Here are a few photos I shot at the Inwood Farmer’s Market today, April 15, 2012.  The vendors and customers are out every Saturday morning year-round and today everyone found themselves enjoying the beautiful spring weather.

After weeks of rain, the sun broke though this morning. A happy day it was indeed.
Here’s a scene from the farmer’s market where one and all enjoyed the bounties of summer.

Today’s Inwood is full of green thumbs, mainly volunteers who tend to Bruce’s Garden, nurse sidewalk flower boxes, and cultivate  community landscapes enjoyed by all.  And while a lucky few have space for a tomato plant or two,  today’s edible gardening needs are fulfilled mainly by a  thriving farmer’s market which gives  Inwood residents access to  “local” produce. But there was a time when “local” meant right around the corner.

As recently as the  early 1930′s Inwood was home to one of Manhattan’s last, if not the last, working farms. Inwood resident Josephene Benedetto Bliani sat down with oral historian Jeff Kisseloff in 1987 and described  life on her family’s farm on Broadway and 214th.

“Our farm had very good soil. We had the best corn. They were small because there wasn’t a lot of room, but they were round and delicious. We raised all different kinds of vegetables. We had tomatoes, corn, lettuce and string beans. We had pear trees and peach trees, and we had chickens, rabbits and a goat. We rented a horse when we had to do the plowing. My parents earned their living selling the eggs, vegetable and fruit.
Chickens were nasty and dirty. I stayed away from them, for sure.

Farming near 214th and Broadway, 1932 Inwood, New York City.

My brothers did most of the farm work. I helped sell the vegetables from the farm stand. Everything was cheap. The eggs were fifteen cents a dozen. Corn was a dozen ears for a quarter. Tomatoes were five cents a pound-very cheap, but delicious.

It was just a farm. It wasn’t a very big farm-only a city block. From 213th to 214th and from Tenth Avenue to Broadway. For me it was just a place to live. We moved there in 1924, when I was three. My father was an ice man until the Frigidaires came in and that went kaput. That’s why they took the land.
Our house didn’t have electricity or gas or anything. We had to bring everything in.”

Note: The accompanying photos likely portray the Benedetto farm.  They were all taken in the same area she describes between 1927 and 1933.

Click here to read more Inwood history

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Every Saturday morning residents of Inwood flock to the Farmer’s Market for fresh produce, hot cider, still warm baked bread and conversation. The Greenmarket isn’t just a place to buy farm fresh veggies, it’s also a place to meet up and simply  hang out.

Among the dozen or so vendors there’s the turkey stand from DiPaola’s Turkey Farm in Hamilton Township, NJ.

Their turkey Italian sausage is not only a neighborhood favorite, but also a canine delight.

DiPaola’s sets a special plate of grilled turkey aside for  hungry pooches who look forward to the market with enthusiasm which sometimes rivals their owners.

Then there are the folks from Hawthorne Valley Farm, who in addition to providing some of the best bread and produce around, truly know the meaning of paying it forward. The farm, located about 35 miles southeast of Albany, started a program in 1972 that gives inner city kids hands on experience on a working farm to teach them what it means to be stewards of the land.

Other culinary experiences include fresh apples and pies from the Breezy Hill Orchard, quiche and foccacia from Bread Alone, artisanal cheeses, fish and even seasonal items like leeks and mushrooms.

The market is open year round every Saturday from 8:00am-3:00pm. (Rain or shine)

See you there.