As excitement builds for the Meet Your Local Farmers event on March 29 at the Harwich Community Center, we figured a great way to get in the agricultural swing of things would be a trip to the Orleans Farmers’ Market.
The year round market is in winter mode and it’s held every Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon at Lower Cape TV (5 Namskaket Road, Orleans). On a recent Saturday, shoppers and farmers happily mingled among the wonderful offerings: veggies, meat and splendid local products. It was chilly outside, but somehow the promise of spring was growing strong indoors.
Gretel Norgeot, president of the Orleans Farmers’ Market board of trustees, is getting excited about the Meet Your Local Farmers event on March 29, 2025 in Harwich. Photo by Eric Williams.
Gretel Norgeot, president of the board of directors of the Orleans Farmers’ Market, was as busy as a bee, but kindly took time to chat. In partnership with the
Harwich Conservation Trust, the Orleans Farmers’ Market is co-sponsoring the Meet Your Local Farmers event. Norgeot was already excited about the big get-together in Harwich.
“It is such a great event,” said Norgeot. “It’s a wonderful way to meet farmers from all over the Cape and find out what everybody is doing.”
Norgeot said that the Orleans Farmers’ Market will be relocating to the Meet Your Local Farmers event on March 29, adding to the growing list of farms joining in the fun. “There will be plenty of produce and goods for people to buy,” she said.
We also found out more about the Orleans Farmers’ Market, which is entering its 31st season. About eleven years ago, the market added a winter schedule, offering farmers and shoppers a way to get together year round.
“We are really advocates for farming and trying to keep farming strong on the Cape,” said Norgeot. “”Over the years we have had close to 130 different farmers come to the market.”
Norgeot was asked about the biggest challenges for farmers on Cape Cod. “Lot size,” she said. “And the price of buying your own piece of property now. So we have some community farms, community gardens. There’s a great commercial plot behind the Orleans courthouse, the
Putnam Farm.”
Farmers and customers at the Orleans Farmers’ Market on Feb. 15, 2025. Photo by Eric Williams.
Norgeot’s farming story started when she was a Cape Cod kid. “I grew up in Orleans when there were farms, and I’ve seen the changes happen over the years,” she said. “My parents were gardeners, my grandmothers were gardeners.”
She attended Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Harwich. “I went to the tech school not knowing what I was going to do and I discovered the agriculture program. And that was it after that,” said Norgeot, who owns Checkerberry Farm in Orleans.
Before heading into the Orleans Farmers’ Market to do some shopping, we asked Norgeot for a quick gardening tip that would help us get excited for spring.
“You can plant peas on St. Patrick’s Day,” she said. “That’s nice and early — it’s only a couple of weeks away.”
The Meet Your Local Farmers Event will be on March 29, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Harwich Community Center (100 Oak St., Harwich). The event is co-sponsored by the Harwich Conservation Trust and the Orleans Farmers’ Market.
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