In 2018 I followed a sign to Eaton Farm for fresh produce. I locked my keys in the car and ended up talking with the owner, Allen. He'd been trying to keep the farm and produce stand going single handedly, so things were getting a bit rundown as he juggled farming and his trucking business which supports the farm until harvesting begins.
I got more than great produce that day! My daughter Lili has soccer games at Tunxis Meade fields & recreation facilities in Farmington, CT and Eaton Farm is right across at 55 Red Oak Hill Road. There's another farmstand in the middle of the flats, a weathered looking building at the point where Meadow and Red Oak Hill meet, but, after talking to the stand employees, they use traditional farming methods which include chemicals to suppress weeds and bulk up produce instead of following the organic practices like Eaton Farm does.
They have over 6 varieties of Garlic that is harvested and dried for sale in July/August. There is a difference between all the varieties and you can especially tell when they have taste testing events.
Last year I purchased a CSA produce share for my family. It was well worth the price and each week we got great fresh produce. The shares started small, but by October I had to learn how to can and we became vegetarians. My grocery bill went down to only a 3rd of what it had been for the 3 months including Thanksgiving.
This year Allen told me they are experimenting with a lot of root vegetables for their CSA including potatoes, carrots, beets, as well as cauliflower, broccoli...it ends up costing me approximately $7pp each week for a family of 4. I just signed on as a volunteer too!
Their CSA sales help fund the Stalk2Table Initiative, which donates fresh produce to food pantries and senior centers in the Farmington, Plainville, & Bristol/Burlington area. Last year they donated over 2,000 pounds of produce to food-insecure Seniors, Students, and Families and hoped to double that for 2020. That was before the pandemic! Allen says he's working with friends and neighboring farms to see if they can put more land under seed in order to plant additional crops to increase the food donations; but, they still need to get funds in to purchase seed, fertilizer, and pay workers to harvest the crops once it's ready.
I'm hooked. I get to continue social distancing, but get outdoors for 2 hrs a couple times a week and put seeds in trays and the following week a plant is an inch high. I drove the gator and planted onion sets yesterday and my teenager and her friend for over tomorrow to he1lp paint the farmstand..inside first, then outside. Allen tells me his wife Gail and the Farm Manager convinced him to go RED, so people can see the farmstand easily as the approach the farm.
In case you are still wondering...YES, I recommend you check out Eaton Farm, for their produce, but they also have firewood, straw, mulch, topsoil, and compost and will deliver for an extra fee. read more
