Adam's Apples

The last outdoor market of the year spread its tattered wings under unseasonably warm skies on Wednesday, the day before the American Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November.  ¶  The market in Davis Square, Somerville, here in Massachusetts encamps on Wednesdays from June to November.  ¶  Thus it is ever fated to be among the very last, holding forth up to and including the day before every Thanksgiving.

The penultimate farmers market unfolded in Davis Square earlier today under bright skies. The low November light had most of the market in shadow by mid afternoon.

The suburban farmers markets ended last month, so today I traveled to Boston's premier outdoor market in Copley Square, under chilly, fast-moving grey clouds.  ¶  I was excited to find Gold Rush there, as I have never seen this great variety for sale at a farmers market before.

The annual pause of many farmers markets, and the brutally early end of Daylight Savings Time on Sunday, ushered in the  fading eleventh month with a bleak flourish.  ¶  Plenty of apples still abound, for a short while, but you must hunt for them.  ¶  Under grey skies at today's market in Davis Square, Somerville, one could choose from 20 apples, including these blushed Granny Smith .

The last market of the year bustles in Arlington, Massachusetts, earlier today.  ¶  It still feels like Peak Apple, but winter is creeping closer. All the suburban farmers markets end this week, and there were fewer apple choices on offer at mine, compared to the week before .

This time of year features an endless series of crates and boxes (wooden or otherwise) and sometimes baskets and even plastic bags, all filled with fresh produce.  ¶  This week was probably the last chance to stock up on Ashmead's Kernel. These keep reasonably well and I am well provisioned.  ¶  Dr Ashmead's fabulous apple has been abundant this year. According to David Wadleigh, who bought Kimball Fruit Farm in 2022, the previous owner grafted lots of Ashmead onto existing McIntosh trees. That strategy is, um, bearing fruit.

Miss just a few farmers markets (I was traveling), and WOW. (Photo: Just some of the apples you could buy at the Arlington, Massachusetts, farmers market on Wednesday. Click to embiggen! ) There were 26 different kinds of apples for sale at the farmers market this week. possibly a record. (Well, maybe not, but still a lot of apples.)

Fall foliage frames the farmers market in Arlington, Massachusetts, on September 25.  ¶  Farmers brought 13 different kinds of apples to Arlington's fall farmers market yesterday.

You could still get the excellent Chestnut Crabapple at farmers market today, but my attention was all on Macoun.  ¶  Macoun is among the best of the vast McIntosh family, and it time is now.

McIntosh (L) and Chestnut Crabapple share center stage during the second week of pomological fall .  ¶  The Mac is here: the harvest is in full gear.  ¶  Other apples at Arlington's farmers market today: Chestnut Crab , Gala , Gingergold , Honeycrisp , Macoun (too early I wager), Swiss Gourmet , and Zestar .  ¶  And there's more.

THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR :  This week marks the start of the pomological fall season , and the markets are swelling with fruit.  ¶    I counted 11 varieties, including fan favorites Honeycrisp and McIntosh (though the latter are probably a bit early).

Zestar and Gingergold have joined Early Mac and Paula Red at farmers market this week.  ¶  It is fun to watch the symphony of apples build to its annual crescendo in October. The melody unfolds a little differently every year.

The view from from Concord, Massachusetts, is more cheerful than that of my previous dispatch from Littleton .  ¶  In Concord, the fruit is ripening nicely on Hutchins Farm's well-tended trees.

Twenty twenty-four was not a typical harvest (and, is there even such a thing?).  ¶  But it wasn't a bad harvest either, and in any case illustrates the rhythms, the rise and fall, of agriculture (as expressed at my local markets).  ¶  All of the apples for sale, by date, from July to the end of the outdoor markets in November of last year. It's from this spreadsheet . Last year, the apples started in mid-July with Vista Bella , peaking in fat October with 25 apple varieties on a single day, and dwindling to the final 11 the day before Thanksgiving.

The day shone sunny and bright at the last outdoor farmers market of the year.  (Photo:  The low November sun kisses the last apples of the year at the Davis Square farmers market in Somerville, Massachusetts, earlier today. )  There were 11 different kinds of apples to buy.

The end of the season is nigh at the Davis Square farmers market earlier today.  ¶  With just a week to go before the markets' seasonal end, there are fewer farmers with less fruit and less time.  ¶  Deals can be had.

There are only a few more weeks left until Thanksgiving and the end of the outdoor markets.  (Photo:  These big red Cortlands were for sale at the Davis Square, Somerville (Massachusetts) farmers market earlier today. )  The weather has turned brisk, as it does in November, and the sun is low in the sky during those times when it is up at all.

Darkness falls in America early this month as we set our clocks back an hour for Daylight Savings Time.  (Photo:  Electric lighting illuminates the apples at the Davis Square farmers market in Somerville, Massachusetts, earlier today. )  Night was falling at 5 pm at farmers market in Davis Square (Somerville, Massachusetts) today. You could have bought 14 different kinds of apples there.

The suburban farmers markets end on Halloween. Today's in Belmont was the last until June.  ¶  Urban markets continue until Thanksgiving.

October is apple fat, and the market is happy. But behind the scenes things are winding down.  ¶  Vendors at this week's farmers market were selling 25 different kinds of apples, and of course there are even more out there at the moment .  ¶  But on the farm, most of the fruit is off the trees. Many (though not all) of the markets will close for the year after next week.