Happy Gardens Nursery’s Todd Symes kicked off his 15th season at Bull Mountain Farmer’s Market with a variety of plant starts raised in his Oregon City nursery and a wide selection of produce procured from other farms..
Symes, who’s been a mainstay since the market’s 2012 inception, says it’s the community camaraderie that draws him back to this locale year after year.
“We’re really a family here,” Symes said “It’s a market where you get to know everybody and (regular customers) are like friends coming by every weekend. People start to feel like family. We are really more of a family here than a lot of your markets.”
As the summer progresses and his vegetables come into season, Symes replaces the plant starts at his stand with a selection of his own organic produce supplemented with a variety of fruits and veggies from others.
“I mainly grow zucchinis, cucumbers, squash, strawberries, tomatoes and peppers, and some various other stuff that comes in a little bit later,” he said.
As a kid growing up in Montana, Symes watched his parents struggle with a short growing season that foiled their attempts at raising tomatoes.
“They wouldn’t ripen because we didn’t have enough season,” he said. “My parents eventually gave up. When we moved (to Oregon) from Montana, everything was so lush.”
Symes decided to give it another go.
“I wanted to grow some tomato plants, and I had all these seeds leftover from seed packets,” he said.
He took that success and gradually expanded to a full nursery, where the bountiful veggie harvests fill his produce stand every week. However, tomatoes still hold a special place in his heart.
Asked what tomatoes do best in the Willamette Valley, Symes had this to say:
“(Most) varieties will grow fine here because we have a long enough growing season, so they will ripen up fine, but there are certain varieties like Pineapple and Cherokee Purple and other heirlooms that are flavorful. Your standard Sungold, in my opinion, is the best cherry tomato. They produce well, and they’re super sweet. They’re kind of the candy of the tomato world. Early girls aren’t an heirloom, but they produce a lot, and they produce early. I get them early and (they keep going) all summer.”
The Bull Mountain Farmers Market is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 am to 2 pm through October and is located at 14389 SW Pacific Hwy, in the Canterbury Square Shopping Center.
