New farmers market to begin in May

The entrance to Bear Creek Farm, where the new farmers market will begin in May.
Courtesy Bear Creek Farm
The entrance to Bear Creek Farm, where the new farmers market will begin in May.
STANFORD — A new farmers market will launch Saturday, May 4, at Bear Creek Farm in Bangall, a hamlet of Stanford.
“We feel that we need more of a sense of community in our town and that a farmers market is the way to do it,” said Bear Creek farmer Debra Kaye. “We have a perfect piece of land here with lots of parking.”
The market will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays through October. The vendor mix will likely include vegetables, fruits, dairy, meat, fish, bread, baked goods, tea and, of course, flowers, since the market’s host, Bear Creek, is a flower farm.
“Our goal is for the market to offer everything you would need for a week’s worth of dinners,” said Kaye.
According to Bear Creek employee and market coordinator Nora Leibold, there are over 11,000 residents living in the towns of Stanford, Milan and Pine Plains, but no farmers market.
When the idea was in its beginning stages, Bear Creek surveyed residents of Stanford, asking whether or not they wanted a farmers market in town and, if so, what they would want to get out of it.
Overwhelmingly, people responded that they want community engagement. One respondent called for “A place to convene and meet each other.” Another suggested, “A place to bump into neighbors and have spontaneous interactions.”
Kaye is so invested in the idea of creating a community hub centered around fresh local farm offerings that she is willing to subsidize aspects of it as needed. Vendor fees will be low, and she hopes that food trucks will be part of the experience.
“There is a beautiful space in front of the building here that used to be the Red Devon restaurant with plenty of seating for people to spend time and enjoy the 4 acres of surrounding grassland,” said Kaye.
Bear Creek grows 12 acres of flowers, selling most of them into the city to florists and through CSAs, with a couple of more local sites as well, soon to include the new farmers market. The farm is known for its extensive selection of high-quality dahlias, but it also grows peonies, Icelandic poppies, summer annuals and, increasingly, heirloom chrysanthemums, which Kaye thinks will be the next big thing. The farm offers workshops, blog posts and newsletters to share its production practices and guiding principles for growing flowers.
“We aren’t certified organic, but we use organic practices. Each year we’re getting better and better in that regard.” Bear Creek has decreased soil disturbance that negatively affects microbial populations and carbon sequestration by using no-till practices, and it does not spray any synthetic chemicals.
“Our philosophy is all about reading the signs of nature and working with it. There is no one right prescription for how flowers should be grown. We are big believers in trial and error, and listening to what the flowers tell you,” said Kaye.
Bear Creek is still accepting vendor applications and encourages all potentially interested local farmers to be in touch with them. Survey respondents were overwhelmingly excited about the idea, so we expect it to be a bustling farmers market and community hub,” said Leibold.
Built in 1820, 1168 Bangall Amenia Road sold for $875,000 on July 31 with the transfer recorded in August. It has a Millbrook post office and is located in the Webutuck school district.
STANFORD — The Town of Stanford with nine transfers in two months reached a median price in August of $573,000 for single family homes, still below Stanford’s all-time median high in August 2024 of $640,000.
At the beginning of October there is a large inventory of single-family homes listed for sale with only six of the 18 homes listed for below the median price of $573,000 and seven above $1 million.
July transfers
79 Ernest Road — 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home on 6.87 acres in 2 parcels sold to Matthew C. Marinetti for $1,225,000.
29 Drake Road — 3 bedroom/3.5 bath home on 2 acres sold to Harper Montgomery for $850,000.
6042 Route 82 — 4 bedroom/2 bath home on 1.09 acres sold to Spencer Thompson for $795,000.
125 Tick Tock Way — 3 bedroom/2.5 bath ranch on 1.9 acres sold to Fleur Touchard for $475,000.
August transfers
102 Prospect Hill Road — 3 bedroom/2 bath home on 6.35 acres sold to Karl Creighton Pfister for $565,000.
252 Ernest Road — 2 bedroom/1 bath cottage on .85 acres sold to Meg Bumie for $465,000.
1196 Bangall Amenia Road — 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home on 2.16 acres sold to Roderick Alleyne for $875,000.
Hunns Lake Road (#759929) — 59.1 acres of residential land sold to Argos Farm LLC for $3,325,000.
* Town of Stanford recorded real estate transfers from July 1 to August 31 provided by Dutchess County Real Property Office monthly transfer reports. Details on each property from Dutchess Parcel Access - properties with an # indicate location on Dutchess Parcel Access. Market data from One Key MLS and Infosparks .Compiled by Christine Bates, Real Estate Advisor with William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty, Licensed in Connecticut and New York.
Hunt club members and friends gathered near Pugsley Hill at the historic Wethersfield Estate and Gardens in Amenia for the opening meet of the 2025-2026 Millbrook Hunt Club season on Saturday, Oct. 4. Foxhunters took off from Wethersfield’s hilltop gardens just after 8 a.m. for a hunting jaunt around Amenia’s countryside.
Joining in the fun at the dedication of the new pollinator pathway garden at The Millbrook Library on Saturday, Oct. 4, local expert gardener Maryanne Snow Pitts provides information about a planting to Lorraine Mirabella of Poughkeepsie.
MILLBROOK — Participating in a patchwork of libraries that have planted pollinator pathway gardens to attract insects and birds to their native plantings was one of the accomplishments being celebrated at the dedication of a new pollinator garden at the Millbrook Library on Saturday, Oct. 4.
“A lot of work went into it,” said Emma Sweeney, past President of the Millbrook Garden Club, who started the local library’s initiative two years ago.
The Pollinator Pathway program is a national effort to plant native plants that native insects depend upon for sustenance and preferred plants for their own seasonal reproduction.
Jana Hogan of Ridgefield, Connecticut, Executive Director of the Pollinator Pathway program, was on hand to present a plaque to the library for its successful participation.
“A garden is not just a garden,” said garden designer Andy Durbridge of Wassaic, designer of the library’s garden. “It may serve as a model for other gardens along the line.”
Speaking to the 50 visitors at the dedication, Durbridge said that the library’s garden has a mission, that it is a working garden, planned to serve insects and birds over their seasons. The earliest plants support pollinators, while the full range of plants continues to serve the needs of those they attract, offering habitat, shelter and food.
A pollinator garden is akin to a prairie, rather than a formalized European garden, Durbridge noted.
The garden project was supported by the library’s Friends group using funds raised during the Holiday Silent Auction and ongoing book sale. A grant from the Millbrook Garden Club also provided support.
Amenia Town Hall on Route 22.
AMENIA — After gathering comments from the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals, as it considers adding alternate members to those boards, the Town Board discussed possible changes to local laws governing those boards at its meeting on Friday, Oct. 3. The meeting date, usually on a Thursday, had been changed to accommodate a holiday.
In recent weeks Town Board attorney Ian Lindars has been compiling comments from the affected boards along with comments from the Town Board. The new laws may bring the appointment of two alternate members to each board. Alternate members are likely to be required to attend all meetings and be prepared to be seated if needed and be familiar with the applications being discussed. They would also need to take training required of all board members.
Lindars will prepare a draft of the new local laws to be reviewed by the Town Board and the affected boards.
As the Town Board begins work on the town’s annual budget negotiation process and anticipating an increase in some budget lines to accommodate major projects, the board unanimously approved three resolutions. The first will override the tax levy limit imposed on municipalities by the state of New York, a limit generally tied to the rate of inflation.
A public hearing on the proposal to override the levy limit was set for Thursday, November 6, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall.