Why go to the Farmer's Market when you can go to the Farm?
Just three miles off the I-295 Falmouth exit, The Idleknot Farm is located on Woodville Road. Across the street from the Farm is a giant brick mansion that looks oddly out of place in the middle of the vast farmland. I mention this only because it will capture your attention and you'll drive right by the farm (as I have done numerous times). So ignore the mansion - and keep your eyes peeled for the Farm!
The Idleknot Farm has limited hours. Open Wednesday through Sunday, 2-6, they harvest in the morning and sell what they have picked in the afternoon. Everything they sell is fresh from the field. In fact, on our most recent visit, the lettuce they were bagging was still warm from the summer sun. We feasted that evening on our farm-fresh goodies, enjoying grilled zucchini and yellow squash, crisp green beans and of course, the wonderfully delicate lettuce leaves in our salad. .jpg)
The Farm is best known for its rutabaga harvest. On a crisp autumn day you can see the tractors pulling heaping wagons full of the root vegetable up to the barn to sell. Much of the rutabaga production ends up on local restaurant menus and in Hannaford supermarkets.
My advice? Skip the Farmer's Market and head straight to the Farm.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Goin' to the Farm
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1 comments:
Erin, you hit the nail on this one. There are many farms spread throughout the state that operate similarly to Idleknot Farm- selling direct to the public. The benefits are numerous. We obtain the freshest food possible. We skip the middleman on pricing. Farmer’s get paid full retail prices instead of discounted wholesale prices, this helps sustains Maine farming. Visiting the farm and meeting the farmers is a pure joy.
That said, we gain many of the same benefits and a few additional by visiting the local farmer’s market. Farmer’s markets are community-sponsored events where we get greater product variety than at a single farm. They are usually closer to large population centers, so most people will save time and fuel. Shopping with and from our neighbors is great community building. Participating in the local farmer’s market supports the local economy and reduces our dependence on outside sources, both nationally and internationally. According to MOFGA(Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association), “If every Maine family spent $10 per week on Maine-produced food, purchased directly from the farmer, we'd keep an additional $100 million circulating in the Maine economy.”
The following link will direct you to many of the farms, farmer’s markets and other businesses that directly support local Maine agriculture.
http://www.getrealmaine.com/index.shtml
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