Some years Mother Nature deals a bad hand to certain crops, and this year, it looks like it was pumpkins’ turn. While there are pumpkins at Harvard’s farmstands, there are fewer than usual and more small pumpkins than big ones. According to Chris Green of Westward Orchards, a dry spell followed by a lot of rain was likely the culprit. Pumpkin flowers need pollination for the fruit to develop, and too much rain at the wrong time means bees don’t come out to do their job. But the pumpkins at our local farmstands still need homes regardless of their size or shape. So this might be the year to give up the quest for the perfect pumpkin and, in the words of Stephen Stills, love the one you’re with.
Carlson Orchards, 115 Oak Hill Road
Pick-your-own McIntosh, Cortland, and Royal Gala apples; Macoun, Northern Spy, and Empire apples will be ready by the weekend; check Facebook daily for variety updates. McIntosh, Cortland, Macoun, Royal Gala, and Honeycrisp apples available in the store; limited Massachusetts-grown peaches still available. Brookdale Fruit Farm’s bicolor corn, zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, green peppers, and winter squash (butternut, buttercup, acorn, and delicata) available in the store. Brookdale’s pumpkins and Indian corn are available outside the store (to the left). Freshly made cider doughnuts on weekends.
Doe Orchards, 327 Ayer Road
Pick-your-own Honeycrisp, Gala, Cortland, Fuji, and McIntosh apples. Macouns will be ready for picking by the weekend. At the stand, Honeycrisp, Gala, Cortland, McIntosh, Ruby Mac, and Ginger Gold apples, along with Doe Orchards honey, pumpkins, and gourds.
Old Frog Pond Farm, 38 Eldridge Road
Pick-your-own raspberries. Heirloom and cherry tomatoes, Asian pears, raspberries, squash, watermelon, peppers, eggs, and raspberry jam available at the stand. All fruit and vegetables are certified organic.
Westward Orchards, 178 Massachusetts Avenue
Pick-your-own McIntosh, Cortland, Macoun, Empire, Golden Delicious, and Gala apples. All varieties of apples being picked plus Honeycrisp and Ginger Gold apples are available in the store. Red Bartlett pears, yellow and white peaches, nectarines, and plums are also available in the store, along with corn, tomatoes (regular, heirloom, and cherry), lettuce, broccoli, peppers (bell and hot), eggplant, carrots, kale, cucumbers, beans, beets, parsnips, onions, summer squash, zucchini, cabbage, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, Yukon gold and purple potatoes, and a variety of herbs. Pumpkins available outside the store. Freshly made cider doughnuts daily; wagon rides to the pumpkin patch for pumpkin picking on Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Willard Farm, 218 Still River Road
Bicolor corn, Red Norland, Green Mountain, and Yukon Gold potatoes. Winter squash, including butternut, buttercup, delicata, acorn, carnival, red kuri, and blue Hubbard. Pumpkins, including pie pumpkins and mini pumpkins, gourds, Indian corn. There are still ornamental edible pepper plants looking for a home, as well as Ghost and Carolina Reaper peppers, some of the world’s hottest.
All produce listed is Harvard-grown unless otherwise noted. Brookdale Fruit Farm is in Hollis, New Hampshire.
—Compiled by Joan Eliyesil
