Page 10 - Robeson Living Summer 2021

Get it while it’s hot!

Local produce

stand delivers

goodies fresh

from the farm

craving since early spring. There’s plenty of fall produce still
available after summer, but again, you’ll only find what’s truly
in season.
Geraldine’s Peaches and Produce just outside
Lumberton is open to the public eight months out of the year, The good news is, right now you can find just about anything
but in June, July and August is when the heat is on - of course you want when it comes to fresh North Carolina produce.
in more ways than one. Obviously, the weather can bring
blazing hot temperatures and humidity high enough to make Geraldine’s Peaches and Produce is the only large peach or-
you sweat just standing still. It’s also the heat of the growing chard in Robeson County. That means they’re about the only
season, and at Geraldine’s, seasonal produce reigns supreme. peaches you can find that didn’t have to travel down a paved
road to get to you. It’s as close as you can get to having peach

“If you truly value locally homegrown food, you have to know trees in your own back yard. The same is true for everything
there is a season for everything,” said Geraldine Herring, after they sell. As with any fruits and vegetables, the less distance
whom the roadside market is named. “Each crop has a season, that produce has to travel to get to your mouth, the better it will
so we’re only selling stuff when it’s in season. You won’t find taste because that produce has time to ripen before it’s picked.
anything here that came off a truck or got shipped in boxes.
Our produce comes out of the field and orchard in buckets and “A lot of our customers tell us we have the freshest, best-tasting
baskets - straight to our produce stand.” and biggest variety of any produce market in the area,” Her-
ring said. “I think that’s why we attract customers from outside
So if you want fresh straight-from-the-farm fruits and vegeta- Robeson County too. They come from Fayetteville and Bladen
bles, you better get them when they’re in season. Don’t show County and even out of state too. We have out-of-state custom-
up in May expecting peaches or watermelons. You’ll find cab- ers who make annual stops when they’re passing through to
bage, turnips and potatoes. If you want peas, butterbeans or see family. That speaks volumes to us. It tells me we’re doing
sweet corn you better wait ‘til June and July. That goes for a good job in what we do.”
tomatoes too, plus those watermelons and peaches you’ve been
Doing a good job is a lot of work though. Herring runs the

Page 10 Robeson Living ~ Summer 2021