LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
Watermelon, corn, tomatoes; oh my! Growing season has bloomed in Edgar County. Local farmers and vendors have been setting up to serve the community with fresh produce.
Ken Brooks, owner of Pa Pa’s Produce Patch, located north of Paris on Route 1, puts in hours of work to grow over 60 varieties of fruits and vegetables for people to enjoy.
“This place just fell into my lap. It’s 10 acres, which is exactly what we were looking for,” said Brooks. “We have over 60 peach trees, 255 apple trees, plums, tart cherries, pears, 310 tomato plants, Indian corn, potatoes, blackberries, sweet corn and other things too.”
Customers at Pa Pa’s Produce Patch can view a map of the entire property while browsing picked produce.
The idea of an extensive produce farm wasn’t the immediate plan following Brooks’ retirement as a mailman. His love of traveling took him to a place where he found inspiration for the venture.
“I walked the Appalachian Trail for six months, following retirement, and thought about this a lot,” said Brooks. “I wanted to do this on a bigger scare as a retirement hobby. I’ve never approached this as a business.”
Brooks also offers a program through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) to provide weekly produce to those who participate. For $25 per week, consumers can get a large basket of fruit and vegetables. The program is offered on a four, eight or 12-week schedule.
“We try to get people signed up late winter, early spring. Families come every Thursday to pick up their basket,” said Brooks. “We try to have different types of items every week. There is a whiteboard posted inside that has the list of items for that week. If you like a wide variety of vegetables, it’s a great deal.”
For consumers who are in Paris and don’t have the means to travel that far, Ralph Shirley also offers fresh produce at his stand located near Paris Feed on Jasper Street.
“I’m usually out here six days a week. I’ve been doing this for four years now,” said Shirley. “I’ve been doing this every summer since my brother passed away. He did it for years, set up at the bowling alley. I wanted to keep it going and make him proud.”
With juicy watermelon, peaches, sweet corn, tomatoes and others, Shirley wants people to enjoy flavorful produce. When consumers need fruits and/or vegetables, Shirley is willing to donate his time and resources to make sure they are taken care of.
“We donate to VBS programs in town, food pantries and nursing homes,” he said. “You know, you get to meet all of the older people and there’s a lot of times that they come in and I just give it to them.”
Even if consumers aren’t satisfied with the products, Shirley makes sure they leave happy.
“This year, I’ve only had two people complain about the watermelon and that was in my first pick of the season. They just weren’t quite ripe,” he said. “They came up and told me about it, so I gave them another watermelon.”
Another produce stand catching the attention of locals is located one mile south of Paris on Lower Terre Haute Road. Heather Gill uses her garden to supply free produce to anyone willing to visit her stand.
“I started my garden three, four years ago and the first year, I was just like ‘Oh my gosh, I’m not going to eat all of this.’” she said. “I gave a bunch away to family and also froze a bunch. But then as the years have come, God has blessed me with all of this.”
After trying to take part in the local farmer’s market on the square in Paris, Gill realized the market was not the demographic she was looking for.
“I didn’t know what price to put on (the produce). So, I said ‘You know what? I’ll put (the stand) out here,’” she said. “It’s give and take. God’s blessed me, so why not bless other people?”
With help from her husband, she was able to upgrade from a canopy and tables to a solid, sturdy wood stand.
“My husband, who is amazing, built this. He built me that out of love. It’s amazing,” said Gill.
Gill often refers to her garden as a form of therapy.
“When I go out there, I can be out there for hours. That’s what really started it, you know? So it helps me and helps them,” she said.
At the free produce stand you can find green beans, tomatoes, sweet corn, peppers and a few other items.
“There’s just something about getting from a garden versus a store. I don’t even know how they do it in the big stores, but there’s a difference in taste,” said Gill.
With a variety of resources and opportunities to support local growers and suppliers, take time to enjoy a fresh vegetable or fruit this summer.