Where to get the best local farm produce in Sherborn

 Sherborn is home to several farms that grow fresh and tasty produce from spring through late fall. Each farm has its own distinctive approach and crops. Here’s my pick of the best produce through the seasons:

Spring

 Fresh greens - Hopestill Farm on Mill Street is my pick of the all-around best source for spring greens as well as organic produce for the entire season. The fresh spinach and kale are especially delicious and you simply can’t beat lettuce that’s just been picked from the ground in the spring.  Visit the farm’s Instagram account to see what’s available each week so you can pick up your order at the stand – fresh from the ground and harvested shortly before your arrival. You can order as you need or sign up for CSA shares.

Asparagus – Dowse’s Orchard was planting their fields with asparagus in April. I haven’t had a chance to sample the harvest but am pretty sure that local asparagus will beat store bought. 

Organic seedlings – If you have an urge to plant your own vegetable patch, stop at Silverwood Farms on Western Avenue. They’ve been selling organic vegetable seedlings this May that are ready to plant. Silverwood Farms also has a season-long CSA for their produce and flowers. You can find some of their produce at the Holliston Superette, also.

Strawberries – In June, head over to Sunshine Farm on Kendall Avenue for pick-your-own strawberries. This third-generation family farm has pick-your-own and a farm store as well as a CSA. Strawberry picking is a fun adventure on a June morning with your family. The leisurely walk through the farm fields brings you to rows of strawberries ready for picking. Kids and adults will have fun spotting the big, dark red berries, which taste as juicy and sweet as strawberries should. If you want the strawberries without the work, stop into the farm store and get it the easy way.

Summer

Fresh peaches - When I first moved to town, my neighbor Sue Montague, who hails from North Carolina where they know their peaches, told me about the delicious white peaches at Sunshine Farm that ripen up in early summer and are sold in their farm store. You simply can’t get ripe peaches like these in a supermarket. They have yellow peaches, too, and and if it’s hot out, you can cool down at the farm’s ice cream stand.

Fresh corn – In the summer, Sunshine Farm starts harvesting their fresh corn from the fields. It’s sweet and tender, good for eating on the cob. They also harvest a variety of other produce and raspberries, so keep checking to see what’s in the store.

Cukes, peppers, zucchini and more – Hopestill Farm keeps producing a wide variety of organic vegetables through the season including just about anything you’d want to put in a salad, as well as summer squashes, eggplant, potatoes and turnips. You can’t find this kind of organic selection anywhere except Whole Foods.

Blueberries – The old Humphries property at the end of Western Avenue near Framingham has a couple acres of blueberry fields that ripen up around the Fourth of July. Thankfully, the current owners have continued the pick-your-own tradition and the ripe berries are sweet and juicy. If you don’t cook or eat them right away, you can spread berries on a cookie sheet and freeze them for eating later in the season.

Tomatoes – For vine ripened tomatoes in summer, I’m partial to the interesting varieties at Sunshine Farm, including some really big tomatoes . Supermarket tomatoes are better than they used to be but fresh picked is still best. Hopestill’s tomatoes are good eating, too.

Fall

Apples and more apples – In the fall, Dowse Orchards comes into its own with 20 varieties of apples, many of which you can’t find in supermarkets. My favorites are the Cortland apples, which are big, sweet, and firm, just perfect for homemade applesauce or apple pie. Every fall before the farm stand closes, I buy a big bag to get me through a few more months of pies. The first Sherborn Dowse came to town after the Revolution, so this is a farming family that knows their apples. Both Dowse’s and Sunshine Farm have pick-your-own apples for a fall outing.

 Apple cider – Back to Dowse’s again, this time to the cooler in the farm stand, where you’ll find the sweetest apple cider you’ve ever tasted. Dowse’s cider could win awards for best mulling cider, another reason I visit late in the season to supply for the cold months ahead.

Squashes – Hopestill Farm ends their season with big, hearty butternut squash that lasts about two months in a cool spot in your kitchen, stretching all that organic goodness into winter. They grow delicata and acorn squashes, too. Sunshine Farms grows their own squashes, as well. 

Pumpkins – When it comes to Halloween, you have your pick. Dowse has many pumpkin sizes from big to small. Hopestill grows sugar pumpkins, and Sunshine has their own pumpkins, too, including the cute, little minis.

Winter

Christmas Trees - Last winter, we selected a Christmas tree from the fields at Hopestill and cut it ourselves before Thanksgiving. It lasted all the way through Valentine’s Day before starting to drop its needles. In the long and lonely Covid winter, we were happy to enjoy the ornaments and lights longer than usual.

You can also buy precut trees at Dowse’s where there’s a good selection to choose from. They also offer handsome wreaths and kissing balls, as well as other holiday décor.

In spring, summer and fall, Sherborn’s farms offer all the fruits and vegetables you can eat, fresh and local. Enjoy!

Our thanks to Hopestill Farms for the photo of spinach.