Conference turris::cooks

        Try the big white house on the west-bound side of 101A (off exit
        7w) just after Hitchcock Furniture. It's actually the old Kessler
        homestead. I think the people who sell from the back of the truck
        just borrow the space there. 
        
        Or, there's the <mumble> Farms place on 130 in Hollis. Go out
        Exit 6, way way out Broad Street into Hollis. On the left hand
        side, at the edge of an orchard, almost into the village green.
        Big post-n-beam place.
        
        Or, continue west on 130 through Hollis and into Brookline.
        Farmer Burton is on the right hand side. Sells out of the ground
        floor of his barn. Good stuff, good prices. We go there every
        year to pick our own corn (probably this week or next, as a
        matter of fact). Corn was $3/bushel last year, who knows what
        Reaganomics did to it this year. We generally pick a bushel or
        two, take it home and do it up and freeze it within an hour or
        two. Makes a BIG difference (there's another secret, in the
        cooking, but it doesn't belong here). We do up a hundred ears or
        so and eat great corn-on-the-cob all winter.
        
        Or, go to the Farmer's Market at the American Stage Festival in
        Milford on Saturday morning (only). Get there as close to 8:30 as
        possible. If you go at 10:30 or 11 it's slim pick'ns. Say hi to
        Fred. He's the crusty old-timer with the biggest truck there.
        
        Last one. There's a new place (this year), a very small stand, on
        the right hand side of Depot Road in Hollis. Go out Route 111
        from Exit 5w. Take the right immediately after the bridge over
        the Nashua River in Hollis. The stand is on the right hand side,
        about -oh, maybe three miles?- from Rt. 111. I got some early
        corn there that was good, $2.50/doz or .25/ear. They also had
        some {real} native, vine-ripened (not greened in Florida and
        gassed red in the truck) tomatoes, new potatoes, and zucchini.
        
        Yum. Now I'm hungry.

    There is also Lavoie's on Pine Hill Rd which always seems to have
    nice stuff.  I think they are the same people who are 101A W mentioned
    in the previous reply.
    
    The stand on Depot Rd in Hollis, is Lull Farm which also has a stand
    on Rte 130 in Hollis, a bit east of the one described as <mumble>
    Farms by .1.  <mumble> is probably Brookdale which is okay, but
    on the pricy side by my reckoning.
    
    Finally, there is a place on the 101A E in Amherst which is just
    a little shack between a Sunoco station and the Stove Barn/Wicker
    Warehouse that I like quite well.
    
    Susan
    
    PS.  I also HIGHLY recommend the Farmer's Market at the American
    Stage Festival.  As .1 says -- get there early.  The variety is
    wonderful.  You can buy fresh flowers, homebaked bread, and fresh
    eggs in addition to all kinds of produce.  And I often end up buying
    tickets for a theatre performance as well.  We haven't seen a bad
    show there yet!

    Try Litchfield, there are lots stands right on route 3-A.  There's
    Rodonis's, Wilson's, McQuestion's****, and Naticook.  They are all
    real nice.  The nicest one is Wilson's, they have a lot of different
    kinds of veggies, plants, silk flowers, they even have hayrides.

    Don't forget the home of "the best peaches in New England",
    and home too, to about 30 different varieties of apples, not
    to mention an abundant selection of vegetables and other fruits
    	*** The KIMBALL FRUIT FARM *** , on Rt. 122 on the border of
    Mass and Hollis - about 3 miles south of the only traffic light
    in Hollis, on Rt. 122.

        Yet another correction to my previous reply...
        
        Farmer Burton's is actually located in Hollis; it's close to
        Brookline, anyway, on 130.
        
        We went there Sunday morning and picked two bushel of burgandy
        corn. Had most of it in the freezer before lunch. Wowee was it
        ever sweet & good.
        
        $3 a bushel. Cost us $6 for 138 ears; the cobs are slender this
        year, but excellent definition. I guess that's a good word. Nice
        even rows of kernels, and they're full kernels from bottom to
        top. We're going back one more time when we can squeeze it in.
        
        Corny Art

    i was thinkin'....  now that the vegie/produce season is approaching...
    where can you go to get some fresh stuff?  have you seen the price
    of tomatoes lately?  i mean really!  2.00/lb???? kinda steap for
    them especially when they really aren't that fresh.
    
    besides the idlewild farm stand in acton, mass and the little 
    seasonal stand on rte 117 before the OGO facility in stow i can't
    think of anywhere that would have some nice fresh produce.  i 
    used to go to the cresent street farm in stow but the last four
    or five times i have been there the things i have gotten have been
    rotten and/or spoiled.  i won't be back; even for flowers.  (maybe
    to see the kitties but ....) 
    
    anyhoo, i'm in the stow/maynard area.  any ideas/comments/suggestions
    would be helpful.  thanks in advance.
    
    carla jeanne
    

    The Hillview Farmstand on Rte 20 in Marlboro is pretty nice.  Although
    it's not the biggest farmstand around, it still has fresh produce
    and reasonable prices.  There's also Ferjulian's (sp?) on Rte 27
    on lower Main Street in Hudson.  I haven't been there in a while.
    
    Good luck.
    
    Alice

    I have found Idlewild in Acton to be the best produce market anywhere
    in Central Mass. both in season and out of season.  Don't know how
    much better you could ask for?  Tomatoes are not good anywhere this
    time of year for $2.00 a lb. or even higher.  They aren't good until,
    at least, around the middle of June to late in June.  That's when
    the local produce starts pouring in.
    

    yes .2., i fully agree that acton idlewild is the best farm stand
    around, in season and off however, i don't get over there much.  you
    also have to admit that their prices are extremely high, a dollar
    or two above supermarkets.  i know that they are worth it but sometimes
    you just want to make a quick stop for something fresh and well,
    with the extra drive and the few dollars more you spend, sometimes
    it isn't always the best alternative.  
    
    cj
    

    There's a farm stand down the road from where I live in Ohio that
    has terrific sweet corn - they have a billboard by the side of the
    road where they post, for example "Sweet Corn planted April 21"
    then they post periodic updates "Sweet corn was 3" on XXX date"
    etc.   They even let you know what time of day it is picked!
    
    TW

    I just started working out in the Stow-Maynard area, and I pass many
    many farm stands on Route 2 and 117 on my way to work.  Which are your
    favorites?  I'd like to have an idea of the prices and selection at
    stands you think are especially good (or bad!)
    
    	Thanks-  Sandy

    i beleive that the red-acre farm stand on rte 177 before the ogo
    facility is the best in the area.  they don't have alot of stuff
    right now; probably just brocoli, beets, green onions and lettuce
    (of course herbs.. fresh.. mountains of them) but all their stuff
    is organically grown and real reasonably priced.  they also have
    real nice spring flowers for 4.00 that last weeks.  (those are my
    favorites)
    there is also bolton orchards but sometimes they don't have everything
    they claim and their prices fluctuate.  i found some real good nuts
    in there the other week.
    don't even bother to go to the cresent street farm unless your desprate
    (sp?) to find something out of the ordinary.  there food isn't always
    as fresh as they claim it to be although i had some real juicy plums
    from there when they were first out.
    other than that, star market has some good corn right now and o.k.
    produce ... they are in stow on 117 where purity used to be.  i'm
    still lookin for others, good luck!
    
    carlajeanne
    

    For people in the Marlboro, MA area there is a farm store on Robin Hill
    Road called the Hillside School Farm Store (non-profit) that sells
    organically grown vegetables, fresh eggs, grain-fed pork, honey, maple
    syrup and plants (including herbs). The quality is excellent and the
    prices very reasonable. The pork is quite lean and delicious.
    I was there today and the guy at the store told me all the hams are
    99 cents per pound. (I'll have to make room in my freezer). 
    
    BTW, Robin Hill Road is at the end of Boundary Street which is on the
    Northboro/Marlboro town line off of Rte. 20.
    

    There is a new farm stand that opened recently in 
    Littleton.  Does anyone know what the name of the place is and 
    how to get there?  And has anyone been there?
    
    Thanks
    Carole

    It's the exit for 2A going 495 south (the one after king st.) take 
    	a left off the exit and it's not very far down on the left.
    
    I thought the flower deals were great when they 1st opened and
    thats all they had, but I was back recently and quite dissapointed 
    with a number of things. They opened a small greenhouse in back
    and the flowers were in bad shape, the main building is rather
    small and not even close to the variety of Idlewyde, and worst of
    all they are attempting to set up a petting Zoo! in the middle
    of the parking lot with pony rides! The day I was there it was
    very hot, they had pigs and ducks in tiny little pens while with
    hardly any shelter available for them, while cars zipped in and out
    around them and a crew worked with Power saws and tools over the
    animals heads. I expressed my dismay and would much rather go
    to Idlewyde.
    
    Marilyn 

I've heard that their desire is to compete with Idylwilde Farms.  However, the
town of Littleton has given them a lot of grief about what they can and can't
sell.  

Also, a friend of the owner told me that they are willing to listen to almost
any suggestion.

Still can't remember the name though... something like Fieldstone Farm, or 
or something with 'stone' in it.  Sorry but Stoneyfield Farm (the yogurt folks)
keeps on getting in the way.

  Right, it's Fieldstone Farms. It's being built by David Von Jess,
  owner of Stone Horse Construction, who specializes in stone walls and
  landscaping (very nice work, I might add). JP's right about grief from
  Littleton about what they're allowed to sell, but I only know the
  story from Von Jess's side, so I won't bother to repeat it, since
  there are certainly plenty of Littleton folks in the audience, not to
  mention that I believe it's still in the courts being decided.

  Regarding the petting zoo, I'm not sure, but that may not be part of
  the permanent plan, but rather a diversion for the summer while things
  get sorted out. I could be wrong about that, though. In any case, once
  things get straightened out with Littleton, there's certainly nothing
  but Von Jess's imagination to prevent them from having a selection
  similar to Idylwilde in Acton. The Napoli family at Idylwilde buy
  goods directly from all over the country (including from importers in
  NYC) -- an effort which most other "farm stands" don't choose to
  undertake.

    I have to comment that I've been thrilled with Fieldstone Farm's
    selection of things...I stopped in last week, hoping to get a few
    tthings to round out dinner--parmesan reggiano cheese, strawberries,
    nutella, and ripe plum tomatoes...I was able to pick up
    everything...they have a much better "frozen" section" (Wolfgang Puck's
    frozen pizza, for one), gourmet meats--steak, pork, lamb, and chicken,
    as well as the typical fruits and vegetables.
    
    And my kids love the animals.
    
    Susan

    Where exactly is Fieldstone's?
    
    REK

  Re the petting zoo, I think you have to understand that Marilyn has a
  specific agenda on this issue, which is that any confinement of
  animals in an environment other then their native habitat is inhumane.
  I can't say that I disagree with her, but I won't debate the subject
  in this conference, and I hope others will observe the same protocol.

It's on King Street.  From the center of Littleton, head towards Ayer on rt
2A/110.  It's a little way past the 495 entrance ramp on the right.  It's 
almost across from the gas station/garage/car wash.  

Alternatively, take the rt 2A/110 exit from 495 and take a left (from either
direction on 495).  It's a little way down on the right.

By the way, I heard about the difficulty from a unrelated "townie" who said
the town fathers did not want them to market anything that wasn't Littleton 
grown in their produce section for fear they would drive the other mom & pop
farm stands in town out of business.

I personally hope they are a success, cause they are (almost) on my way home
from work, and lately I get produce withdrawal by the time Wednesday rolls
around (I need a good place to shop on Idylwilde's day off, and Carlson's just
does not cut the mustard)!

    I hope that someone who has seen those animals condition
    (if they are suffering) will have the courage to call
    the local animal officer/SPCA and complain.
    
    Lynne                                      
    

    I just got back from Fieldstone Farm and I do believe their prices are
    a little better than Idlewylde.  I was in Idelwylde yesturday and I'm
    just glad I didn't buy my fruit salad stuff there.
    
    RE: the animals.
    
    There were a few out, they do have plenty of shelter and plenty of
    water.
    
    As it turns out as I was leaving a man said to me "Thank you for coming
    today and please come back".  We started to chat and I found out he was
    the owner.  He is *very* interested in feedback from customers.  I
    mentioned how I "heard" about the farm stand (here in notes) and also
    mentioned the concern for the animals (no comment from him).  I
    commented on how big and roomy it was and asked if there were plans for
    more fruit and vegtables to choose from, he said he wanted people to
    let him know what he should order, he didn't want to guess what people
    would like.  Don't get me wrong, I found plenty of choices to make my
    fruit salad full of variety.  
    
    All in all I liked it much better than Idlewylde even though Fieldstone
    is a little further away from me.
    
    Joyce

Interesting.  I had the opposite reaction.  I didn't compare prices, but I 
noticed an overall lack of selection and quality.  My first impression was 
that the  store did not have a heck of a lot in it given its size.  The store 
was arranged to use space very inefficiently giving the impression of lot of
stuff while not really offering much.  Most of the veggies were supermarket 
quality, somewhat lower than Idylwilde's standards.  There was not very much 
of each thing out, either.  My biggest dissappointments were the Granny Smith
apples, which were very bruised and off color, and the carrots, which were 
available in either supermarket brand or small bunches of small carrots with 
tops.  I was going to pick up a little coffee, too, but noticed that it was 
much more expensive than Idylwilde's.  

My overall assessment it that the place has potential.  In a pinch, I'll go 
there rather than the supermarket.  But, for produce shopping, which I do at 
least twice a week, I'll stick to Idylwilde, even though its not conveniently
located.

With some work, Fieldstone Farm could be a competitor to Carlson's in Harvard 
in the near future.  I don't think they could compete with Idylwilde seriously
for some time to come.  But, to be fair, Idylwilde has had lots of years of 
experience in honing its business to the customers' desires.  I've been shopping
there for over 14 years myself.

    I stopped by Fieldstone Farm Tuesday (cuz Idylwilde is closed on
    Tuesday).  There was a sign that said Due to economic conditions, they
    would be closed for the season... see you in the spring.

    I saw a sign outside Fieldstone the other day...they open later this
    month.

    They opened again on April 6th...I'm really pleased and will be back
    there to buy my produce.  
    
    ****

    This farm stand is not longer open from what I have seen in the area.
    
    Can anyone verify?
    
    thanks..
    cj

From what I heard, the town govt. was worried about the older farm stands in
town, so they prevented the place from selling anything that wasn't in season at
the farm stands.  The owner was not pleased.  His actions apparently got others
in town upset with him.  It's too bad.  And now that beautiful building is
vacant, for sale, and already showing signs of neglect.

    
    	You're kidding. So that's why they always had such a paltry
    	selection of items for sale. What a shame, it seemed like it
    	could have been such a nice place. Littleton shot itself in
    	the foot. I'm sure all that business just went over to Idlewyle
    	instead of the Littleton farm stands. That's what I did anyway...
    

Not even!  The farm stands they were concerned about are the ones further down
rt 2a.  These are the farmers that have been in Littleton longer than most
people remember.  Considering that the town, like many in Mass. operates on the 
who-you-know government model, those 2-3 families probably have more say than
all the yuppie trash that came to town in recent centuries.

I agree.  It is too bad.  

By the way, in driving by this morning, I noticed that they appear to be keeping
the place up more than they did earlier this year.  I can't imagine anyone
wanting the place, though, given the restrictions.  

    >so they prevented the place from selling anything that wasn't in season
    >at the farm stands.
    
     How were they able to place such a restriction on him? Sounds ripe for
    a lawsuit.

Evidently, it's very easy to make the restrictions.  For example, Westford was
able to keep WALMART out of town entirely!

Given enough money and lawyers the owner might have been able to reverse the
decision, but probably still would have lost in the long run.  Besides zoning,
there's building permit, occupancy permit, with foodstuffs, there is also
probably lots of board of health hoops to jump through.  Each hurdle presents an
opportunity for stonewalling.  After enough hurdles, the lawyers will have
enough of your limbs such that you can't jump anymore.

    Anybody know of anyone selling vine-ripened tomatoes yet? I work in
    Hudson, live in Worcester.  The only place I can find them is Living
    Earth health food store.  Incredible to get a REAL TOMATO!!!
    I know it's early, but it's been so warm I was hoping to find some out
    by now.  I'll travel a reasonable distance to get some real ones...
    Sarah
    

    Try the farm stand on 131 in Sturbridge, Paoletti's.  I bought
    wonderful tomatoes there about 2 weeks ago - gawd they were heavenly. 
    
    Dana

    Got some good ones yesterday at Dividian Farm Stand in Northboro
    
    Judie
    
    

    Applefield Farm on Route 117 in Stow has them.  Roadside stand on Route
    140 (Between Route 9 and Main St) heading into Shrewsbury has them.
    Back to Basics Health food store on Main st in Shrewsbury has them.
    
    Gita

    
    Davidian's Farm Stand, right off of rt. 290. Take the Church St. 
    exit. Take a right off the exit. They're about 300 feet up the road.

    Davidian's? Church St? Just follow the tanks and helicopters towards
    the burning compound...

    Does anyone know of a farm stand (orchard) in the Hudson,MA area that
    has raspberries this week?  I'm willing to drive to Stow, Shrewsbury,
    Marlboro, Northboro, etc.  Live in Dudley, work in HLO....so anything I
    can get to in 30 minutes please.  
    
    
    Thanks,
    Robin    bigq::watson

    There's a place in Lancaster that has Raspberries.. not sure if they're
    still in season or not.  George Hill orchard in Lancaster.  Just off of
    rt. 117.
    
    About a 20-25 minute drive from Hudson.
    
    Holly
    

    I was at Davidian in Northboro last Sunday and I might have seen some.
    I know I've seen them there over the last 3 weeks.
    
    Also, Berbarian in Westboro had them when I visited them on Aug 4.
    
    Since I assume you get on 290 to go from HLO to Dudley, Davidian is
    only 2 minutes out of your way, Church St exit off of 290 and you are
    there.
    
    Judie