The 2013 market season begins!

Summer season is here!! The first market is Thursday, May 16 from 3:00-7:00 at the Clay County Fairgrounds (Cherry and High Streets). Don’t miss it!!At this first market, we will have lots of fresh greens, and asparagus. Thank you to all our vendors who invested in high tunnels and started growing early so we can enjoy fresh produce early in the season.You can also find fresh-baked breads, plant starts for vegetables and flowers, fresh herbs, Irish Twins Soap, and tie-dye. Laurel rushed across the country to make it back to Vermillion in time to sell new tie dyes! Ask her about her travels across the country for the past months.

Market Educator Tent! Meet our new market educator, Krista. She will be on site giving personal tours of the market. On tour, she will introduce vendors, answer questions, discuss SNAP and debit purchases, and more.

Market Kids! Kids join in the fun this week with special activities just for you – face painting and crafts!

The newsletter contains information on transplanting vegetable plants and recipes for Bobby Flay’s Sauteed Kale, and Marinated Asparagus. Newsletter 3, 1, May 16, 2013

We accept SNAP and debit purchases!

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Fresh Greens

I spent just 30 minutes this morning at the home of a friend (and vendor). we toured her high tunnel and fields. In the high tunnel, I helped myself to bags of fresh greens – kale, baby lettuce mix, French mesclun, romaine. I was so excited at the prospect of incredibly fresh greens. Looking at these bags in my refrigerator (which took some creative organizing), I wonder how I will eat it all at its peak. My frenzy at ultra-fresh produce led to over-cutting. Well, there is that pot luck on Sunday. I had two very large salads for dinner, as did the rest of my family.

The whole experience led me to believe that spring actually was here. That the season of amazing, fresh produce was upon us. Cutting greens, wading through wet grass to tour fields brought the promise of more to come. It took almost an hour for the sensation to wear off enough to notice that my feet were still wet and cold!

There is something spiritual about a field or a garden or a high tunnel. Creating life to nourish life. The slow pace. The presence and the care and the patience. There isn’t a grocery store in the world that can recreate that experience.

So, happy spring everyone. Enjoy the sun, the rain, and nature’s bounty. Take time to just look and take it all in.

2012 Market Report

I spent this evening poring over data from the VAFM for the last few years to see how we have improved. We had a lot more vendors in 2012, more customers and more sales (see the report below)! I am impressed with the support of our community and their appreciation of fresh, local food. Thank you all.

We can still improve and seek your advice about how to grow bigger and better. We’d especially like to increase the number of SNAP users at the market, to help those in need gain access to fresh foods.

Market report 2012 season

Winter and Winter Markets

The last winter market of the season is this Saturday (10-1 at the 4-H Building). In a way, I am a little sad. I enjoy being inside, with the noise and the people, children running around. Vendors’ tables pressed against each other. It is cozy, but busy. I really enjoy the winter market season. It is a different atmosphere and a different pace. It’s a welcome relief from cold winter weather. This last market, though, is also exciting. It is truly a transition to spring. Fresh greens, fresh produce. Seedlings. I am ready for the trees to bud, the flowers to bloom. I am ready to play in the dirt, starting my garden. This market means spring is coming (despite the snow and cold hanging around us). It also means the summer market season is near. Meeting friends outdoors, finding fresh produce and breads and meats. Kids running through the grass.
I am excited about this Saturday because it is the last of the season. It means winter is fading (I am optimistic) and a new market season is about to begin. I hope to see a lot of people there to welcome this transition.
In all honesty, this post is the result of lack of sleep, a calming glass of wine, and a space heater. It is also the result of the desire to put the space heater away for a few months!

Garden with less water?

My mother is a master gardener in Texas who works especially with composting and irrigation (especially in a drought-ridden area every single year). She passed on this idea for gardening to utilize household waste (compost) and use less water: keyhole gardening. Anyone ever heard of it or tried it?
http://dallasgardenbuzz.com/?s=keyhole+gardening

Lose a coat?

Did someone lose a purple child’s coat at the winter market? We opted to leave it where we found it – in the back room – so that whoever lost it can stop by the 4-H center during business hours to pick it up.

Washing Greens

I harvested all the spinach left under row cover in the garden. Coolers full. Yea! Plenty to last all winter. Ugh! Too much washing and prepping. I didn’t think about the last part until I actually stood looking at the dirty bounty. Where do I start. I put some in the utility sink and got to work. That only lasted so long. The rest was put up in the coolers.

Then I had that aha moment. Alton Brown did a show on greens where he had loads of fresh greens and washed them in the washing machine. What do I have to lose? I poured spinach into a large lingerie bag, leaving plenty of room for them to move around, for water to get in, and dirt to get out. Set to cold water, medium spin (large salad spinner?), quick wash, NO detergent. Half an hour later, I had squeaky clean greens. Alton dried his in the dryer on fluff (no heat). I found that they were pretty dry from the spin cycle. Otherwise, I would have hung the bag for a little while.

After several rounds of steaming, cooling, freezing on sheets, packing, I have spinach for the rest of the winter. If the weather doesn’t change, I might have fresh spinach in the garden, though, for some time to come!