Glens Falls Farmers Market Guide: What to Buy

The Glens Falls farmers market is a good place to taste what Warren County grows, with a morning market in the warm months and an indoor version in winter. Check the city and chamber pages for the current place and hours the week you go.

Walk it once around, shop with the season in mind and keep notes that outlast the tote bag.

When is the Glens Falls farmers market open?

The market runs in the morning, with a summer home and a winter home, so check the city and chamber pages for the current place and day. The summer season generally follows the growing season, from late spring to late fall, and a winter market may keep a smaller group of vendors going through the cold months. Weather can change plans, so check the day before.

Markets sometimes change their spot, so use this year's directions.

What does the Glens Falls market season bring?

Spring begins with plants, greens, eggs and syrup. Early summer brings strawberries, peas and lettuce. High summer brings tomatoes, corn, beans, peppers and peaches from farther afield. Fall brings apples, squash, pumpkins, potatoes and cider. By winter the stalls shrink to storage vegetables, baked goods, cheese, meat and preserves.

A cold spring or an early frost pushes the calendar, so expect the calendar to shift by a week or two. Growers in this part of the state also stretch the year with greenhouses and storage crops, so a February market can still surprise you with spinach and carrots that taste sweeter for the cold.

Which Warren County farm stands are worth a detour?

The ones that look well kept and busy. Roadside stands dot the county, and many sell eggs, vegetables and honey. Maple producers in the nearby mountains sell syrup year-round. Orchards open in late summer and fall. Because stands come and go, the best list is the one you build yourself as you drive. The New York fall food guide has apple-season ideas.

Is there a Glens Falls winter market?

A winter version keeps going indoors. Winter markets are smaller and friendly, with bread, cheese, meat, preserves and a few hardy vegetables. They are a way to keep buying from the people you met in July. Confirm the place and the days before you go, because indoor spaces change more often than outdoor ones.

How do you shop a market well?

Walk it once, then buy. Ask what is best this week and how to cook it. Bring bags and small bills. Taste where you are offered. Buy bread and cheese first if you want them to survive, and buy tomatoes last. If you plan a picnic, ask the vendors to suggest a combination, because they know what goes together.

For a sit-down meal afterward, the downtown restaurants guide is the next stop.

How do you rate a market stall?

Stalls and farm stands are places you can search for, and tags such as Market Stall and Farm Producer exist for them. Rate the stall, then name the item as a dish and give stars: "heirloom tomatoes, ripe, gone by ten". Add the week, since produce changes. A photo helps. Over a season, ratings make a calendar.

If you rate three of a kind, the app offers to turn them into a list. Untick any you do not want.

What are market-day reminders?

Where a market has a page in the app, you can ask for a reminder on the morning of each market day, which saves you from memorizing a day that may move.

How do you plan a weekend around the market?

Start with the market, then eat, then drive. A Saturday morning at the stalls gives you bread, cheese and fruit, and a stop at a cafe gives you coffee. Take your haul to a bench or the car and have a picnic, or drive to a lake or a river and eat there. If the weather is bad, head to a bakery or a diner and make a day of it.

If you are staying at a rental, a morning market is the cheapest way to stock the kitchen with things that taste of the place. If you are a local, going every week is the best way to learn the seasons. Either way, bring the same bag each time and a list of what you need, then buy one thing you did not plan on.

Rate the stall by the item, then save the best stands to a list called Warren County season. When you come back in September, the notes remind you which grower had the peaches and who baked the bread worth the early start. A friend who follows you sees what you rated and saved that week, so a good stall travels by word of mouth.

What goes with the haul?

A good lunch. Take your bread and cheese to a bench, or head to the Lake George guide for a lakeside meal. The US food guides hold other markets worth planning around.

Eating your way across New York? The Food in New York State page links every town we cover.

When your bags are on the counter at home, open the Mosey app, rate the best thing you bought, add Market Stall or Farm Producer and save it to a list of Warren County food.