Pembroke farmer shows his magic touch at Marshfield Fair

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You may see Farmers Pete and his beautiful crops at
The Courthouse Green Market each Saturday

Alice Elwell photo

After a sweep of 17 first prizes at the Marshfield Fair, a Pembroke farmer retains his titles as the sultan of squash, emperor of eggplant, tomato tycoon and pasha of peppers.

First and foremost, though, Peter Reading is the king of corn. His customers at the Billingsgate Farm Stand in Plympton line up for the sweet corn that grows in the 55 acres he leases.

Reading, 52, a fourth-generation farmer, followed in the footsteps of his father, Tommy Reading, even using the same entry number at the Marshfield Fair, 34704.

Reading’s customers lined up at the farm stand on Monday evening, most carrying their own cloth shopping bags.

Lynda Lambert Landreville, owner of Deja Brew in Abington, stopped by the stand for the first time.

“My customers told me to come for the corn; it’s the best,” she said.

Reading has been working the farm since he was a kid.

At first he had to, but over time he “grew into it,” he said.

Despite long, hard hours – on Saturday he was in the fields at 5:30 a.m. and didn’t get home until 1 a.m. – Reading is content.

“Eat, sleep and farm – it’s what it’s all about,” he said.

He battles moles and all sorts of other wild creatures. The ears of corn were so near the ground this year, the coyotes feasted, he said.

Last year, Reading fought drought conditions, a major hurdle with no running water on the farm. During the winter he bought a $25,000 irrigation system with 855 feet of hose to pump water from a reservoir. He hasn’t used it because there’s been so much rain this year. He measured 4.25 inches of rain in one night last week.

Reading said he could only plant half of his 10-acre pumpkin crop this year.

“The rain never stopped; it was too wet to plant,” he said.

He was ready for the blight that struck many gardens this year; he used fungicide to protect the plants. Standing in his field with tomatoes as far as the eye can see, there’s not a sign of blight.

When he jumps on his tractor and takes to the fields, he’s at peace.

“I found a home,” he said.