(April 23, 2015) With the warming weather comes the opportunity to reap the benefits of the Eastern Shore farmland’s bounty, much of which is available at an increasing number of roadside markets.
One such stop, Garden Market on 10835 Cathell Road roughly a mile outside of Ocean Pines, reopens for the season with limited hours starting on Saturday, April 25.
Husband-and-wife team Lynn and Cindy Crockett started the market part-time in 2008, eventually turning it into a full-time endeavor when Lynn retired from the construction business.
The market originally was set inside a small 10-by-15 space, considered a temporary roadside stand, before expanding to a permanent 300-square-foot space with additional parking this year.
In the beginning of the season, Lynn Crockett said, crops grown on their own farm are largely supplemented by regional produce, including tomatoes.
“We get a lot of stuff as it’s coming up the coast until our stuff starts coming off, like strawberries, which is one of the first things to come off, and we have a small you-pick section,” he said. “The produce starts very early in Florida, and then we follow the produce as it’s coming up the coast. We’ll start off with Florida tomatoes and Georgia tomatoes, and Georgia corn right around Memorial Day.
“By mid-summer we’re probably selling 75 percent of our own produce,” Crockett continued. “We also supplement with local produce during the times when we can’t produce enough for the market.”
The market also offers homegrown hanging baskets of flowers and homemade organic canned goods, as well as jams, jellies and sauces from McCutcheon’s Factory Store in Frederick, Md.
Garden Market is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends, expanding to stay open seven days a week starting on Memorial Day, running through October.