is there in his farm stand almost everyday when I pass by. Sometimes I am tempted to buy but what would I do with his produce? We don't eat katuray flower although my father-in-law relished that. With sweet potato, we also have that in our extended garden. Maybe one of these days, I will stop by and inquire is he got some sales.
     
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  8. Diane Lane

    Diane Lane Veteran Member
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    I don't get to farm stands much these days, but always enjoy them when I do. I bought one squash at the grocery store yesterday, and it was expensive. This would be a great time to pick up some fruit and vegetables for the holidays, but there just aren't any stands near where I live. We used to enjoy driving around on the weekends when I was growing up, out in the countryish areas, and stopping at the various farm stands. We were never disappointed with the products, and the prices were usually lower than we'd find at grocery stores.
     
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  9. Corie Henson

    Corie Henson Veteran Member
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    Okay, I was lucky yesterday to come home a bit early. There was the farm stand with the farm produce on the small table as you can see in the picture. Unfortunately, the old man was not there although I saw him in the house on the other side of the road. As was my plan, I took out my camera and took this picture thru the car's window. The white flowers are the Katuray flower that is good for raw salad with a ranch dressing. The green ones are the sweet potato vines that is boiled and served as garnishing to fish dishes. IMG_6489 farm stand katuray.JPG
     
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  10. Ruby Begonia

    Ruby Begonia Supreme Member
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    Yes I recall, when vacationing in Maine, stopping at an unattended stand and putting money into a can for a basket of blueberries!
     
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  11. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    One of the things that I remember from growing up in Idaho, is the produce stands that were set up in the summer, along the hi-way, but near a town.
    They carried both fruits and vegetables, and sometimes things like raw honey or homemade jams.
    Most of the produce was local, but some of the fruit that wasn’t grown where we lived, was brought in, usually from Central Washington where they had the huge farms with apples, cherries, peaches, and apricots.

    The stands were there all summer long, so it was almost like going to the grocery store to shop there, except everything was outside , and very fresh each day.
    When the produce started to go a little bit bad, then you could buy it at a substantial discount, and it was still fine for making jams, or other canned foods.

    The closest thing that I have seen out here in Alabama is the local farmers market, and occasionally, someone sitting along side the road selling their fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, and you have to happen down just the right road, at the right time, to find that.

    We used to get a gunny sack of fresh sweet corn each year, too.
    My folks had friends with a big farm and that grew corn, and Mom would call and order her gunnysack of corn, the people would pick it fresh the next morning, so it was straight out of the fields when we took it home.
    Many times, our meal was just fresh sliced beefsteak tomatoes and corn on the cob, and maybe fresh peaches, watermelon, or cantaloupe for dessert.
     
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  12. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    You'll find those throughout Northern Maine, mostly selling potatoes, but other vegetables are sometimes offered as well. Most often, they are unmanned and operating on the honor system, particularly the ones just selling potatoes. The ones that are manned usually offer other stuff, such as jams and jellies, as well as different produce.
     
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  13. Marie Mallery

    Marie Mallery Veteran Member
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    Not many stands here since pandemic. Last one we visited a couple months ago we bought a watermelon and it was really muchy when we cut it open. Said most melons now are like that. Don't know why.
     
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  14. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
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    No vegi/food stands here. But, do find a few peach stands. We stopped at a peach stand, but the peaches were hard as rocks. IOW, no thanks!
     
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  15. Nancy Hart

    Nancy Hart Veteran Member
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    One popped up here about 2 weeks ago just on the county line on a road I pass by often.

    Cantaloupe and watermelon season just started here. Often individuals with pickup trucks full of melons will stop on various corners just outside of town. I've also seen truck loads of sweet potatoes in the fall.
     
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