It’ll Be Bumper Crop Time Soon At Concord Farmers’ Market: Watch

CONCORD, NH — Farmers at the Concord Farmers’ Market have been selling their edible offerings since early May — but expect a lot of products to be flowing into tents and tables very soon.

July and August are the height of the growing and selling season, according to Wayne Hall, of Rockey Ole Farm on Silk Farm Road, the president of the market. That is when corn, early winter squashes, fruit, and, “a real, full bounty” are available, until the end of September. Hall, a fourth-generation farmer, said the market started slower than normal this year. And it was cool outside, too, those first few weeks. But there was also pent-up demand for local products in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

“People were looking to get out and enjoy the market,” he said. “It was something to bring a bit of normalcy back.”

Some of the farmers who have greenhouses had early, cold weather offerings that were harvested.

The market is not just fruits and vegetables — it is bread, meats, eggs, fish, wine, plants, pastries, donuts, and hopefully, soon, beer.

“We are looking for a beer vendor,” Hall said. “We have one (lined up), which is unique, they actually grow their grain in Concord … literally just across the street in a big field. That’s kinda cool.”

For a couple of years, the market had a second day and location, at the Steeplegate Mall, but gave it up due to a lack of vendors and customers. It was a good idea but needed a few more years, he said, to catch on. And the Saturday market was such a staple that families and customers really make it an outing, Hall said.

“Everybody will tell you here that, ‘what do we do it for?’ … it’s a lot of hours, we do sell a bunch of product,” he said. “But we do it for the customers. We see the customers; the families come. They bring their pets. I love to see the families; I love to see them growing up. They are the main reason that we do this.”

Businesses get a boost, too, he said. But for more than two decades, Hall has been amazed watching customers and people of Concord before his very eyes, not unlike his harvests.

According to Hall, most everything is grown, baked, or processed within a 20-mile radius of Concord and that is a policy of the market. There are a few exceptions — products that are grown outside of New Hampshire. But those items are processed and prepared in the state, he said.

Labor, like many other businesses in New Hampshire and the nation, has been an issue at local farms, too — with Hall saying, “it’s tough.” A lot of farmers and farm workers do not care about “the love of money,” he said. It is about the art of farming and the love of and from customers. And he, and others, have been lucky to find dedicated workers. But others have not been so lucky, and the cost of and commitment by employees have been an issue.

“We do it for the love of it,” he said. “It is great when you can hand somebody a beautiful tomato and they go away with this big, wonderful smile on their face. It’s cool.”

When asked about the future, Hall said it looked pretty good — while the market had lost some vendors, due to lifestyle changes "and other stuff," more were coming in and wanting to be a part of the market.

“Hopefully,” he said, “we’ll continue to make patrons happy. If they’re not happy, they’re not going to come. Keeping them happy ... and offering them the best market that we can have.”

The Concord Farmers’ Market is open from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Saturdays on Capitol Street in Downtown Concord. The market will be open through the end of October. For more information, visit the market’s website, linked here.

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