Easton Farmers Are In Season At Local Markets

Easton residents won't have to travel far to do their pumpkin picking this fall. Many trick-or-treaters may see the glow of jack-o-lanterns on Halloween that were grown right here in town, at the Langwater Farm on Washington Street, or at the Sheep Pasture on Main Street.

Langwater Farm, which opened for business in June, is enjoying its first fall and other than pumpkins, the owners are hoping to provide fresh produce to Easton and surrounding communities – a resource that is generally hard to come by.

"There's not a lot of local agriculture in this area," Owner, Rory O'Dwyer said. "So we saw that as a niche we could fill."

For the last three decades the long field where the farm stand sits today was used for haying. But the Ames family, who owns the property, had been looking for farmers who could use the land to produce crops.

"We signed a lease with them and we just feel like this a great location. The field setup is really good. The soils have proven really productive this year. We had a great growing year weather-wise," O'Dwyer said.

Eventually they are hoping to grow everything from apples to zucchini.

In addition to the farm stand and pumpkin picking, Langwater also gives free hayrides on weekends.

O'Dwyer said there is an advantage to eating farm-fresh organic foods.

"A lot of our stuff is same-day harvest," she said. "So, anything that you buy from us is super fresh, it literally came out of the ground or off a plant a couple hours ago."

She said the stand can see as many as one thousand visitors on a good day, and even on a rainy day customers trickled in to buy goods.

"Well, I drove by it a few weeks ago. I stopped to get a couple tomatoes and they were pretty good, and I just had to come back by here today, so I stopped for some more tomatoes," said Brian Brady, 46, of Stoughton, who was there with his two young boys. "It was the first fresh tomato I've had all season."

Brady also bought broccoli, cucumbers, and apples and will come back with his kids to do some pumpkin picking. "We'll come back on a weekend with my wife and pick a pumpkin," he said.

 "There's not a lot of access to really good produce around here," O'Dwyer said.

Easton's other option is the farmer's market at Sheep Pasture on Main Street.

Marie Pray, of Rehoboth, started the market when the NRT approached her twelve years ago.

Now, the market has three farmers,  and kiosks selling seafood and spices.

"It's grown a lot," she said, busily greeting and chit-chatting with customers. "Everything is so fresh. And that's what my customers say. They feel better eating. Once they start with the vegetables they're like 'Oh thank God you're here. Now I can eat fresh vegetables again.'"

"When you go to the supermarkets you're paying for vegetables that are coming three thousand miles in a truck. I mean how fresh is it going to be? Maybe two to three days old? By the time it gets on the store displays, another day. It's not the same. It's not fresh," Pray said.

The farmer's market closes for the season at the end of October. "Once the kids go back to school it starts to die down, but, anyway, we stick it out right to the end," said Pray. "We try to make it through Columbus Day. If we make it through Columbus Day every day's a bonus."

"I was just out cruising around for the weekend and we decided to stop in," said Easton resident James Luther, who was at the market buying sweet corn. "The food is good no doubt about it."