Newington Farmers' Market

04/23/2021

After much soul-searching, we at Pete's Produce Farm have made the difficult decision to end our relationship with the Newington Farmer's Market, both as seller and market master in charge of coordinating the market. We hope Newington continues to have a farmers' market, but ultimately that is up to Newington residents and the officials who represent them. We have enjoyed our association with the market are grateful for all the friends we made among the customers who came by to purchase fruit, flowers, vegetables, and spend a moment in conversation. Anyone who wants to continue to buy the produce and fruit we offer can order from us at www.wildkale.com. Thank you and please stay safe.

Wildkale.com is an online farmers market. Just like at an open-air farmers market, at Wildkale.com you can buy fresh food directly from your best local farms.

06/21/2020

To our loyal customers:
We knew by the middle of March that the pandemic would make this year very different. And so it is: All the vendors who have sold items and farm products at the Newington Farmers Market in the past have withdrawn this year due to hardship imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving those of us at Pete’s Produce Farm little incentive to continue as the only vendor.

With regret, we are cancelling the Newington Farmer’s Market this year. We hope next year life will be closer to normal, allowing us to reopen. In the meantime, anyone who wants to buy fruit and vegetables from us can soon do so via mail order through www.wildkale.com, where we will be selling strawberries, kale, lettuce, potatoes, honey, maple syrup, and all the fruits and veggies as they become ready to harvest throughout the season. You can also send a message to Pete’s Produce Farm on Facebook in order to preorder veggies and pick them up at our farm at 47 Kahn Road in Franklin, CT.

Take care of yourselves and your loved ones, and have a good summer.

Wildkale.com is an online farmers market. Just like at an open-air farmers market, at Wildkale.com you can buy fresh food directly from your best local farms.

05/23/2020

As you can see from the photos posted below, we at Pete”s Produce Farm have been busy getting ready for the season. Like you, we have been quarantined, and during this time when not planting, mulching, and doing other farm chores we are contemplating a farmer’s market that will be very different from past years. We would like your feedback. Would you feel safe coming to the market this year? Should we open this year?

Should the Saturday market open, it will open later. The first day will probably beJuly 11 with 3-4 four vendors. It will be a different experience: State regulations dictate that customers may not touch any veggies or items for sale. Customers must keep 6 feet away from one another, and vendors will have to put two tables between them and customers, and wear masks. Customers will also be expected to wear masks. We will encourage people to arrange for what they want ahead of time and come to the market to pick up their orders. Toward that end, we’ll try to list everything we have on this page.

Let us know your feedback in comments below. As to the pictures: On left, one of our rows of strawberries; on right, top, potatoes plated in a row; bottom, Pete’s small greenhouse, emptying of seedlings as he plants them outside.

Have a good Memorial Day weekend!

03/17/2020

One day last June I discovered that the kale I had asked my son to give to someone at work never made it. Instead, it had languished in his car for a week, in a small cooler which had long since warmed. Expecting a mess, I opened the cooler to find the kale none the worse for wear. That's why I call this nutrition powerhouse a bionic plant. It survives cold temperatures and warm, besides providing huge amounts of Vitamins A, C and K.

This is all to say that Pete cleared our kale field yesterday to plant more. The kale had "overwintered," a term used when a plant is left through the cold months for later growth or harvest. Granted, this was a mild winter, but so many plants were still green that I cooked some in garlic and olive oil. I've never been a huge fan of kale, but this was pretty good, and I have time now to test a few recipes!

03/15/2020

Here is a photo I took a few weeks ago as Pete began to prepare his 48-foot long hoop house for planting our first crops. As you can see, even on a cold day, the hoop house can get up to 100 degrees with the ever-strengthening rays of the sun beaming down. Already, Pete has planted spinach, arugula and the garlic is coming up. I helped plant lettuce this past week. Kale and radishes will go in soon.

We live in strange times. The market won't start until the last Saturday in June (the 27th), but we are thinking of all of our Newington friends. One beautiful thing about a farmer's market is the sense of community that it provides. In this time of Covid-19, caring about one another is even more important. Check on your neighbors. If an elderly person lives on your street, make sure they are OK. If you have unexpected time at home with your kids, engage in activities with them that you ordinarily might not have time for. Go for a long walk. Bake bread. And, God knows, wash your hands! We will all get through this together.

I'll post more pictures soon of Pete planting his crops, because part of the joy of spring is that life begins anew. No virus can entirely s***f out the optimism of days that grow warmer, with breezes softer and flowers that turn toward the sun. Be well, good friends.

11/04/2019

This past weekend was the first since the beginning of July that we haven’t had the market, which ended the last Saturday in October. I have to admit that we missed it, and all of our great customers. We will pop in from time to time for updates on what crops we are planting for next summer. Meantime here is a glance back at a few photos from a great season!

10/12/2019

Tomorrow Helping Hands Farm will be selling there chemical-free veggies as well as homemade jewelry! Come one, come all!

09/28/2019

It’s a beautiful day for our first Fall market today from 9 am-1 pm...Helping Hands Farm, Pete’s Produce Farm, Quilting After Dark and Olive Oils & Balsamics will be here, along with beautiful music from Francesco Barone! Here is a picture of Molly, the Market Mascot, helping us pick apples (well, she sort of just chased them) at Oak Haven Farm in Scotland, Conn. Four varieties for sale today: Macouns, Cortlands, Macintosh and Crispins. Molly is accepting pets for free!

09/21/2019

We will be holding the Farmer’s Market as usual tomorrow during the Newington Waterfall Festival.... it’s always a little nerve wracking for us because the fried-dough fans (aren’t we all) want to park In front of our market and disappear for three hours, taking up parking spaces reserved for our customers. So I will try to put signs in front of the parking spaces, if only to let the public know to feel free to grab the spaces at 1:01 pm! here is one I made this afternoon.