Cover - Rainbow Chard, Sang Lee Farms, Peconic.  By Randee Daddona

Edible East End - The Eat, Drink Local Issue  
Roadside Diaries, East of Riverhead
by Gwendolen Groocock
Excerpt from No. 35, Low Summer 2012 

Sang Lee Farms - This is one of my favorite stands because there's so much variety and, along with all the vegetable workhorses like tomatoes and peppers, there's a lot of new and unusual stuff to try.  The bagged mixed salad greens are amazing; so fresh that they stay good in the fridge longer than any salad greens I've come across.  Kids love the purple carrots and potatoes, and the cand-striped Chioggia beets.  And every year, I have to buy one of those potted pepper plants with the tiny, multicolored peppers.

The area's largest certified-organic vegetable farm, Sang Lee specializes in mixed mesculun, Asian greens, beets, over 40 varieties of heirloom tomatoes, many types of eggplant and many other varieties of vegetables and herbs.  Their on-site shop also carries vegetable plants and prepared goods, including a full line of delicious salad dressings, sauces and more.  I had Sang Lee's CSA for a few years and have been happy with it, although you do have to be a fan of stir-frying, as it's the best way to really enjoy the unusual Asian greens.  Karen Lee educates her customers with innovative ways to use veggies in dozens of imaginative recipes.    Also, organic meats and meats grassfed from selected upstate New York farms are available in limited quantities.

Lastly, Sang Lee's Web site is worth a visit; it is large and informative and contains Fred Lee's interesting Grower's Notes, recipes, a list of all fruits and vegetables, an online store and a calendar of events showing when organic tastings and other special events are held.

East End Biz Show Premiers on Plum TV & 88.3 fm by Samantha Brix

A new show featuring East End businesses premiered Friday at 3 p.m. on Plum TV’s Hamptons channel — Cablevision Ch. 18 — and at 5:30 p.m. on Peconic Public Broadcasting radio, 88.3 WPPB-FM.  The show, called The Real Deal and hosted by radio personality Bonnie Grice features the history, challenges and successes of East End businesses.

The 30-minute pilot episode featured Karen and Fred Lee, owners of Peconic-based Sang Lee Farms

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Years ago, I wrote a snapshot of Sang Lee Farms, located out on the North Fork of Long Island. The Lee family grows some of the lushest Asian greens around. Standing in a field of bok choy with farmer Fred Lee, I asked him to tell me the secret of his perfect produce. He bent down, grabbed a handful of soil, and passed his magic on in two words: “sandy loam.

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  End of an Era: East End Agriculture's Lost Link to Chinatown by V. Troy

BOSTON lettuce and fresh basil sit in baskets next to baby bok choy and kohlrabi. Chocolate chip cookies and scones from a Southampton bakery share shelf space with soy sauce and black bean garlic sauce. It's hardly a typical Long Island farm stand, and Sang Lee Farms, in Peconic, is hardly a typical Long Island farm.

Sang Lee was once the biggest grower of Asian vegetables in the New York region. For several decades, when the average American's knowledge of Chinese food meant an occasional encounter with canned chow mein, Sang Lee fed fresh Chinese greens to the growing populations in Chinatowns stretching from Toronto to Washington.

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    SWAPPING WITH STRANGERS (G. Grookock; summer 2008)

                       GREENHOUSE GROWING (2009)

Recent Events

 Scho0ls

 SOUTHOLD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL-"A DAY AT THE FARM" (October 2011)

WILLIAM FLOYD HIGH SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES  (October 2011) 

WILLIAN FLOYD ELEMENTARY  “MEET A FARMER” (January 2010)