Plumpton Farms

These customized wreaths are looking pine 😎 Iggy & Cindy Plumpton have been vending at the Market for 40+ years! Their booth is always bursting with color -- green in the Spring when their tables are full of house plants (some of which are potted in handpainted coffee mugs), all shades of the rainbow in the Summer when fresh cut flowers are blooming, and the green of holiday cheer when they wrap up the year with lush, handmade wreaths and holiday decor.

Curating such beauty is a team effort. Iggy cuts the greenery into the appropraite sized pieces for Cindy to then weave together and include specialty decor. Their friend Mel finishes closes the loop, literally, by adding accent pieces such as sparkling ribbon or glistening ornaments.

Cindy Plumpton shares with us the history of Plumpton Farms: “We started our business in 1980 after buying a farm that neighbored Ingie’s family home. With a one year old in tow, we planted our first vegetable crops, took care of a herd of cows, and started with one greenhouse. Since then, our family has extended and so has our farm. We transitioned out of the cattle business and began to focus on the greenhouse production. In the spring, we grow mostly annual flowers. In the summer, we use our greenhouses to produce speciality tomatoes. In the fall and winter, we use our greenhouses as the production center for our holiday wreaths and crafts. Throughout the past 40 years, our business expanded, but we still remain a family farm, where all of the work is done by us, our children, or help from our close family friends. 

In the spring, our focus is on our nursery. We primarily produce annuals that we start in February from seed or cuttings. Everyday you can find us spending it in our toasty greenhouse planting, watering, pruning, spacing, and taking care of the flowers that our customers bring home in May. In the late spring, we begin to plant our tomatoes for fruit production in our greenhouses. They require daily maintenance of pruning, staking and, eventually, harvesting come summer. In the fall, we go way back to our roots and our farm transforms into a pumpkin farm. We begin working on the fields in the late spring with our trusty 40 year old tractor, planting them full of pumpkins and gourds by the middle of May, and picking all of it by late September. As soon as November 1st comes our way, we begin to ready our wreath business. Harvesting greens from local Christmas tree farms and around our farm, we, then make each wreath by hand in our greenhouse. 

A typical day for us is being always on the farm. We literally wake up with the sunrise (if not before)! Everyday, except Saturday when you can find us at the market, we head outside before 8am and start the chores that need to be done and head in for dinner around 5pm. In the spring, we start by watering the greenhouses before it gets too hot for the day, spend the midday pruning or planting, and end the day by watering again. In the late fall, we spend our days in the greenhouse getting sticky with tree sap for our wreaths. Seasonally, our days change, but two things stay constant. We are working all day, sun up to sun down, and our family is by our side making memories.

We think our customers love to shop with us because we are still a family farm. We have been since we began. Our children grew up working on the farm and helping customers. Their children are now learning to help. In the past 40 years, we have expanded, but our mission and our quality that comes from the work of our family remains the same. 

We do a majority of our business at the farmers’ market. It is the platform where we make our livelihood. It is how our business gets through any storm. By supporting your local farmers’ market, you are supporting two very important things… your local community and your local farmers. (In addition, they are a really fun place to shop local with such a great variety of products!)

We started our business because it was what we love to do. Ingie comes from agricultural roots. It is part of his history. Growing up in a rural community, he was involved in a variety of agriculture businesses from doing hay, cleaning barns, and feeding cows as a teenager. He knew he found his calling, so while working as a fuel truck driver, he attended Cornell University obtaining a degree in vegetable crops. After graduating, he realized that, rather than working for industrial agricultural giants in the Midwest, he wanted to work for himself. In 1980, we took the leap with a one year old and spent every dime we had (except one) on the farm. Here we are, loving every second of it.

We absolutely love what we do and we love sharing our products at the market. We so appreciate our customers that come back to us every year, you do more for our family and business than you realize. We are so excited to meet new customers as generations grow!”

Find us on Facebook and Instagram @plumptonfarms and on our website www.plumptonfarms.com