Real tomatoes

Well, I’ve done my part to carry on the autumn traditions. I stopped this past weekend at a farm stand and bought my annual pumpkin, which is perfect and which I’ve named Sunny (I always name my pumpkins, and I keep them until they rot on me, which is true of everything I acquire. Stuff lives with me – and moves with me – ‘til it rots/falls apart/dies on me), as well as a lovely acorn squash, and some enchanting cherry tomatoes.

The place I stopped at was on the other side of the river. On this side the road that runs along the river is a heavily traveled, house-and-business-lined thoroughfare connecting three small towns (Gardiner, where I live, Farmingdale, and Hallowell, where I work) to the “big city” (population about 18,000) of Augusta. On the other side of the Kennebec the houses and businesses are pretty much limited to the Augusta end; in short order you’re driving past fields and farms. And traffic tends to be much lighter. Every now and then I take that route, rather the one I take at least twice every day. There’s a bridge at Randolph that leads back across to Gardiner.

McGee’s Vegetable Stand was very neat and attractive, painted a deep barn red, with pumpkins lined up in front. I caught a glimpse of it as I went zipping by, and immediately slowed – here was a chance to get my autumn pumpkin! At someplace more interesting than a supermarket.

I was very pleased to see the sign that said “Honor system – please leave money in slot on door.” Initially I thought this meant slot on door of nearby farmhouse, but I saw no slot on either of the visible doors, and the man coming out of the house showed me that one end of the produce shed was actually a door, lying on its side...with a slot in it.

One reason this honor system pleased me was that it’s nice to see places and situations that still rely on such a thing. But also, I had only recently been thinking about farm stands and honor systems, probably as the result of passing a house on the outskirts of Hallowell that had a few vegetables sitting out on a little cart, with a sign. I had thought how most people would probably play according to the rules, but all it would take was one unscrupulous person who made off with the contents of the box, to ruin the system for everyone (especially the farmer).

And then, voila, here was a farm stand operating on the honor system. McGee’s has at least solved the problem of that one-in-a-hundred dishonest person making off with the money, but of course, people can still take produce, and leave no money. But I suspect that most people who would bother stopping at a farm stand are not the kind of people who would do that.

This little transaction of six or seven minutes gave me a great deal of satisfaction. It was nice to know that I was “buying local,” helping out a local farmer, in my small way. And the place was so pleasant, with lovely produce attractively displayed. And for me it was something out of the ordinary, though others may stop at every farm stand they see. And finally, I liked doing my part for the honor system.