By Marilou Shea

If you’re looking for flavors like bobcats, scorpions and goats, look no further than Harris Produce in Pasco. An institution of freshness, Harris’ all-natural produce has offered items like the bobcat varietal of tomatoes, scorpion varietal of super-hot peppers and goats, as in just goats, for the past 78 years.

Marilou Shea,

Lurene Fleshman, a third-generation farmer, is part of the Harris clan, which is part of the long-standing original dairy in “Old Pasco.” Her grandfather Fred G. Harris started the dairy business and it was considered quite the showplace of the Northwest. A photo of it was featured in a national magazine to attract people to stake claims here in our little corner of the world in the early 1900s.

Fred G. and Fleshman’s dad, Wally, became unsung heroes by providing critical food service during World War II by delivering milk and eggs door to door to hospitals, schools, military and civic organizations, like the police. The government wanted to build a port on the dairy land and moved the operation out to its present day location, though it has since ceased operating.

Fleshman, her husband Robert, daughter Jenna, great nephew and two great nieces, are responsible for the incredibly long list of products — 63 to be exact — and shorter list of animals nurtured at the west end of Court Street and available for purchase June 1 through the end of October every year.

For a sampling of what sets them apart on that long list, let’s start with cucumbers. They offer the only pickling cucumbers, or picklers, in our area, along with Armenian, Burpless and Slicers.

Fleshman said the stand’s bestsellers are Gypsy peppers and then tomatoes. They offer 10 varieties of tomatoes.

So just what is a bobcat varietal? It’s a round, smooth, firm tomato that’s superb in sandwiches or eating au natural. I can vouch for their deliciousness.

Whether they’re speckled red and orange, soft red with deep folds or greenish-gold, all Heirlooms are pretty. They’re also usually soft, indicating less acid, and are best eaten fresh.

Harris’ Roma tomatoes are three times the size of store bought and popular for salsa making. (By the way, these are also the very same variety used in Ina Garten’s homemade tomato soup recipe. She’s the host of the popular “Barefoot Contessa” on the Food Network.) Did you know that Supersonics, the big guys, and Early Girls, little gals, make the best canners? Early Girls have more flesh and make divine marinara sauce. Harris’ varieties of super-hot peppers will blow your mind and then your mouth, from Gypsy and Scorpion, to Ghost and Carolina Reapers.

The depth and breadth of knowledge found at this thriving produce stand and farm is authentic, down-to-earth and encyclopedic. You get freshly-picked produce that’s a fraction of the cost and thousand times the flavor, plus flash history lessons, fun anecdotes and tips and tricks from experts. It’s like sitting in the waiting room for the produce doctors to deliver their best medicine. If the produce isn’t sold that day, it’s used as feed for the many chickens, roosters, goats and pigs roaming the surrounding farm.

What’s the absolute best part of running a 42-acre farm? You’re in love with what you do and you get to make your own decisions. Plus, Fleshman said, she’s needed by her customers and she clearly adores them.

Who else would have the ability to firmly guide wayward canners from naturally attractive heirlooms to Supersonics or Early Girls and possess such vast knowledge that draws fourth-generation customers from California, Idaho and the west side of our state year after year?

Fleshman said Harris Produce has felt little competition from other local stands. In fact, there are several local stands that buy in bulk from Fleshman and re-sell her goods. I wonder what their mark-up is?

It’s not an easy job. Like most small business owners, and especially small-operation farmers, you’re rarely able to get away. The seasonality of the business doesn’t attract younger generations wanting to acquire their natural born inheritance because they want full-time jobs with good benefits. The unpredictability of Mother Nature means their success isn’t guaranteed.

Aside from the sweet corn season being cut short due to cool nights, which invites a bore worm invasion, the overall season was phenomenal, according to Fleshman. And don’t fret, it’s not over yet. There’s still time to browse the cornucopia of uniquely shaped and colored pumpkin treasures for your desk or front door, thanks to Jenna’s hands-on care of the pumpkin patch. For more information, find them on Facebook, or better yet, pay a visit to 11516 W. Court St.

With a bounty of wonderful produce purveyed with Farmers’Almanac-like advice, what’s not to love?

Food Love columnist Marilou Shea is adjunct faculty for Columbia Basin College’s hospitality program and Food Truck Academy, as well as the creator of Food Truck Fridays.