New Doings at The Farmers Market

Every Saturday morning the early birds show up at 7:30, well before the 8 a.m. opening time. They worry that if they get to the Port Washington Organic Farmers Market too late, the best produce will be gone, as was recently the case with the strawberries. Some folks are wild about wheatgrass, others have a yen for yellow raspberries, and others savor the socializing.

"People come for the relaxation—and they don't want to leave," said Patti Wood, who started the movable feast at the North Hempstead Town Dock on Lower Main Street in 2003. The only 100 percent organic farmers market in the state, the event draws at least 500 people a week to the stands of 14 vendors who sell certified organic products, she says.

Here you can find an unusual variety of goods, some from the ground, some from the water. You can buy tree seedlings, all collected and nurtured by a Port woman, says Wood. Another popular new item is the bounty from Long Island's waters: wild flounder, swordfish and other fish, fresh caught off Freeport or Montauk by two brothers and by other fishermen. Also recently added is the smoothie truck, "a pretty big hit," according to Lauren Wasserman, who assists Wood and works at the market every Saturday.

Full-time East End farmers truck in most of the wares, but there's also Amy's Bread from New York City and goat cheese from Massachusetts. Other offerings include essential oil-scented organic soaps and seasonal flowers; in season now, it's sunflowers, phlox and rainbow-shade zinnias.

Wood, executive director of the non-profit Grassroots Environmental Education, describes the market as more than just a place to purchase fresh vegetables and fruit. One surprise is the popularity of the fresh-baked, still-warm muffins.

"People line up for them—they go wild about them," Wasserman noted. Wood, who bakes the blueberry-peach and blueberry-raspberry muffins, says that people pair them with coffee or lemonade in the tent café, where "they stay and they stay. On a beautiful day, literally, people come at 8 a.m. and stay until noon."

While shoppers love the usual summertime selection—just-picked fresh corn, zucchini, melons and dandelion greens—they can also scoop up vividly hued, juicy heirloom tomatoes—12 varieties—or salty green purslane, yellow carrots or golden beets. The offerings change week to week. This Saturday, vendors will feature green onions, while last week they sold cippolini onions, those hard-to-find small, flat onions that are packed with more sugar than the familiar larger bulbs.

On the horizon are several swap-fests, Wood said. She's starting "Take It or Leave It," where people can swap holistic cookbooks, CDs or DVDs, and is also planning a houseplant exchange.

The market is at 347 Main St. every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12 noon (unless there are thunderstorms), through the end of October. Its vendors accept cash and also participate in the WIC coupon program (the federal government's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children).