About this special series: While we ask our readers to pick the best of the best each year in more than 100 Best of New Hampshire categories, there are many other worthy and outstanding favorites for each category, ranging from pizza and cupcakes to garden centers and home décor shops. New Hampshire Magazine wants to make sure these reader favorites get their own moment in the spotlight and we encourage you to check them out.
Looking for a formidable smorgasbord of locally-grown goods? Here’s where our readers recommend as the Granite State’s best farmstands.
This year’s Best of NH winner for best farmstand:
Lull Farm
Locations in Hollis and Milford, with an outpost in Nashua
(603) 673-3119
From our 2020 profile on Lull Farm: “Fresh, local, lovingly produced: These terms associated with healthy food also characterize the bounty of the local farmstand. Along with a variety of apples for your one-a-day-keeps-the-doctor-away regimen, Lull Farm in Hollis has it all at harvest time — fields of ripening pumpkins and a farm store that is more like an artisan food market than a farmstand.
Stock up on made-in-the-kitchen specialties like homemade soups and meals, and bakery favorites that include French baguettes, breakfast pastries and pies. You can also purchase cheese from the impressive artisanal cheese case, shop for specialty foods including artisan salts, local ice cream and bulk olive oil or grab your own Lull’s own chicken and beef. Fresh fruits and vegetables that are not grown on the farm are supplied by trusted producers. The greens mix with edible flowers is a must. If you just can’t get enough apple in your life, you can also purchase Lull’s applesauce, apple strudel and apple butter. The farm keeps an updated list of what is available in-store, so make sure to check it out before making the trek.”
Lull Farm has a second location in Milford, and an outpost at Sullivan Farm in Nashua.
Lull Farm
More great farmstands to find local produce:
LaValley Farms
1801 Hooksett Rd., Hooksett
(603) 485-3541
LaValley Farms offers a variety of produce grown across 60 acres in Epsom, Pembroke, Allenstown and Hooksett. Open May through November, they feature a full greenhouse operation with garden essentials in the spring, loads of fresh produce in the summer and a beloved pumpkin patch in the fall, finishing off with free-range turkeys in November. All LaValley Farm’s produce is picked daily, before being graded, washed and brought to the farmstand in Hooksett. They also wheel out a cart in Manchester (at 2264 Candia Rd.,, inside Bonsai’s Restaurant in the Massabesic traffic circle) from late June through Labor Day, spreading that homegrown love to the Queen City.
Vernon Family Farm. Photo by Jenny McNulty of Wylde Photography
Vernon Family Farm
301 Piscassic Rd., Newfields
(603) 340-4321
The farm at Vernon Family Farm is just the beginning of their ambitious enterprise. With plenty of produce from over 30 local farmers and artisans, not to mention their own organically grained and pastured beef, lamb and chicken, their store displays a smorgasbord of local goods. And then there’s their rotisserie, fresh every Friday, and their Vernon Kitchen, a restaurant offering a full menu for all outdoor happenings at the farm, and their many community events, including live music every Friday and second Saturday of the month, brunch on the fourth Sunday of every month, yoga sessions, drum circles, fireside chats and more. Vernon Family Farm is a happening place to be in the warm Granite State months. Don’t miss out.
Barker’s Farm
216 Portsmouth Ave., Stratham
(603) 778-1039
Barker’s Farm is truly a Granite State family farm. Started in 1917 by Willard Barker, the farm was passed down generation to generation until Gordon and Edie Barker took over, building a new farmstand in 1985 as fourth-generation owners. Today, Edie oversees the farm with help from her daughter, Forrest, and a tight-knit crew of workers. Barker’s features a plentiful spread of fresh produce — from veggies like cauliflower, lettuce and leeks to fruits like blueberries, melons and tomatoes to corn and much more — and a vibrant selection of cut flowers. Drop by their Stratham farmstand to check out their produce and see the land they grow it on.
Beans & Greens Farm
245 Intervale Rd., Gilford
(603) 293-2853
Founded by Andy and Martina Howe in the ’80s, and taken over by Chris Collias in 2021, Beans & Greens offers fresh produce and meats, a deli, a bakery, a food truck, a kids adventure park and plenty of family favorites like corn mazes, harvest festivals and more. Their adventure park really has it all — with mini ziplines and hayrides, a barnyard and concerts at their pavilion, and plenty of seasonal events. As their website states, they’re dedicated to “family, farm, food and fun.”
Longview Farm
175 Quincy Rd., Plymouth
(603) 726-1057
Longview Farm grows 50 acres of mixed vegetables, sweet corn and strawberries in the Baker River Valley. Farmers Nate Everts and Regina Rinald bought the farm from John and Carol Perkins in 2020, who had been running the farm for over 40 years. The Plymouth farm offers a rich spread of veggies, and features their growing calendar here.
Moulton Farm
18 Quarry Rd., Meredith
(603) 279-3915
Moulton Farm, located at the north end of Lake Winnipesaukee, has been going at it since the 1890s (!). They cover all the bases — a bakery, a farm kitchen, catering, seafood from Sal’s Fresh Seafood, apple cider donuts from Cider Bellies and, of course, plenty of veggies. Their garden center features veggies, plants and flowers, ready to be taken home. And they know how to provide good ol’ family time, too, with a corn maze and pumpkin patch when the season’s right.