Karen Bischoping

Williamson, NY

A variety of vegetables and fruits, including heirloom apple varieties, berries, currants, quince, peaches, plums, and apricots

The farm is a conventional fruit and vegetable farm that utilizes Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Integrated Fruit Production (IFP) methods to minimize pesticide and fungicide use.  Mulching, drip irrigation, use of cover crops, and crop rotation are used.  Disease resistant varieties are grown when possible.

Our intern Anne reports on her interview with Karen Bischoping:

No matter the season, K & S Bischoping is always in fashion with its seasonal color combinations. In the summer, K & S Bischoping brought us raspberries, peaches, currants, and blackberries in rich saturated hues. And now in these final weeks of the market, I walk up to the red tent in the South corner of the market and not only see Karen in her red hat and apron with a big smile on her face, but also see the beautiful fashionable yellows and greens and reds of about a dozen different kinds of apple.

What’s your apple of choice? Are you sweet or tart? A Crispin maybe? Or how about a Red Delicious? Are you a Cortland? A Fuji? An Empire? I am a Honey Crisp and proud of it. But if you don’t know what you are or are willing to change, Karen or somebody else at the tent will gladly tell you about the different apples. I did hear Karen warn one customer, however, that sometimes apples can taste differently to different people. What you might think is tart, I may perceive as sweet. Those apples are tricky. I’d suggest seeing if you can get a mixed basket, which are not on display, but are sometimes available if you ask.

When I asked Karen how she got started with K & S Bischoping, she admitted that she grew up in the city and that the idea of having a farm was her husband’s idea. They started with potatoes and cabbage and then branched out to fruit orchards (no pun intended?). They brought what they grew to farmers’ markets, and we are lucky that they have found their way to our market.

Karen told me that she loves our market because it has such a great environment. She enjoys meeting all of you and interacting with you every Sunday. She is happy to bring products that she enjoys and hopes you will too.

As with so many of the other vendors I’ve spoken to, the conversation with Karen led to her children’s participation on the farm. She said that by helping to plant and harvest, her children saw things from start to finish, were never bored, and gained a strong work ethic. And although they may not have appreciated some of the tasks at the time, she believes they appreciate the things the farm taught them now that they’re adults. By working at farmers’ markets, the children learned how to communicate with people and think on their feet. In fact, K & S Bischoping was such a strong influence on Karen’s oldest son, that he and his wife have started their own farm, R & S Bischoping Farms, which currently focuses on flowers and tomatoes.

K & S Bischoping follows Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Integrated Fruit Production (IFP) methods in an effort to be environmentally friendly. They restrict the use of spray materials on their crops. When you bite into one of their apples, you can truly feel like you’re making a healthy choice.