6 minute read
A Quick Trip Around New England
Business is going strong at Escobar Farm and Corn Maze at 255 Middle Road in Portsmouth.
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The farm opened in 1937, and Louis Escobar, 82, the son of the original owner, is still running it with his wife, Jane. The farm is still selling hundreds of pumpkins from its pumpkin patch every fall, as well as all of the milk from the 100-200 cows the Escobar family and staff milks twice a day, every day. But the farm's main attraction, the eight-acre Corn Maze, will also be the major draw this season, said manager Stuart MacNaught, “and with all the rain we received this summer, the corn is taller than ever!” The maze is opening for its 22nd year, he said. While every day that the maze is open is fun and exciting, the season will again be highlighted by Harry Potter Day on Saturday, September 18 and the annual Halloween Party on Sunday, October 31. Wear a costume to either event and receive $1 off admission, which features entry to the maze and hay play area, plus you can buy tickets for the cow train and hay rides. Don't miss visiting the concession stand that sells popcorn, candy, soda, water, animal crackers, and special items like butterscotch-flavored lollipops in the shape of an ear of corn. The maze, which was designed by Brett Herbst of The MAiZE organization, this year celebrates New England, MacNaught said. The maze has a map of the six New England states, which means you can travel around New England while you make your way through the maze. The farm's traditional hayrides are planned for Saturday and Sunday afternoons this year, he added. The farm's cow train will be ready for young riders of all ages, he said, and the picnic table area is set to go. The maze opens for the season on Friday, September 3, and will remain open until Sunday, November 7. The maze operates Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays as well as both Monday holidays (Labor Day on September 6 and Columbus day on October 11). Times and admission prices are on the website, escobarfarm.com. Also visit the adjoining Lou's Pumpkin Patch, which opens at the end of September. For up to date information, please visit escobarfarm.com
The way Mederios describes it, the labor market's loss is a gain for his customers. "You can't get the labor to do the picking anymore," he said. "My father used to be able to have kids to do it. That doesn't work anymore." But it's not like he's transferring a heavy burden to the general public. "People enjoy it," he said, "It's a family outing. Families get to do something together. It's a family experience for them." His one caution to his volunteer pickers is to please respect the property. It is a working farm, after all. "If you don't respect the property," he admitted, "you're disrespecting the farmer. We're still having fun here. But someday I could say 'no more'. We don't have any big attractions here. But if you want fun and the peace, quiet, and tranquility of nature, visit us." His other current harvest season, he said, is for pumpkins. Their ciders will start being pressed during the third week of September and be sold right up until Christmas. In between, visitors will also find the farm stand store with fresh veggies and flowers (chrysanthemums and mums), jams, and jellies. Visit Dartmouthorchards.com to learn more.
Farm feedings
Atlantic Farms Market, at 2 Crandall Road in Tiverton, also kicks its services up a notch after Labor Day. That's when owners Paul and Colleen Hoey will offer a variety of prepared sandwiches and other meals to go – lunch plates that will take the form of pre-cooked foiled meal trays ready for the oven. That's in addition to a menu of food items to-go or to sit down to dine on at its outside tables. Besides an eatery, Atlantic Farms is also a seafood market that offers fresh local produce and other staples, Paul Hoey added. "So someone can round out a meal in one stop," he said. "That means even cheeses, butter, eggs, bacon." The market opened just a couple months ago. Hoey said the opening was delayed when his wife Colleen's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and she had to take time out to care for her. Now, she's better able to focus on what Atlantic Farms Market always intended to specialize in. She's a culinary school graduate, a certified cheese professional, and a pastry chef by trade. That combination is the perfect expertise for not only the market’s to-go and dine-in foods but also its "Boat, Beach & Boardroom Boxes", which come with a sandwich, cookie, bag of chips, and a drink for boat goers and boardroom meeting goers alike. Right now, because the Jewish holidays are imminent, the farm's to-go trays will also offer a variety of Jewish food delicacies for all of September. From October through November, Atlantic Farms Market will hold a "Coat and Boots Drive" to support local homeless veterans. Starting in November and running through the holidays, the market will offer special event platters and offer a "Make Your Own Gingerbread House" for the kids. These platters will offer choices ranging including shrimp cocktail, crab claws, smoked salmon, cheeses, and caviar. As Hoey aptly summarized, "We are bringing a lot to the table for next few months." Wet your appetite by visiting atlanticfarmsmarket.com.
sales area in April along with some hardy herbs, and May first is when the first big push comes. Tender plants may wait another week or so. Gardeners come from far and wide to indulge in these quality plants.
Peckhams Greenhouse is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Learn more at peckhamsgreenhouse.com.
Paradise Farm
At Paradise Farm, found at 103 Cadman Neck Road in Westport, Shirley and Ted Robbins grow fruits and vegetables but specialize in herbs, sold retail and wholesale by Shirley from their greenhouses. She stocks many varieties of the favored culinary herbs that often double as decorative plants in the garden. Imagine a greenhouse filled with lavender, rosemary, mint, sage, and lemon verbena. A scented workplace!
Most of the herbs start from small plants that arrive each March on a tractor trailer that makes its way up the coast from Pennsylvania, stopping along the way to deliver baby herbs to nurseries along the route. The babies are transplanted into four-inch pots and nurtured until they have become established. As they grow, Shirley clips off small branches and starts new plants established. It’s an ongoing process throughout the summer months with a big supply of seed-started basil added in as the weather warms up.
Paradise Hill Farm is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Learn more at guide.farmfresh.org. Whatever level of interest and skill you have as a gardener, this is the time to get outdoors and out to a local nursery. Now you know how much preparation has led to the geranium or rosemary or hanging basket of begonias you take home. You might even try something completely new this year. Ask for advice at your local nursery where growers are on intimate terms with their plants.
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