The Season Starts at the Farm Stand

Your guide to what's open now and what's coming

There’s a particular kind of spring that happens not on the calendar but at the farm stand. The daffodils and the mud come first. Then, sometime in mid-April, a hand-lettered sign appears at the end of a driveway, or a familiar awning goes up along Route 109, and something shifts. The season has announced itself in the way that actually counts.

If you’re a year-rounder, you already know which stands you’ve been waiting for. If you’re coming up to open the house and trying to figure out what’s available when, this is your guide. We’ve organized it by what’s open now, what’s coming as the season builds, and what to put on the calendar for the weekly markets.

Open Now, Year-Round

Three spots in the region never fully close, which is worth knowing when March feels long and you need something that isn’t the grocery store.

Moulton Farm (18 Quarry Road, Meredith) is the anchor. Seven days a week, 8am to 5:30pm. Full farm market, bakery, and kitchen; seafood Thursdays through Saturdays. Moulton closes briefly in January and reopens in February, so by the time you’re reading this, they’ve been back for months. If you haven’t been yet this year, go.

Beans & Greens Farm (245 Intervale Road, Gilford) is year-round as well. Monday through Friday 9am to 6pm, Saturday and Sunday 8am to 5pm. A working farm with a genuine market attached to it, not a farm-themed retail experience.

Gilmanton’s Own Market (741 Province Hill Road, Gilmanton) operates Saturdays, 10am to 4pm, year-round. It’s a nonprofit community market, which means the structure is a little different — vendors are local, the selection rotates with the season, and online pre-ordering is available Sunday through Wednesday for Saturday pickup. Worth knowing if you’re in that part of the county.

Moose Mountain Farm (220 Stoneham Road, Brookfield) is a self-serve farm store — which means it operates on a different model than most. Walk in, take what you need, pay with cash, check, or Venmo. What's available shifts with the season and what the farm is producing, but the core lineup includes raw milk, yogurt, cheeses, eggs, meats, baked goods, honey, and maple syrup. It's a family operation that's been doing things the slow way for a long time, and the regulars tend to be loyal in the way that people get loyal to a place that just does things right. Check their Facebook page before you go for current availability and hours.

Just Opened: The Seasonal Stands Are Starting

Picnic Rock Farms (85 Daniel Webster Highway, Meredith) opened for the season on April 16th. Thursday through Sunday, 8am to 6pm. Picnic Rock has been operating as a farm stand since 1938, which makes it the oldest registered farm stand in New Hampshire. That’s just how long one family has been doing this.

The other seasonal farm stands across Gilmanton and Belmont — Sunny Daze Farm, Arándano Farm, Marden Family Farm, Timber Creek Farm, Mason Jar Mayhem, Bees and Trees Farm, Stony Creek Farm & Homestead, and Raising Roots Farmstand — open when their growing season allows, which typically means late June into July. The best way to track them is Facebook. Most of these operations announce their opening days and weekly availability there before anywhere else, and hours can shift week to week depending on what’s ready. A quick search for the farm name will usually turn up a page or a community group post.

The Weekly Markets: Put These on the Calendar

The weekly farmers markets are the social infrastructure of summer here. They’re not just where you buy tomatoes. They’re where you run into neighbors, find out what’s happening in town, and remember why you wanted to live near a place like this in the first place.

None of them open until late May at the earliest, so this is the planning section rather than the go-now section.

Market at the Weirs (Weirs Community Park, Laconia) runs Saturdays, 10am to 1pm, from May 23rd through early October. The Weirs market has a good mix of produce, prepared foods, and local makers. Parking is straightforward before the summer crowds arrive.

Meredith Community Market (1 Burton Drive, Meredith) runs Fridays, 3:30 to 6:30pm, from late May through October. The Friday afternoon timing makes it a natural stop on the way into a weekend — pull in before you go open the house, leave with something for dinner.

Wolfeboro Area Farmers Market (The Nick, 10 Trotting Track Road, Wolfeboro) runs Thursdays, noon to 3:30pm, May 14th through mid-October. If you’re on the east side of the lake, this is your market. Check wolfeborofarmersmarket.com for vendors, they grow and change every year, but are always worth a stop.

Gilmanton Community Farmers Market (1385 NH Route 140, Gilmanton Iron Works) runs Sundays, 11am to 2pm, from mid-June through October. Smaller, local, community-centered — the kind of market where you actually talk to the person who grew what you’re buying.

Wakefield Marketplace (Corner of Route 16 North and Wakefield Road, Sanbornville) has been running since 1995 and is a little different from the other markets on this list — it's as much an artisan market as a farmers market, with vendors selling handmade crafts, wood products, jewelry, and baked goods alongside fresh produce, eggs, meat, and honey. The rule is straightforward: everything is either homegrown or homemade. It runs Saturdays, 9am to 3pm, from Memorial Day through Columbus Day, with a demonstration or event most Saturdays at 10am.

A Note on Hours and Opening Dates

Farm stand hours change with the season, the weather, and what’s actually ready to sell. The dates and hours above are accurate as of publication, but we’d encourage you to check before you make a special trip — particularly for the seasonal stands and the weekly markets as they first get going. Facebook is genuinely the most reliable real-time source for most of these operations. A quick check before you head out will save you a wasted drive.

The season is starting. The signs are going up. There are worse ways to spend a May morning than figuring out which one to hit first.

Here’s to knowing where your food comes from.

🧭 Jenn & Andrea

Keys to the Lakes

P.S. If you’re in the market for eggs or broiler chickens, Jenn’s homestead is producing both this year. She may even deliver.