Morning glory vines wind up the side of the the Potomac Farm tent. These flowers bloom in the morning and close around noon. In two to three weeks, the entire tent will be canopied by the flower. Photo by Samantha Tkac
At the base of the wide, sloping lawn of the Magassy family estate, sits the Potomac Farm market — a petite, colorful locale, with a single tent housing baskets of plump tomatoes, sweet potatoes, thick skinned cucumbers, water melons and more, all which are plucked from farms within 12 miles of the market. Homegrown zinnias are gathered in blue-tinted mason jars and lined up for sale. Beyond the tent, the flowers are grown in a dense garden, complete with peaking sunflowers and tomatoes. Sparrows and fat bumblebees weave in and out between the stems, undisturbed. Not only does the Potomac Farm Market grow some of their own produce, but the 12 staff members are homegrown Montgomery county residents as well.
“We’re on our own, we’re not a co-op of different vendors,” said Steve Magassy. “You go down to the county farmer’s market … 95 percent of them [the participating farmers] aren’t even local people.”
The Potomac Farm Market has been family owned and operated since 1987, and was reincorporated in 2007 by Magassy. The market, at 9035 Congressional Parkway, is open from 10 a.m. -7 p.m., seven days a week from mid-June through December. In the fall they sell pumpkins. In the winter, they sell firewood and Christmas trees. Magassy added, “We are small town oriented … we cater to the community.”