Fairland Farm at the Braintree Farmers Market

Mark Kavanagh sells cranberries for Fairland Farm.

As we reach the end of June and the beginning of July the strawberry season is starting to taper off.  To take advantage of this early summer crop before they disappear please join us at the Braintree Farmers Market hosted by Sustainable Braintree this Saturday from 9 to 1, rain or shine, at the Braintree Town Hall Mall.  Eating fresh-picked, local strawberries is one of the best ways to celebrate the fourth of July.

     This week we are featuring Fairland Farm/Cape Cod Organic Cranberry as one of our new farmers at the market this season.  Fred Bottomley is the owner and operator of this farm and has had a connection with cranberries that goes back ten generations.  His tenth generation grandfather is John Alden who just happens to be one of the pilgrims that settled the Plymouth Bay Colony.  The Native Americans were quite familiar with this local crop and introduced it to the Pilgrims.  Legend has it that cranberries were served at the very first Thanksgiving with a tradition that carries on to the present day.  The Native Americans taught the Pilgrims to use cranberries not only at Thanksgiving but throughout the year as a food staple that has many medicinal benefits as well.

     Fairland Farm/Cape Cod Organic Cranberry produces some of the finest cranberries in Southeastern Massachusetts. They have bogs located in Norton, Easton, Sharon, Dartmouth and on the Cape in Mashpee and Falmouth. Some of the bogs that have been placed in their care have existed prior to the Civil War. Fairland Farm and Cape Cod Organic Cranberry were formed to become stewards of a continuing agricultural history of Southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod. 

     This farm offers different varieties of dried cranberries for sale at the Braintree Farmer's Market and other markets in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. They have organic sweetened dried cranberries, pomagranate juice infused sweetened dried cranberries, omega fortified sweetened dried cranberries and no sugar added dried cranberries. They also have their book, "Rubies in the Sand; Recipes from the Cape Cod Cranberry Bogs" available for sale at the market. They provide frozen cranberries for sale in bulk orders year round and fresh fruit during the harvest season.  They service wholesale customers as well as their farmer's market customers.

     Cranberries are truly a super berry offering a multitude of antioxidants and scientifically validated research documenting their effectiveness in prevention of urinary tract infections, ulcers, cavities and helping to reduce the symptoms of benign prostate hyperplasia that affects many men as they age. Cranberries are one of three native berries that are a sustainable food crop and should be consumed year round for their healthy benefits. Come out and try their dried cranberries and you will never buy the other brands again!  For more information about Fairland Farm/Cape Cod Organic Cranberry go to http://www.fairlandfarm.net

     As we round the corner into July we're coming into the peak of the harvest season so please come down to the market and support our hard-working farmers and vendors and enjoy the fruits of their labor.   Produce retains more of it's flavor and nutritional value when it is consumed soon after harvesting.  Most of the produce we find has been picked before ripening and has spent many long hours, even days, reaching stores before finally becoming available to the consumer.  For more information about the farmers market visit us at http://www.sustainablebraintree.org/food