In the forefront of the minds of members of the Presque Isle Farmers Market, even through the winter months, are our kind friends and customers who support locally produced goods. You regularly visit us on Saturday mornings at the Aroostook Centre Mall parking lot or come to our farms and business establishments and we appreciate your patronage.
We actively seek ways to reciprocate. The final result may be something truly remarkable, like a piece of one-of-a-kind handmade jewelry, a Crayola box of colorful potatoes (who knew?!), or melt-in-your-mouth buttery cheese. However, agricultural innovation comes neither lightly or capriciously. Behind the scenes, farmers and growers can be a rather conservative lot when it comes to the decision-making process. They may spend many hours circling a field on a tractor seat or operating the business end of a hoe, pondering all the ins and outs to making changes on the farm.
Rest assured, then, that when members consider changes in the operation of the Market, it is not a serendipitous whim. Market members gather a few times during the winter months to review the previous season and discuss what might be next. We discuss what things have crossed your mind as you contemplate your Saturday shopping mission … Does The Bread Guy still have those yummy apple fritters? … I should check with Steve Miller and find out what varieties of apple trees best survived our funny winter this year before I plant … I wonder if the Market has strawberries yet … if the York’s have garlic, I am going to buy a pail of fresh tomatoes from Whole Earth Farm and make marinara sauce … wait! Do I actually even know how to make marinara sauce?
Or perhaps you have considered going directly to the source … maybe this year’s corn maze at Goughan’s looks like a great idea for a birthday party location for some little people in your life or maybe too many birthdays have seeped into your bones and you want Natalia to fix you up with an herbal remedy. Maybe you want a chicken stew “cure” for what ails you. How do I find that farm?
After slow, careful, deliberate reflection and with your needs in mind, we as a group have joined, if not this century, at least the latter part of the last … introducing (taa-daa) new this year, the Presque Isle Farmers Market website! You can find us at: https://sites.google.com/site/presqueislefarmersmarket/
You can find out what is in season or when we anticipate seasonal crops will be ready. You can check out pictures and learn a little bit about the “home life” of the meats, fruits, dairy products, eggs, vegetables, flowers, mushrooms, and bread you purchase at the Market each week. You can learn how to contact us in between Saturday visits. You can discover some fabulous, favorite recipes or maybe figure out what in the world one does with a fresh fennel.
We are delighted when you stop by the Market to visit and hope you will now visit often via the internet in between. See ya!
Editor’s note: This weekly column is written by members of the Presque Isle Farmers’ Market. For more information or to join, contact their secretary/treasurer Steve Miller of Westmanland at 896-5860 or via e-mail at beetree@xpressamerica.net. The group’s website is https://sites.google.com/site/presqueislefarmersmarket/
