Farmers Market: a business that kinda grows on you

Pam Talon holds a couple of zucchinis fresh from the garden at their display at the Downtown Rochester Farmers Market at Ben Franklin on Thursday. (Harrison Thorp photos)

ROCHESTER - Once it stopped raining woodchucks, even a soggy May and June couldn’t keep the Talons down.

Pam and David Talon of Rochester are organic farmers who live in Rochester off Brock Street and grow about an acre and a half of vegetables between their home garden and a patch of land in Barrington.

Each Tuesday and Thursday you’ll find them in the Ben Franklin parking lot as part of the Downtown Rochester Farmers Market.

David and Pam Talon

Even on Thursday despite the wind-whipped rain and severe thunderstorms, they were out there selling their organic vegetables and spreading their mantra of organic food is the way to go.

And a very tasty lesson it is. 

The Talons sell at very reasonable prices fresh, organic veggies like onions, potatoes, tomatoes, winter squash, acorn squash, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, string beans, cucumbers and garlic.

The vegetables are visually flawless, but the Talons use absolutely no pesticides or insecticides or anything like that, only “beneficial plants and insects” to keep the pests at bay.

“There’s so many pesticides in use,” said Pam Talon as lightning flashed and rain pelted a cloth canopy covering her produce in the Ben Franklin parking lot. “We want to let people know about organic food.”

The Talons said they love farming the land and enjoy meeting many of the old-time town farmers who stop by and ask them how they’re doing. 

“We certainly don’t do it for the money,” laughed David Talon. “We probably make ‘bout 50 cents an hour.”

Pam Talon said this summer the rain has been pretty rough, but what really set them back was a tribe of woodchucks who early on in the spring wiped out half their broccoli and string beans.

“The string beans rebounded unbelievably though,” Pam Talon said.

David Talon said the potato crop was very good this year as well.

Claire Williams of Charles Street in Milton who grows vegetables and makes home-made baked goods joins them on their Farmer’s Market Days as does Farmington eggshell mosaic artist Naoko Sears.

The Downtown Rochester Farmers Market will continue on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3-6 p.m. through October.