Wayne County, New York Farm Markets

From May to October Wayne county in New York State is a treasure land of locally grown fruits and vegetables. Wayne county is located on the south shore of Lake Ontario. Because of its nearness to Lake Ontario, water temperatures influence the land and moderate the climate. The summers are cooler and the winters are milder. For this reason there are a number of farm markets providing a variety of choices of fruits and vegetables. The following markets are some of my favorites.

A drive along Ridge Road in Williamson, New York, will take you past Mason's Farm Market. It is a certified, organic farm market whose motto is, "We grow what we sell." My first impression upon entering the large building that houses the produce was how clean and spacious the interior is. You can buy anything from Swiss chard, garlic, lettuce, potatoes, sweet corn, tomatoes, peaches, pears, apples etc. depending on the season. There is also a gift shop which sells items made by local crafts people. They are open from May to October.

Driving along Lake Road in Williamson you will pass Orbaker's Fruit Farm. Orbaker's sells sweet cherries, peaches and apples only. The farm is owned and operated by brothers Andy and Gary Orbaker. They use pesticides as little as possible, a selling point for me. Another selling point for me is the barrels of apples from which you can pick your own apples, although they also have prepacked bags ready to go.

Also on Lake Avenue in Williamson is Lagoner's Farm Market. Lagoner's is open all year and offers more than just fresh produce. There are farm tours, pick-your-own opportunities and Pumpkintown around Halloween. Pumpkintown has train rides and a maze. You can spend a couple of hours easily at Lagoner's starting with lunch and then browsing through their homemade jams, fudge and applesauce. They also have homemade pies, breads and cookies for sale. All this is in addition to their fresh fruits and vegetables.

Further along Lake Road at the corner of Maple Avenue in Sodus, New York is Burnaps Farm Market. This is another place where you could spend a couple of hours. There are opportunities throughout the season to pick your own fruits. In June and early July you can pick strawberries. Sweet cherries and raspberries are ready to be picked in July. From August to October you can pick apples. If you get hungry after all that picking you can have lunch in the Garden Cafe and top it off with either ice cream or a fresh bakery item. Other fresh fruits and vegetables are available as well as fresh cut flowers and container plants. Burnaps is open from Memorial Day to late October.

Traveling east through the town of Wolcott on Oswego Street is Wayside Farms. Wayside Farms has been around since 1961 and is not to be confused with Wayside Gardens in Macedon, New York. Wayside Farms is open from May 1 to October 31. In May , the attraction is the great variety of plants and hanging baskets offered at very reasonable prices. They have green houses full of plants to satisfy every gardener. As the season progresses you will find home grown fruits and vegetables also at very reasonable prices. Although you won't find Wayside Farms on the internet, you can easily locate it just outside the town of Wolcott.

I feel very fortunate to spend my summers in Wayne County and have the opportunity to buy the fresh fruits and vegetables that are offered throughout the season. I have mentioned five of my favorite markets but there are many more, small and not so small, independent growers who offer their produce for sale. They are too many to mention but it is fun to stumble upon them when out for a ride in the country.

Sources: 1.http://masonfarmsny.com/index.htm

1. http://www.redtomato.org/farm.php?id=22

2. http://www.lagonerfarms.com/history.php

3. http://www.burnapsfarm.com/index.htm

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_County,_New_York