Holmdel's Peck Farms Roadside Stand in Full Bloom

Farmers Laura and Randy Peck sell what they grow directly to customers at their roadside vegetable and flower stand in Holmdel. 

The Peck Farms store is located on an undeveloped section of Route 35 North in Holmdel, directly across from the Village Grande senior development and Dearborn Market. The small old fashioned white-painted store is reminiscent of a time when farms dotted the roadway in this part of town. The Pecks rent it from the landowners, the Granato family. 

"I love this place," said Laura Peck on Monday, as cars whizzed by at highway speed. Inside the cool, breezy shelter, shoppers browsed the plants in no particular rush. "I've become so very attached to it for the past ten years. We're a family organization, we're very friendly here and we've got a lot of regular customers," she said.  

On Monday, the stand was colorful with gardenias, marigolds, daisies and plenty of other gorgeous flowers competing for attention. Employee Laura Pinhas was in the rear, inspecting every ear of yellow-and-white corn, and trays of glossy red, fat tomatoes. "Our tomatoes are the best you can buy," she said, matter of factly. Come the end of July, the farm stand will be full of produce grown directly from New Jersey soil. The Peck's have two farming locations in Millstone, and one in East Windsor. 

Around 11 am Lois Wilkes of Middletown popped in to take photos of the living things. She and her camera are regulars at Peck Farms, and over time Wilkes has photographed the flowers and produce for sale from April to October. Patch persuaded her to share her visual narrative for this story. Flip through the photos to see how Peck Farms changes with the seasons.