My Farming History

From my junior year in high school until my Senior year in college, I spent most of my summers working on our family’s farm in Livingston, Texas. After the school year ended, I spent my summer Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays picking, washing, and loading vegetables onto my uncle’s pick-up truck. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, we’d head south, around an hour and a half, to the Beaumont farmer’s market. We would arrive in early morning darkness so that we could set up our vegetable stand, usually no later than five or six in the morning. Since that time, I’ve had an affinity for farmers’ markets and frequent them as often as I can.

Decades have passed since I worked on the farm. Looking back, it was the hardest physical labor I’ve ever done. It was also the healthiest I’d ever been. When you can literally walk outside and choose what you want to have for dinner, I call that a blessing today. As a teenager and young adult, I didn’t realize how blessed I was.

Though I no longer sell the produce, I still enjoy having a small garden and watching seeds sprout, grow, and eventually produce food you can eat and share with your friends and neighbors. I’ll admit I don’t have much of a green thumb. Occasionally, I get lucky, and a nice crop presents itself.

Farmer’s Markets, Farm Stands, and Truck Farmers

Whenever I see a farmer’s market, a farm stand, or even a truck farmer on the side of the road, it reminds me of that time. I’ll admit I get a bit of a twinge in my back when I see a truck filled with watermelons. That was some heavy lifting back in the day for a teenage girl.

To this day, I struggle to pick out a good watermelon in the store. I know the curl should be brown; part of the melon should have a yellow/orange-colored field spot from where it has been sitting on the ground. It should be heavy, and if webbing is present, that means it has been pollinated by bees. My PaPa Stone used to tell me that if you put a broom straw on a ripe watermelon, it will turn 45 degrees. If it’s green, it won’t move. The problem is, when you’re shopping at a grocery store, who carries around a broom straw? I certainly don’t, and I’m relatively sure the store manager wouldn’t want you to go to the cleaning supply section and pull a straw off a Rubbermaid.

Texas Farmer’s Markets

When my husband and I lived in McKinney, we spent many Saturday mornings driving south and heading to the Dallas Farmers’ Market. Located downtown, this market has been around since 1941. It was vast when we went, and it’s even larger now. I think some of the market’s simplicity has changed with storefronts added to the mix. Still, you could spend an entire day there, browsing the shops and purchasing home-grown products to enjoy.

My Favorite Farmer’s Markets Towns & Produce Stands

Noonday

Located a few miles from Tyler in northeast Texas, the town of Noonday, population 471, produces some of the best onions you will ever eat. I don’t know if it’s the soil or what, but these onions can almost be eaten like an apple. They are so sweet. You can find them on roadside farms from May through July. I like them so much that my Aunt mailed me a couple of bags a few years ago. One of my favorite places to purchase them, along with other fresh produce, is the Buckley Farm’s Farm Stand in Flint.

Fredericksburg/Stonewall

Unless you recently fell off a turnip truck (farm pun intended), you’ve likely heard that Fredericksburg is known not only for its wine but also for its peaches. I’ve been known to drive 2 1/2 hours east from San Angelo on a Saturday to bring back a box of peaches and maybe a little something else. There are many options, but our favorites are Gold Orchards in Stonewall and, also, Jenschke Orchards and Eckhardt Orchards in Fredericksburg. Gold Orchards has a bit more of an advantage because they also bake pies, pastries, and breads made with their delicious peaches. In fact, I’ve visited often when the ladies in the back of the store were peeling peaches, rolling out pie dough, and removing freshly baked goods from the oven. It doesn’t get better than that.

Weslaco

A few years ago, I left a job in Austin, and my husband and I packed up our RV and hit the road. I was fortunate to get work along the way. One of those jobs was doing some social media work at an RV Park in the Rio Grande Valley, which is home to thousands of Winter Texans in the fall and winter months. If you’re not familiar with Winter Texans, they are thousands of 55+ individuals who drive down from the northern U.S. and Canada during the colder months. They are active, fun, and contribute greatly to the Texas economy while they’re here. If you want to learn more, check out Welcome Home RGV.

During our time staying in the Rio Grande Valley, one of our favorite discoveries was the Weslaco Farmer’s Market. When you have a huge number of Winter Texans coming to your region and staying at RV parks scattered along the way, what do you do? If you’re the geniuses at Weslaco, you take your product on the road. They made regular stops at RV parks on certain days of the week. Shoppers would line up with their bags to pick the freshest produce of the season right from their neighborhood delivery stand. Genius!

Goldthwaite

When my friend Darla and I drove around the state to visit the most mispronounced towns and cities in Texas, one of those stops included the town of Goldthwaite at Pecans, Pecans, Pecans. While it’s technically a store and not a farmer’s market, I’m including it anyway. Since the pecan is the Official Health Nut of Texas, it seemed appropriate to share their store. Grab a bag of pecans, shelled or unshelled, or even a pecan pie. I didn’t see any forks while I was there, or I might have bought a pie for the road. Just sayin’.

Blue Ribbon finds at the State Fair of Texas

If you have ever been to the State Fair of Texas, you’ve likely visited the Creative Arts Building, where you’ll see canned goods, preserved by Texans who have entered their products in a judging competition. These folks are the best of the best. Beautiful canned products line rows and rows of shelves along the walls. If you have a challenge finding the place, just ask someone where the butter sculpture is located. That question will get you there. And while you’re visiting, say hello to Big Tex for me.

My grandmother was one of the best cooks I’ve ever known. She could do more with meager ingredients and simple salt and pepper seasoning than most chefs of today. Occasionally, when I would visit, I’d see my grandmother open a mason jar filled with something she had canned. I especially remember her canned vegetable soup. I have some of her recipes, but she didn’t include soup in her handwritten notes.

My Nostalgic Love for Canning

I didn’t really think about canning until my time working on the farm. You see, if you don’t sell the produce that you take to the market, you can’t really throw it away. It’s food. Sure, we would barter with a restaurant on our way back home, exchanging a basket of tomatoes for some lunch, but if you didn’t sell it, you were either going to can the food or blanch it and freeze it. Not to brag, but I learned good selling skills during those summer months, because I didn’t want to spend the rest of the summer putting up vegetables.

It’s funny how your thinking changes when you’re young to when you become a little more seasoned, shall we say. I’ve been canning fruit and vegetables for more than 30 years as an adult. I took about 10 years off but realized I liked it. I’ve dried and canned my own herbs. I’ve put up more pickled items from cucumbers to beets than I can count. I’ve canned jams and jellies from fruits I’ve purchased or received from family and friends. And I’ve cooked huge amounts of salsa. My husband isn’t a fan of me giving that out, since it’s his go-to snack. I’m still trying to find a chips and salsa diet that would work. I’d make millions!

The Mesquite Bean Experiment

I lived in west central Texas in San Angelo for nearly six years. A few times, I picked the beans from our backyard mesquite trees and made delicious jelly. I’ve even gone so far as to make what some refer to as Apocalypse Coffee, using mesquite pods. If it all goes south and coffee runs out, I’m your go-to girl. It’s amazing what nature provides to us in our own backyards.

Keep on Canning

So to you canners out there, I salute you for your efforts to keeping this tradition alive. And to the farmers who literally bring the farm to the table, I thank you for the hard work you do to feed us across the world.

Where to Find Texas Farms, Farmer’s Markets, and Makers

If you’re trying to find farms or products made in Texas, visit the Texas Department of Agriculture‘s Go Texan site. You’ll find a variety of producers right here in the Lone Star State.

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Until next time from Texas…safe travels!