This is the last farmstand column of the season. It’s been a good one for our farms and orchards, with no early freezes, no midsummer droughts, and no hailstorms. All the stands listed here (except Old Frog Pond Farm) will remain open through much of the rest of the year, and Carlson Orchards is open year-round. Many have special holiday offerings and other events that help supplement their income. Please continue to support these valuable local resources, and let’s hope Mother Nature can sweet talk Old Man Winter into sparing our peach, apple, and berry crops again next year.
www.carlsonorchards.com
Pick-your-own has ended for the season. Lots of apples will be available in the store this week, along with locally grown winter squash. The store is open year-round selling Carlson’s apples and cider (soft and hard), as well as other local foods and a variety of themed merchandise. Hours are currently 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., but the store will start closing at 5 p.m. at some point. Check Facebook for changes in hours, as well as for daily events in the store or at the Cider Barn.
www.doeorchards.com
Pick-your-own has ended for the season. At the stand, a good supply of apples, including Honeycrisp, Fuji, Ruby Mac, McIntosh, Macoun, Empire, Cortland, and Gala, are currently available, along with apple cider and apple firewood.
Stand hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Nov. 1. Starting Nov. 2, the stand will be open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Christmas tree sales start Friday, Nov. 29, and continue on weekends until the trees are sold out, which usually happens quickly. Check the orchard’s Harvard Press ads or online for updates or changes
www.goodspiritsfarm.com
At the self-service farmstand this week: Organically grown kale, collards, heirloom tomatoes, summer and winter squash. Also available at the stand are the farm’s own honey and beeswax, berry jams (including raspberry, peach, blueberry, and blackberry), decorative fall arrangements, medicinal wildflowers, teas, spices, and hand creams made with the farm’s herbs and medicinal wildflowers, and local eggs (in the refrigerator in the adjacent shed).
The stand will remain open daily, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., until Dec. 24. During the holiday season, in addition to jams, honey, teas, skin care products and fresh eggs, the stand will offer holiday greenery, including table arrangements, door swags, and large outdoor pots. The farm also offers undecorated greenery in pots or swags on request.
www.oldfrogpondfarm.com
Closed for the season.
www.westwardorchards.com
Pick-your-own has ended for the season. Available in the store this week: Westward’s McIntosh, Cortland, Macoun, Honeycrisp, Gala, Ginger Gold, Golden Delicious, Jonaprince, Baldwin, Red Jonathan, and Roxbury Russet apples; mixed varieties of pears, Stanley plums, quince; regular, heirloom, and cherry tomatoes; cauliflower, kale, broccoli, carrots, eggplant, winter squash, peppers, beets, cabbage, leeks, potatoes, shallots, and mixed herbs. Pumpkins, gourds, and corn stalks are also available.
The store will remain open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., daily, through Dec. 31, selling apples and vegetables, other local foods, home decor, and gifts. The annual holiday open house is scheduled for Dec. 6, 7, and 8. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as the day after Christmas; the store closes early Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Everything in the store is 25% off during the end-of-the-season sale, Dec. 27 through Dec. 31.
—Compiled by Joan Eliyesil