So! Vicki Emlaw (of Vicki’s Veggies) was one of the first characters that I did back in 2016. When I learned a couple of years ago that she was shutting down her stand (it was such sad news!), I removed the illustration from my site. Thankfully her leave was temporary! It just hit me that I didn’t have her added back to my character page, a huge oversight on my part.

We learned SO much about heirloom vegetables through one of her earlier “Heirloom Hurrah” events - an unbelievable event where you can sample what seems like hundreds of fantastic heirloom tomatoes each Labour Day Weekend. Until that time, I had no idea that tomatoes could taste this good, and since that day - we have planted her seedlings every year.

Vicki is an 8th-generation family farmer from here in PEC, and her roadside veggie stand (that was actually the old Black River post office from the 1860s to the early 1900s!) is kind of a magical place to me – it is soooo beautiful and is usually stocked full of culinary wonders. I was floored the other day when I learned that she STILL had some fresh tomatoes available, so I flew over to the stand to grab some. That’s when it hit me that I needed to update this and get it back on the site.

Thank you Vicki for all of your fantastic heirloom veggies, for educating us about them, and for this magical roadside stand. You are 100% a County treasure and we are so grateful for all that you do.

The Vicki’s Veggies Roadside Stand is located at 81 Morrison Point Road in Black River. It’s seasonal - so opens in May and I think it’s open until it snows!