Next come a series of tables, where the produce will be displayed. It’s not, but it finally falls into place, and the rough outlines of his stand become clear. Stark laughs at the struggle, saying, “On the box, they show cheerleaders setting this thing up,” which suggested to Stark that set-up would be a breeze. Even with a visitor helping, the awning is a reluctant partner in the enterprise. Stark and Rosenthal struggle with the cloth awning supported by four telescoping metal stands. Not to mention setting up for sale his 150 varieties of hot peppers. “It’s hard to organize 59 varieties of tomatoes,” Stark says. Within hours, Stark has several dozen boxes of heirloom and hybrid tomatoes scattered over the spot where “The Raspberry Man” would have been. This is important information, for it means Stark can use two spaces in the market, which will be crucial on this particular day.

Patraker tells Stark a vendor known by everyone as “The Raspberry Man” has set up his stand elsewhere. Right behind Rosenthal is Jay Patraker, who manages the Greenmarket in Union Square with his brother, Joel. This is his first year at Union Square, and, so far, it’s been a success. He sold some produce last summer in Manhattan, but on a very limited basis.

He had the idea of selling Pennsylvania vegetables to Manhattan customers for several years, but only recently began to do so. Stark’s isn’t a one-man operation, but it comes close. When he isn’t selling his produce, or trucking it to market, he’s picking it, or persuading friends to help. Stark, who grows the produce on the 2-acre farm that is co-owned by his mother, splits his time between the fields of Lenhartsville and a home in Brooklyn.

Farmers such as Stark apply to sell in a particular market, and once their proposal is approved, pay about $50 a day to set up a stand. start to what will be a marathon day of selling vegetables - mainly tomatoes and hot peppers - at a farmers’ market called Greenmarket in Manhattan’s Union Square, one of about 20 such markets operated by New York’s Council on the Environment. Sunrise is an hour away, and the gently rolling hills of Berks County that give Eckerton Hill Farms its name are hidden by darkness.įor Tim Stark, it is just another 4 a.m.

Heirloom by Tim Stark