Roadside produce stands have been in operation for generations, proudly selling what is grown on the family farm and local gardens. (Photo by Kathi Ferguson)
The signs of summer are many on the Eastern Shore and the opening of roadside produce stands ranks high for many people.
Being able to indulge in such a plethora of fresh local fruits and vegetables throughout the season is well worth the wait.
While driving along a route that once served as the backbone of small towns, there is usually a produce stand to discover. Some appear out of nowhere, when a U-turn is quickly warranted, while most are anticipated with several hand-lettered signs featuring their wares — ’lopes, local corn, tomatoes, cuke’s, watermelon, and yes, sometimes the either loved-or-loathed lima beans!
As for the sign makers, red or black spray paint on jagged plywood seems the media of choice.
Occasionally, there is the seller who pulls in to a patch of available gravel under a tree, lowers the truck tailgate, and displays their goods. Every so often, you will run across the no frills table and chairs strategically placed on a front lawn where you might find jars of honey and jelly for sale amidst the featured home-grown peaches.
The stands themselves have their own personality.
Designed for utility, they range from a tiny wooden structure with a roof on wheels to a larger, often hand built stand, with bushel baskets lined up along the shelves and a scale hanging from a rafter. Some go the distance and have a cement floor along with a few simple walls.
Wooden tables hold produce boxes, and a list of offerings is randomly written on a chalk board. A handful of local kids typically get hired for the summer here, and for the regular customers who return each season, it is like a family reunion.
In addition to helping folks find the juiciest peach, a cantaloupe that is just right, or tomatoes ready for a BLT, stories are exchanged and new friendships are forged.
Matt Taylor, of Taylor’s Produce in Preston, hires anywhere from 25 to 30 teens every summer to staff his family’s six stand locations – Preston, Seaford, Del., Oxford, St. Michaels, and two in Easton.
Predominately recruiting from high schools closest to the Preston home farm, Taylor says he prides himself on attracting a core group of reliable young men and women, many being siblings, with good work ethics. “It’s said that birds of a feather flock together,” he says. “And good kids tend to attract good kids.”
Nineteen-year-old Will Beaven has been “packing the produce” here for three years. “This job has been an invaluable experience in many ways,” says Beaven. “We all drive our own trucks to pick up the produce, unload, and set up. Not only can I get my hands in the dirt, but I take pride in serving customers quality produce and using the knowledge I’ve gained through the experience.”
Working at Taylor’s for the summer will also earn Beaven college credit towards his major in environmental studies at Chesapeake College.
A handful of stands still go unattended, operating on the self-serve honor system. Prices are handwritten on cardboard; buyers make their selections and slip their payment into a cash box.
One of those honor system operations sits in a vacant lot next to the Tilghman Island Post Office. Dogwood Farm owner Lisa Jones-Raymond and her family have delivered freshly picked produce here from their Sherwood location since the mid-1990s. “What we grow,” Jones-Raymond says proudly, “We pick!”
Dogwood Farm dates back to 1953, then purchased by Jones-Raymond’s grandparents. “My father raised cattle and produce along with doing some corn and grain. We always had a big garden for produce and had a stand on the farm for a while during the 1960s.”
On any given day throughout the season, Jones-Raymond and her husband can be seen loading up the stand with anything from peat pots of herbs and flowers, to corn, a wide variety of tomatoes and Crimson Sweet watermelon — “the sweetest you can grow,” she claims. “Tomatoes, corn and watermelon always have been our best sellers. We also have cut flowers and fresh eggs on occasion, and are planting now to put up pumpkins, greens, and turnips for the fall.”
Roadside produce stands have been in operation for generations, proudly selling what is grown on the family farm and local gardens.
May we continue to take delight in discovering them and the simple pleasures they have to offer. Just follow the signs.
