Applefield Farm

There’s fresh, then there’s super-​duper fresh — the kind of fresh that stays fresh in the fridge for 4 or 5 days. Applefield produce is always super-​duper fresh. The pre-​washed salad greens never have a single speck of dirt. Okay, so Applefield won’t have your «A-​to-​Z» selection of every exotic thing imaginable. You want kumquats? Go the the kumquat-​mart, and get them all saggy and bruised after 3,000 miles in the cooler case. What Applefield has is seasonal, no-​nonsense, crisp, super-​fresh and wonderful, reasonably priced, and handpicked by people who probably know every head of lettuce from seed to harvest. Plus, catch them at the beginning of the season for seedlings and baby plants. The selection of basils and other pot herbs I get from them every spring always thrives replanted on my back porch. Ray and Co. are the best!

As farms get bigger and bigger, it’s getting harder to find local farms that sell truly organic and local products. Luckily, there are a glut of local organic farms in Stow, with Applefield being one of the better ones.
It’s hard to classify Applefield. It functions like a quasi-farmer’s market with milk, eggs, locally made honey, locally grown produce, and even local artwork and greeting cards. It also has picking hours for both produce and flowers and greenhouses to browse if you’re looking for starter plants. But, the best part of this farm is just wandering around. Unlike corporate farms or even larger organic farms in nearby Concord, Berlin, and Bolton, Applefield looks like it’s maintained by a family whose heart is in working with the land.
N.B. A good nearby option, in case you miss out on picking hours at Applefield, is Shelburne Farm, due north at the intersection of South Action Rd & Boxborough Rd.