THREE RIVERS AREA — This might be the last week for the plums, said DeWayne Newman, 54, of the Sunnyland community. He has some mighty fine specimens on display at the Stone County Farmers Market this week; then other produce will have its time to shine.
The primary caretaker for C&N Orchards and Gardens on the outskirts of Prim, Newman puts in more than a full day going back and forth between his garden and his father-inlaw’s orchard three miles away, but the fruits of Newman’s labor have been well received by shoppers with a taste for the sweet things in life.
Although the supply of plums is exhausted for the season, there is no reason to fret. The time is ripe for other fruits and produce. Watermelons, cantaloupes, raspberries, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, squash, zucchini andpeppers are in their glory, and soon to come are peaches and corn. Still on the horizon are apples, two different types of cherries, apricots, crab apples, nectarines and figs.
“My father-in-law, Johnny Cummins, planted rows and rows of peaches within the past 15 years,” Newman said, “and we planted 40 more peach trees this year. We’ve done taken advantage of nearly every square foot of the 3 acres here. So, we’re really investing in peaches.”
Newman, who is in his third year of farming, came to the profession in a round-about way, even though he grew up on a farm and gardened all his life. Still, he didn’t make a career of farming until his masonry and construction businesses dwindled because of the economy.
By then, Cummins wasn’t able to keep up with the farm.
“He’s the master, and I’m just the grasshopper,” Newman said. “He knows everything about these plants, especially the fruit trees. I’m learning a lot from him because he’s talking me through this.”
When the Stone County Farmers Market started up two years ago, Newman looked over the situation and decided to join. Beverly Dunaway, executive director-marketing manager for the market, has been thoroughly impressed with his efforts.
“Wayne has really jumped in and participated in a very exciting way. It was exciting to see how he turned his huge cucumber crop into great breadand-butter and dill pickles, and he raised the most delicious plums and even made tame-plum jam and jellies. He’s really developed his products well and turned his original produce products into value-added products. And this is new to so many of the farmers here,” she said.
Many people don’t realize all the work behind the scenes, in addition to the farming, Dunaway said.
“As I met with other farmersmarket managers around the state, I learned from their experiences, and our vendors voted to comply with the state regulations and join the CAFM (Certified Arkansas Farmers Market),” she said. “It’s quite a challenge that requires tremendous effort because they have to leave their farms and take their cooking supplies to our certified kitchen to prepare their jams, jellies, preserves and what-not. Truly, DeWayne has been one of the vendors who has led the way in that.”
Newman’s interest in the farmers market was, undoubtedly, based on his earliest recollections of farmers offering their wares.
“When I was a kid, Mom would take all these cukes over there behind the Bank of Mountain View, and there’d be all kinds of farmers with all sorts of produce. I always liked it when the strawberries hit the market.”
Much of his success is a result of his practice of sowing the ground early.
“I had tomatoes under my growups in January,” he said, “and I started growing onions in February. You can even plant them in the snow if you want. I even start spraying in January. I like to plant early, and I chart on my calendar to keep up with what I plant at my father-inlaw’s and in my garden. If I plant potatoes at his place, then I wait a while to plant them at mine so I have a longer harvest.”
Being the sole early planter at the market has its advantages, Newman said.
“I’ve sold the daylights out of my turnip greens this year because I was the only one who planted early.”
His wife, Laurie, and daughter Kristen enjoy the windfall of fresh fruits and vegetables, but they are each employed in town and don’t have the time to help with the planting or harvest.
“They’ve already canned plums and pickles, though,” Newman said.
Still, the physical demands of farming are something for this old country boy to deal with.
“I have to pick cukes every couple of days or they’ll get away from me,” he said, “and they’re not easy pickins like sugar snaps or the fruit that grows on trees. There’s just no other way to harvest things that grow low to the ground like cucumbers except on all fours, and at my age, that can get pretty tiresome. This is a full-time job. I guarantee it.”
Content in his work, Newman doesn’t complain and resigns himself to bed by 7 most evenings. But all the back and forth does take a toll on the man.
“It’s just me, after all,” he said, “and sometimes, I’m plumb tuckered out.”
The Stone County Farmers Market meets 7-11 a.m. Wednesdays, and 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays, at Centennial Bank Park. For more information, callBeverly Dunaway at (870) 213-5785 or visit www.stonecountyfarmersmarket.com.
FRUIT COBBLER Ingredients: 2 cups favorite fruit - plums, strawberries, blackberries and peaches work well 4 ounces butter 2 cups sugar or artificial sweetener 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 1/2 cups milk 1 teaspoon vanilla Dash salt, optional Directions:
Cook down cleaned and trimmed fruit on stove until slightly thickened. Melt butter in 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Mix all other ingredients except fruit in a medium bowl. Pour this over the butter. Pour fruit over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
PLUM CARDAMOM JAM Cook time: 5 1/2 hours Makes 12 pints Ingredients: 5 pounds fresh plums 1 cup water 12 whole cardamom pods 4 cups white sugar 1/4 teaspoon butter Directions:
In a sink full of cool water, rinse and destem the plums. Place them in a thick-bottomed pan suitable for slow cooking and deep enough to allow frothing when the plums begin to boil.
Add the water and cardamom pods and bring the mixture to a low boil over medium heat.
Turn heat to low for a slow simmer and allow the fruit to cook down uncovered for 1 1/2 hours. Allow the plums to cool.
To pit the plums, strain the cooled plums with a colander, pressing the juice out with your hands and collecting it in a large bowl. Pick up the pit-and-fruit slurry in the colander by small handfuls and squeeze the plum pulp and skins gently into the bowl with the syrup, retaining the pits in the palm of your hand and then discarding them.
Put the plums back into the original pot with the sugar and butter. Cook at a very low simmer until the mixture begins to thicken,about four hours. To test for adequate development of pectin, drop a spoonful of the jam on a plate and put it in the refrigerator for a few minutes: The mixture should be soft-set and no longer syrupy.
Ladle the hot jam into hot, sterile jars, wipe the rims clean, place sterile lids on, and tighten the screw caps.
Allow the jars to cool to room temperature, and check to be sure that each jar has sealed.
Three Rivers, Pages 56 on 07/22/2010