WRSI: Gooseberry Farms

This week, Jackie Lapinski of Gooseberry Farms, joins Phil and Monte for a chat about the last Centennial Farm in West Springfield. The conversation lead off with these key questions:

Monte asked, “Besides the weather, what’s hot this season on the farm stand?”

“Corn! Corn, corn, corn! Everybody loves our corn,” says Jackie.

Phil adds, “What about tomatoes?”

Jackie explains, “Hothouse tomatoes are on the stand right now. The field tomatoes are coming soon! Within the next one-two weeks, they expect to offer their field-grown tomatoes on the farm stand.”

The farm celebrates 101 years in operation this year. Jackie married into this farming family. What made this family choose to keep farming? Jackie shares, “Nothing made them keep farming–it’s just in their blood. They grew up farming, and everyone has their own role. My father-in-law was the field guy, and now my husband has taken that over. My brother-in-law, Eddie, is more of a people person, so he would runs the stand. He’s there when the sun is up, always checking the produce and making sure everything is fresh.” The farm stand added soft serve ice cream that is not homemade by the farm, but helps keep the farm stand profitable. “I got initiated into that too,” Jackie chuckles as she shares a story of learning to use the machine. “We couldn’t do it without the help of our employees. The family

The farm grows flowers in the fields to round out their offerings from spring through fall. Jackie recalls planting rows of mums by hand and dug up one by one before they planted into containers. “My husband likes to get it all done in a day,” she shares.

The stand is open 9AM-8PM daily.

You’ll find Gooseberry Farms at:

201 Gooseberry Rd.

West Springfield, MA 01089

 (413) 273-1499

Credit/debit cards accepted.