Editor's note: Every Sunday and Wednesday this summer, Arlington Patch will highlight local vendors in our feature Farmers Market Spotlight.  Fran Busa considers himself a “blue collar grower.” He grows staple items like beans, carrots or tomatoes, but changes it up with different varieties. “I add a little twist to it,” Busa said, explaining that this encourages customers to try new types without having an idea what they are. The items sold from Busa Farms at the Arlington Farmers Market come from his 45-acre farm in Lincoln. Busa is part of a long family tradition of farming that dates back…

Editor's note: Every Sunday and Wednesday this summer, Arlington Patch will highlight local vendors in our feature Farmers Market Spotlight.  The tan and gold sign that dangles behind the fresh produce at the Grateful Farm tent reads, “organically grown since 1983.” A principal that customers and employees said distinguishes the vendor at thee Arlington Farmers Market. Though not officially certified, Kara Boettger, who works the markets, said the farm abides by strict organic standards. “A lot of people are looking for local and organic . . . so that to me makes us pretty popular,” Boettger …

Editor's note: Every Sunday and Wednesday this summer, Arlington Patch will highlight local vendors in our feature Farmers Market Spotlight.  At Mamadou’s Artisan Bakery tent, Catherine Palmer has just finished stating that some customers say the bakery’s bread is better than bread they’ve had in Paris. “This is the best bread in the world, and I’ve been all over the world,” Charlotte Keys, who has lived in Arlington for 11 years, affirms after just purchasing a loaf of whole wheat. Mamadou Mbaye, a native of Senegal, bakes the bread in Winchester and has been selling at the Arlington Farmers…

Editor's note: Every Sunday and Wednesday this summer, Arlington Patch will highlight local vendors in our feature Farmers Market Spotlight.  Dick’s Market Garden, based in Lunenburg, travels throughout Massachusetts to at least one farmers market each day except Sunday, arriving with a truck full of a wide produce variety. “Arlington is a very busy market when it gets into full swing,” said Jim Yebba under the farm’s tent as customers purchased leafy greens and flowers. The farm is run by the Violette family and has been coming to Arlington for a “good 10 years,” according to Yebba. …

Editor's note: Every Sunday and Wednesday this summer, Arlington Patch will highlight local vendors in our feature Farmers Market Spotlight.  Her set-up at the Arlington Farmers Market is simple: just a few baskets with her three signature cookies on display—peanut butter chocolate chip, Swedish ginger and Arlington-shaped cookies. “Shaped like Arlington, made in Arlington,” said Nancy White, who runs Aida-Lula Pastry, about her signature vanilla cookie. White uses "premium" ingredients in her three types of cookies, such as organic peanut butter and sugar and as free-range eggs. A few years …

Editor's note: Every Sunday and Wednesday this summer, Arlington Patch will highlight local vendors in our feature Farmers Market Spotlight.  From pre-made meals to fruit drinks, purchasing items from the seasonal American cuisine restaurant, Flora, at the Arlington Farmers Market is often a culmination of various ingredients sold by other vendors at the market. For Flora Assistant Manager Brett Campbell, the restaurant’s approach can be summed up fairly simply: “Just do the best you possibly can.” This means using humanely raised animal products and local vegetables as much as possible, …

Editor's note: Every Sunday and Wednesday this summer, Arlington Patch will highlight local vendors in our feature Farmers Market Spotlight.  Hmong Farms’ first year at the Arlington Farmers Market was difficult because a lot of people weren’t familiar with the Asian and oriental vegetables the farm sells or how to cook them. But the farm has since established a regular and enthusiastic customer base. “The majority of stuff [is] really easy to cook,” said Pang Yang surrounded by containers full of leafy green vegetables. The farm has recipes they give to clients. Yang, whose mother works on …

Editor's note: Every Sunday and Wednesday this summer, Arlington Patch will highlight local vendors in our feature Farmers Market Spotlight.  Rain or shine, residents flood the Arlington Farmers Market on Wednesdays. But in the rain, customers don’t generally buy the same type as fish as they do in the shine. “Hot days, sword fish or tuna, rainy days, haddock or cod,” said Stephanie Walsh, describing how the most popular fish among her clients varies by day. She and her 16-year-old son, Matthew, pulled fish in plastic bags from Styrofoam coolers on what felt like a sword fish or tuna day at …

Editor's note: Every Sunday and Wednesday this summer, Arlington Patch will highlight local vendors in our feature Farmers Market Spotlight.  After purchasing some fresh, organic vegetables from the other vendors, pick up some homemade pasta from Fior D’Italia for a night of Italian cooking. The family-run business based in Manchester, Vt. sells everything from ravioli stuffed with lobster, to gnocchi, to pastas like fettuccine, rigatoni and spaghetti, and pre-made entrees that just need heated. Two packages of ravioli are priced at $14, or one for $8, and the pasta is priced at $5 a package…

Editor's note: Every Sunday and Wednesday this summer, Arlington Patch will highlight local vendors in our feature Farmers Market Spotlight.  Though Arlington is thousands of miles from Oaxaca, Mexico, Taza Chocolate has brought the traditional chocolate-making process of using raw cacao beans on stone mills only a few miles away in Somerville. The method Taza uses leaves the cacao and sugar intact, said Annie Meyer, who works in the store and also gives tours of the chocolate factory. She said most people are accustomed to chocolate made in a European style, which does not hold the cacao and…

Editor's note: Every Sunday and Wednesday this summer, Arlington Patch will highlight local vendors in our feature Farmers Market Spotlight.  Shoppers at the Arlington Farmers Market will most likely find people walking around with a fresh sticky bun or chocolate chip cookie in hand as they wander from vendor to vendor. “People get their sweet addiction,” said Aggie Pavlidis, who works at The Danish Pastry House, about the regulars. “[They] gotta get their fix.” The pastry shop, which has locations in Watertown and Medford, has been coming to the market for several years, providing an …

Editor's note: Every Sunday and Wednesday this summer, Arlington Patch will highlight local vendors in our feature Farmers Market Spotlight.  Fresh goat cheese? Already a delicious option. But what about with garlic and basil, sun dried tomato and basil—or, really on the wild, spicy side, jalapeño and cilantro? Crystal Brook Farm has farmers market shoppers covered. The goat cheese comes in six-ounce logs priced at $6.50. Aside from the types already mentioned, there are cracked black pepper, chive, dill, cranberry and orange, as well as lemon and lavender. They also make and sell goat’s milk…

Editor's note: Every Sunday and Wednesday this summer, Arlington Patch will highlight local vendors in our feature Farmers Market Spotlight.  Leah Foster described the cows on Chestnut Farms as “very happy,” an aspect that might be more difficult to determine when buying from the grocery store, without interaction from someone who knows the conditions on the farm. The farm in Hardwick sells beef, poultry, pork and lamb, along with the occasional goat and rabbits. Foster, who works the markets, said the farmers raise all their own animals. They are grass fed, when appropriate, as well as …

Editor's note: Every Sunday and Wednesday this summer, Arlington Patch will highlight local vendors in our feature Farmers Market Spotlight.  Holstein cows, raw milk and no hormones. Three things that Assistant Manager Jennifer Smith said distinguish the three cheeses produced by Smith’s Country Cheese: Cheddar, Havarti and Gouda. Two hundred cows roam the farm in Winchendon, where they also have a store location, Smith said. They have been selling cheese at the Arlington Farmers Market for about 10 years, and like many of the vendors, said they particularly enjoy this market. “I love coming…

Editor's note: Every Sunday and Wednesday this summer, Arlington Patch will highlight local vendors in our feature Farmers Market Spotlight.  The Kimball Fruit Farm is located in Pepperell, Mass., with half the farmland technically in Hollis, N.H., and has 120 acres of farmland. The farm mainly sells fruits and vegetables and its large size allows the farmers to grow a wider variety, such as 78 types of tomatoes and 35 types of apples. Some of the produce includes: zucchini, $2 per pound; peas, $5 per pound; raspberries $4 a box; and strawberries, $4 per pint. In the fall, they also sell …

Editor's note: Every Sunday and Wednesday this summer, Arlington Patch will highlight local vendors in our feature Farmers Market Spotlight.  The Golden Egg Farm is located in Hardwick, Mass.,  and is run entirely by Kate Morreale, who has been selling her eggs at the Arlington Farmers Market for three years. The eggs come from free range hens and are $5 a dozen. She sells three types: green eggs from Ameraucana hens, brown eggs from Sex-Link hens and white eggs from California hens. Her farm spans three acres with about 400 hens. Morreale said she raises the hens in small numbers and they …

Virginia Schaefer’s reusable Trader Joe’s bag was full, green leaves bursting from the top. Inside the bag lay chard, beets, yellow zucchini, fava beans, cucumbers—and she could keep digging. “I really love vegetables,” said Schaefer, 63, an Arlington resident of 25 years. She stated it plainly but genuinely in a colorful plaid shirt, a visor shading her face Wednesday at the Arlington Farmers Market. She was making her weekly purchase at Grateful Farm, her go-to vendor because the produce is “really organic.” The sun beat down on the asphalt as shoppers like Schaefer made their way among the…