Dyer’s Farm & Greenhouse: An Original Market Vendor
Written by Abby Zlotnick, a summer intern for Saratoga Farmers’ Market and Saratoga Springs native.
It seems that as each year goes by, Saratoga Springs gets larger and busier, downtown is booming, and national retail chains flood the nearby areas. There are several hardware stores now and each sells blooming flowers. However, the loyalty of local consumers to “Mom and Pop” operations have kept places like Dyer’s Farm & Greenhouse in business for 40 years.
Owner Sherri Dyer says that her favorite part about her job is that she truly gets to meet the nicest people and that her customers have turned into friends.
Sherri and Jack Dyer started their operation in Mechanicville (Saratoga County) in 1969 in a small 10 x 12 foot greenhouse that Jack built himself. Now the farm is booming on 15,000 square feet and contains six greenhouses. Five children and nine grandchildren have been raised on this land. Sherri Dyer is very thankful for her five children—Mary Anne, Zach, Tim, Lisa, and John—who have all helped develop the farm and without whom, she says, “The farm surely would not be as great of a success.”
One look at Dyer’s hanging baskets verifies why the farm has been successful for so long: thriving plants, beautiful colors, in stunning combinations. Dyer’s Farm & Greenhouse sells hanging baskets, annuals, perennials, shrubs, vegetable plants, and also does landscaping work. The farm’s products are available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market on Saturdays 9 am to 1 pm on High Rock Avenue along the sidewalk at the corner of the south pavilion.
Dyer’s Farm & Greenhouse is one of the original vendors of the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. As Sherri Dyer recollects, the market used to be held in the Spring Street Parking lot where about twenty vendors sold their goods. Since then the market has moved to its current location on High Rock Avenue, tripled in size, and contains a wider variety of vendors. Some have changed throughout the years, with a few of the original sellers still present.
Dyer notes, “The Farmers’ Market has remained constant in the sense that it has always been a social event. From 1978 to 2014 the market has been a place where you can support local businesses, talk to friends and vendors, and take a nice stroll outside.”
Below is one of Sherri Dyer’s own recipes for Zucchini Bread.
Zucchini Bread
*Items available at the market
Ingredients
1 1/3 cup sugar
3 eggs*
1 cup oil
1 Tbsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2 cups grated zucchini*
1 cup chopped nuts
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat sugar, eggs, and oil. Add vanilla.
Sift together dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder.
Combine all above ingredients. Add zucchini and nuts. Pour batter into two greased loaf pans. Bake in oven for 1 hour.
Makes 2 loaves.
