Fairwinds Farm - Bowdoinham ME

I love the folks from Fairwinds Farm at the Portland Farmer's market. Good people. I'll highlight one purchase I made this summer – their cornmeal. I had four varieties to choose from Nothstine Dent Corn, Kennebec Dent Corn, Calais Flint Corn, and Floriani Red Corn. Each one, I am told, has a distinct flavor/cooking profile. I chose the Kennebec Dent Corn. I've had fun experimenting with it. The thing I love making the best is cornbread. I "grind" the cornmeal a little bit finer (in a regular electric coffee grinder) and use the recipe from Indian Head cornmeal 1 cup Corn Meal 1 teaspoon salt ¼ cup oil 1 cup flour ¼ cup sugar 1 cup milk.(or ¼ cream+¾ water or probably just water) 3 teaspoons baking powder 1 egg, beaten Corn Bread: Preheat oven to 425°. Combine com meal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Mix oil, egg, and milk together and add to dry ingredients Mix oil, egg, and milk together and add to dry ingredients mixing just until batter is uniform. Bake in a greased round 9" cake pan (or 9x9x2 pan) for 20 to 25 minutes. It's not sweet but it's absolutely delicious and has a nice slightly coarse texture. Friends I've served it to love it, especially my 9 year old grandson! In the unlikely event there is any leftover, I make croutons out of it by cubing it, drying it and then a very quick bake in the oven (or toast over a wood stove when I have access to one).

I took advantage of the you pick your own strawberries! They have 2 large fields, plenty for everyone. They have a few port a potties. A food truck was on site. You can bring your own containers, buy quart basket(s) or a box that can fit up to around 10 pounds of delicious strawberries! Perfect for a family outing. Check out their website for their farm stand areas when strawberry picking is not in season.

June 16 & 17, 2021 - Looking for fresh fruits & veggies . . . Pile into the car, and head to Bowdoinham, Maine off Rt. 24 ! Bring containers and load up your fresh treasures (eg. strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries)! Fair winds will sell you the containers for a nominal price, I loaded up 2 shopping bags with 70 pounds of strawberries one day, then went back and picked another 20 pounds ! Jam preserves make authentic Maine gifts to family & friends around the holidays! Some of these farms set up tables each week in local towns ( like Brunswick, Yarmouth, Portland, Bath, etc) to sell their produce at Farmers Markets! It’s a great way for folks to meet the local farmers, like Fairwinds Cathy & Pete Karonis and their son Charlie Rackley at these farmers markets in town. Learn more about their farm products, and growing seasons. Their home is in Topsham, with a farm stand on Augusta Road. Fairwinds Farm has over 85 acres in Bowdoinham, with 8 greenhouses. They visit 5 weekly Farmers Markets in the summer, and 2 weekly Farmers Markets in the winter. This summer ritual started with my parents years ago, with a drive out to Fairwinds Farms to pick strawberries! Although my parents have passed, my wife and I enjoy this tradition with our children, and now hope to introduce our new Grandson this summer to strawberry picking ! Can’t beat Fresh Strawberry Shortcake in Maine! ** Raspberries ripen about Mid July , added a couple of photos & video clip ! ( $3.75 a pint in 2021) Fun Farm Facts Maine most maple syrup $15.5 mill. yr. Maine most wild blueberries $47.2 mill. yr. 1743-Riverside Farm oldest farm in Maine 1799-Weston Farm, 2nd oldest farm in Maine Alaska highest # new farms in U. S. Maine 2nd highest # new farms in U.S. Takes 3 to 5 years new farm to see profits Maine Farmland Trust helps protect farms $129 million in Maine potatoes yr. $68.5 million in Maine chicken eggs yr. Maine farmers average age is 57 29% of Maine farms headed by a woman Note: Maine needs farms & new farmers! If interested seek out more information via the Maine Farmland Trust ( MFT). You can join and make donations that offer help in many ways to protect farmland, and assist new farmers.

We love this farm!! It is a pretty drive getting there, right on Merrymeeting Bay. There are signs to direct you where to go and plenty of parking for the strawberry fields. Best part is they are kid friendly! We went picking early June 2022 and there were PLENTY of berries. Their pricing is great too. Looking forward to going back for raspberries soon!

Fairwinds Farm… 6 Stars! is such a wonderful place! I’ve really enjoyed visiting their U-pick fields this summer—got to pick blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. It was so much fun, and I loved seeing kids and families enjoying the experience together. The fresh fruits were absolutely delicious! We also went back for the Blueberry Festival and, of course, picked more blueberries. I picked up some cantaloupe, corn, and cornmeal too. The cantaloupe was so sweet and delicious, and I can’t wait to try the cornmeal (I’ll keep you posted!). Overall, it was such a great experience—I highly recommend visiting Fairwinds Farm. So much fun, so fresh, and a perfect outing. Thank you!