Tranquillity Farms opens new store

by Mandy Coriston
Green Township — Take a drive out County Route 517 towards Warren County, and you won’t be able to miss the new Tranquillity Farms Market and Garden Center. The rustic wooden building with the hunter green roof rose from their fields over the past several months, and on Saturday, June 30, a Grand Opening event was held to officially launch the market, and a throng of patrons came out to see what the farm’s new location has to offer.
Erin Freeborn Lytle, whose grandfather began renting Tranquillity Farms in 1950 before the family was able to purchase the land in 1999, said, “We’re excited to be expanding and offering new products, especially adding the ice cream window. It’s so great to be able to share our farm with the public.”
During the Grand Opening, customers were treated to free ice cream, hayrides, and cow train rides for the little ones, as well as live music and inquisitive goats to visit with while relaxing in the store’s playground and picnic area. The farm market boasts a wide variety of fresh produce, meats, jams and pickles, and local honey, as well as fresh baked goods and pints and quarts of the farm’s own ice cream packed to go. Two greenhouses and a covered pavilion, filled with colorful annuals and perennials, entice customers to stop and smell the flowers. In addition to a wide stock of live plants, the garden center carries fertilizers and other supplies.
Tranquillity Farms currently encompasses 850 acres, both owned and leased. They grow corn, pumpkins, green beans, tomatoes, peppers, soybeans, and hay. The Freeborns have also recently added strawberries and apples to their enterprises, and continue to maintain herds of both beef and dairy cattle. The motto of the farm is “Where Quality Comes From Tradition”, and it was clear from the crowds enjoying the Grand Opening that the family’s tradition is known and loved.
Erin’s father, Larry Freeborn, said, “I am fortunate to have my four children heavily involved in the business, which is a blessing to me and has allowed us to expand. But none of this would be possible without the support of our community, and we are deeply grateful for that.”
The new market is located on the Decker Pond Road stretch of Rt. 517 in Green Township. It opens every day at 8 a.m. and the ice cream window is open from noon to 9 p.m. You can find out more about Tranquillity Farms on their website at www.tranquillityfarmsnj.com.