Although Quinton Jones grew up in Pelican and now calls the Dallas area home, he still stops by the legendary Lester Farms whenever he and his wife, Octavia, are in the area.
“My family shopped here for many years when I was growing up,” said Jones.
We caught up with the Joneses one spring Saturday morning as they were checking out.
Ed Lester Farms is an outdoor farm market near Coushatta.
Under the sheltering 150-year-old oak tree that shades and cools the Ed Lester Farms Market, customers shop for produce. No matter your favorite vegetables, you likely will not be disappointed.
“We grow 50 varieties and pick them at 5:30 a.m., and they are ready to sell at 8 a.m.,” explained Ed Lester.
The fourth-generation business has been family-owned since 1803, said Lester, who operates it with his wife, Lisa.
“He was 8 when his daddy put him under the oak tree with a card table and purple hull peas to sell,” Lisa Lester said.
Planted with caladiums, blue-and-white hydrangeas and a three-tiered bubbling fountain topped by a welcoming pineapple sculpture, the market resembles a well-manicured garden in an upscale residential landscape.
As for the produce, you’ll find it stacked neatly in bushel baskets, one vegetable after another, throughout the covered market area. Plastic and brown paper bags are available.
Among the heirloom tomato varieties are grape, cherry and large red tomatoes.
Additional selections listed on the farm’s Season 58 menu include:
- New potatoes
- Lady Cream peas
- Blue Lake snap beans
- Green and purple bell peppers
- Broccoli
- Turnip greens with turnips
- Brussels sprouts
- Mustard greens
- Zucchini
- Cabbage
- Chinese cabbage
- Acorn squash
- Snap peas
- Leeks
- Carrots
Coming soon are watermelon, okra and a variety of peas, including zipper peas.
Although many of the vegetables are familiar favorites, others, such as leeks, bok choy and curly mustard greens, are not commonly found at traditional farm stands.
We always pick up two or three jars of Cane River Mayhaw Jelly, touted as the “Official Jelly of Louisiana” and produced in Cloutierville. We usually bypass the honey.
Sometimes there is a surprise. On one trip, we bought basil plants for our garden.
For the first time this year, there will be a small patch of pick-your-own zinnias, Lester told us.
“We grow 50 crops here, and this is our 58th year,” said Lester as we settled in for an interview while Paul shot photos.
Although a couple of crops are purchased from other farms, everything else is grown on-site, Lester emphasized.
“If it doesn’t grow here, we tell people,” he said.
Lester Farms customers travel from all over North Louisiana and East Texas to buy leeks, Chinese cabbage, turnip greens with white turnips, tomatoes and watermelon.
Need a recipe for Lisa’s famous squash casserole? She’ll send one.
Farm Notes
Can’t lug sacks of vegetables to your car? One of the young summer employees will help you out. (I always provide a good tip.)
Need to rest a bit from the hot summer sun? A patio-inspired space surrounded by caladiums and other flowers provides a comfortable nook.
Shelled pintos and purple hull peas are in the freezer now.
If You Go
Where: 1165 US-84, Coushatta, LA
When: Monday through Saturday, late May through late July
Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Special Note: Credit cards accepted.
Info: (318) 932-4298
