Gomez Veggie Ville
The Gomez family farm, Gomez Veggie Ville, is located in Schaghticoke in Rennselaer County, just across the Hudson River from Mechanicville. They primarily grow a variety of vegetables, but also some fruit, including melons. They farm on 16 acres of land; they own about half and the rest is rented. The farm is run by the family including Efrain and Ballentina, and their daughter Elizabeth, all three of which can be seen selling their produce at farmers’ markets in Saratoga Springs. Elizabeth Gomez was interviewed for this article.
How did your family get into farming? My parents both grew up on farms in rural Mexico. My father’s family had a beef cattle farm and my mom’s family had a large vegetable farm. They both moved here independently in the 1980s and met afterwards.
About six years ago they decided to start farming and were inspired by our family in Mexico who grew large amounts of veggies to sell at “mercados,” the open air markets in rural Mexico where everyone shops for their food.
The farmers’ markets around here reminded us of “mercados,” so we wanted to sell this way.
What do you want people to know about your farm? We love spreading our love of farming with others and sharing with them part of our farm by providing Saratoga with fresh locally grown veggies. We enjoy growing produce without the use of pesticides and motivating people to eat healthy, pesticide free veggies. It’s like a connection with God’s creation and earth to be able to see how each veggie starts as a small seed and becomes something splendid we can enjoy. It’s a great pleasure for our family to be able to share our passion and hard work we do in farming with the Saratoga region. We love bringing fresh veggies to everyone’s table and consider it a great honor to be their farmers.
Where can people buy your produce? We sell at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and also at the Spa City Farmers’ Market in Saratoga Springs on Sundays.
Know your food
Gomez Veggie Ville sells a wide variety of tomatoes. The tomato originated in the southern regions of the Andes Mountains in South America, and by the time Europeans arrived in the “New World” the Aztec people were cultivating them as far north as central Mexico.
Tomatoes will continue to ripen off the vine, so they can be harvested when only 60 percent of their full color has been reached.
To ripen them in your kitchen place them in a paper (not plastic) bag out of direct sunlight.
Do not store tomatoes in the refrigerator unless they are very ripe or have been cut; refrigeration can diminish their flavor.
Diane Whitten is a food and nutrition educator for Cornell Cooperative Extension Saratoga County.