A trip to Patchwork Farms in Aaronsburg is always interesting.
Scott Case and his wife Eda operate the farm, located at 476 Jackson Hill Road and transport their produce to the farm markets in State College and Boalsburg.
“We are the second generation to operate the farm and it’s been 24 years since we took it over. Eda’s mother started doing the markets first,” Scott explains.
This year was challenging, Scott says. The winter weather took a toll.
“The biggest problem with this year’s winter weather was that it made it hard to move the young plants from building to building,” Scott says. “Of course, it took a lot more heat also for the greenhouses. We had a slower start, but just about everything has caught up now.”
Patchwork has herbs and vegetables growing that are certified organic. The young plants such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplant are not yet in the fields, but safe from frost in the greenhouses.
“When the temperature dipped this past week,” Scott says, “my wife was out at 3 a.m. putting 50 degree water on the plants to keep them from frost injury. In about two weeks we should have lettuce and peas ready for the farm markets. We will join the others at the Boalsburg Market and State College Market as soon as the three young people I’ve hired are graduated and ready to work.”
Patchwork has already opened its flower market in the parking lot of Office Depot along the Benner Pike. They carry a variety of perennials and annuals in flats, hanging baskets and other containers.
Look for their produce soon in the markets.
I passed a friend on McCallister Street on Friday and I was carrying a cloth bag. “Farmers Market?” she asked. That was exactly where I was going — both to gather material for this article and to see what I might want to buy for myself.
It is wonderful to have the markets starting up again and most everyone I know enjoys selecting fresh produce. Early in the season, most carry some bedding plants and seeds also. The Buy Fresh/Buy Local (BFBL) movement is well known in Centre County and the Farmers Markets are partners in that, as are many restaurants, grocers and caterers.
The Tuesdays State College Farmers Market is open on Tuesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Locust Lane. The vendors are different ones from the Friday Farmers Market.
The Downtown State College Farmers Market on Fridays is open from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Locust Lane. On a recent Friday there were tables with fresh lettuce, onions, and baby zucchini. Are you hungry for a nice fresh pie or some homemade cookies? You can find them there. At one end of the street a vendor was selling colorful healthy tomato plants. There were lots of buyers for fresh asparagus and vendors offered sassafras and mint tea samples. The farmers’ markets provide a visual and tasty experience as well as a shopping target.
You can also find fresh meats and dairy at your local farm markets. The markets mentioned are producer-only. The people who make or grow the products are the ones who sell them. So you are supporting local agriculture and food production as you shop the markets.
The North Atherton Farmers Market operates on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the State College Home Depot Parking Lot.
Lemont Farmers Market is a Wednesday market and new hours this year are from 3 to 7 p.m. Sue Smith, Chair of the Lemont Village Association Board, helps organize the market.
“Anna Kochersperger is our new manager of the Lemont Farmers Market and we look forward to her working with us and for the community. We have received a grant from the Central PA Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Centre County Commissioners and we will use that for our marketing,” Smith says.
The Lemont Farmers Market will remain open through Oct. 21. The vendors will show their wares in the Coal Sheds, the lower part of the Granary buildings, between the Grain Elevator and the Center for Well Being, 133 Mount Nittany Road, Lemont.
The following vendors are expected to fill the tables at Lemont:
Bee Tree Berry Farm, Brazilian Munchies, Fasta and Ravioli Company, Food for Thought, Garden Secrets, Garlic 101, Good Seed Baking Company, Jane Robson Crafts, Mt. Nittany Vineyard and winery, Rothrock Botanicals, Scenic View Farm, Serendipity’s Cakes of Distinction, Surly Hedgehog, Veg Out, Village Eating House, and Wing Haven Nursery.
The Farmers Markets of Centre County are part of the Buy Fresh/Buy Local Movement that is a partner with the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA). Each year the PASA holds a Local Foods Week and hosts a Family Farm Tour. This year the Local Foods Week is August 2-8 and the Farm Tour is Aug. 8. Save the dates as these are excellent events for the entire family.
The Boalsburg Farmers Market is open on Tuesdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Pennsylvania Military Museum parking lot. One nice fact about the Boalsburg Market that I learned is that because they open in the afternoon, the produce picked that morning is about as fresh as you can get it — unless you have your own garden.
Bellefonte’s Farmers Market is held each Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon in the Gamble Mill Parking Lot. Also a Saturday market is the Milheim Farmers Market. That one opens at 10 a.m. and runs to 1 p.m. at the American Legion in Milheim.
Whichever market you pick, or if you try them all, you will be helping the local economy and eating a healthier diet.
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