Market Update

No, not market as in Stock Market. At least not in my world. I'm talking Farmers Market, and today was week two of our new little market.

I didn't stay all day, but it seemed traffic was pretty steady while I was there, which is a good thing.

Today people showed up early to snag some of the very popular hanging baskets. Here are a few that caught my eye:

And no, I still didn't buy one, lovely as they are. I want them to LIVE!

We had a new vendor today: Hope In Action Giving Garden. Hope in Action's Giving Garden is located at Marvin's in Lebanon, Ohio, and is a non-profit organization that helps feed needy families in Warren County.

They were at our little market selling starter plants, and 100% of the proceeds go back to the food pantries. What a great organization, and we were so happy to have them. Here are some of the plants they had:

And, because tomorrow is Mother's Day, the first 50 ladies to shop the market each received a rose:

Nice touch, eh? Not my idea, but a nice one all the same. :)

Hopefully in the next few weeks we'll start seeing some early produce, but for now the breads, desserts, kettle corn, and eggs are keeping our customers happy.

Thanks for stopping by!

There's a New Market In Town!

As some of my long-time readers may remember, I used to participate in weekly farmers markets to sell my cards. And even though I was a crafter, hoping beyond hope to just sell something, we all know I was really there for the produce. And the cute dogs. I loved the interaction with customers, but I got old and tired, and eventually just became a customer instead of a vendor.

So, when I planned to move to Ohio, one of the first things I did was check out local farmers markets so I could support local. There were a few in the area, but not in my town. When someone asked if there was any interest in starting up a market, I was all over it!

We were a group of volunteers that came together and pooled our respective talents and resources, and I'm happy to say that after almost a year and a half of work, today was our Opening Day!

Here are a few of the offerings from our vendors:

We have eggs!

She sold out in about an hour and a half.

The egg lady also brought baby goats and some hens for our entertainment:

One of the goats turned out to be an escape artist. Kept her busy!

We have hanging plants!

They almost sold out. Amazingly pretty!

We have tasty 2-bite desserts!

I love this stuff. A tiny bit of guilt-free yumminess. They're small, but oh so good. Friends of mine stopped by and bought some to freeze. Smart.

We have homemade breads and jams:

And Buckeye Brownies? Um, yes!

We have Kettle Korn!

and it's popped fresh all day long:

YUM!! I might have bought 3 bags, just for me. Maybe.

We also have a tent each week for school groups, and this week the Robotics Team was there, doing their thing:

I think it's awesome that these groups will be participating in our little market.

Also, the local fire department showed up with their truck:

The kids loved getting to sit in the truck!  I think the truck will come once a month. So fun!

Oh, and I might have bought something from everyone. I didn't get a hanging plant, because I know me pretty well, and I'd kill the poor thing in about a week. They are so pretty they deserve to live. But the same people were selling broccoli plants, and after a brief lesson from the vendor (why I love buying from the producers), I caved and got some.

They'll go into a pot, since I suspect the rabbits like broccoli the same as they like Brussels sprouts.

As you can see, it was a glorious day. Sunny, low 70s, just a perfect day for Opening Day. We had a fantastic turnout, and are thrilled to think we might be a hit. So many people stopped by our market tent to thank us for making this happen. We also heard from a  lot of people who want to join us as vendors, so we have that in the works, too.

We're very excited with the response, and if the rest of the season goes like it did today, I think we'll have an amazing summer.

So please be prepared for some photos from the Saturday markets. I'm very excited about what we've done, and I hope for a very successful and produce-filled summer!

Thanks for stopping by!

Market Update (09/03/2011) (long)

Yesterday there was a 5K race in the community where our market is, so we had to be there and set up by the crack of cranky, or wait until after the streets were re-opened after 10 am. Since it was also supposed to be 90+ degrees and humid, I opted (as I do every year) to get there at O'Dark Thirty (before 7:30 am). I mean, I don't even leave for WORK as early as I left the house on Saturday. (grumble)

It's usually worth it, though, because with all the runners (who mostly don't bring money with them) and their cheering sections (who DO bring money with them), we usually get a lot of extra traffic.

Let's have a look at Saturday's bounty, shall we?

Mmmmm, tomatoes:

Roma tomatoes:

Cucumbers:

Colorful bell peppers:

Eggplant:

Basil:

Someone bought a TON of this to make pesto.

Tiny figs:

Mushrooms:

Portabella mushrooms:

Baby bellas:

Shitake mushrooms:

Jalapenos:

HOTHOT peppers:

Story: Twice on Saturday some Tough Guys came through and Farmer Mike was giving them the Scoville Scale speech. One of the guys took one of the peppers and bit into it. Whoa, hot. WHOA, HOT. HOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOT! Tears flowed. Face reddened. We all laughed. Not so tough NOW, are you , buddy? HAHAHAHAHA. They ran away, allegedly to obtain a beverage to kill the HOT. I love tough guys, don't you?

Later, a guy was there with his wife and (with much less bravado) took a tiny bite with much the same result. Mike offered him a tomato to cut the hot. That guy was a good sport. :)

The other Tough Guys came back later and bought one of the "special" peppers (so hot they are sold singly). Sigh.

Moving on, okra:

(I count the days until it dies, though it does make a fine stamp.)

Over at Farmer Margie's, we had more peaches:

They were so ripe, their smell permeated our senses and forced us to buy some. Mine became a fruit smoothie when I got home. Sooooo good.

She also had some plums:

and Asian Pears:

Farmer Katie rocked the presentation again with some hot peppers of her own:

I mean, who ever buys an entire box of Scotch Bonnets? Most recipes I've seen call for one, and only one.

Candy onions:

These things are sooooo sweet when you cook them.

And Katie's fruit spread:

Over at the flower tent I might have gotten a bit carried away with the pictures. Here's some ornamental peppers:

a mixed bouquet:

and some pics of the different Gloriosa Daisies:







Zinnias:

And because I had time (it was sooooo early), I got distracted by the flowers' centers:





Don't you just love Mother Nature? Here are some small sunflower centers, while I was at it. These flowers were about 2-3" across tip to tip (very small):





And some Coleus that intrigued me:

I had a hand in building this bouquet:

(I suggested the yellow flowers for a spot of different color. :))

And my flowers:

I only took pics of a few dogs (sorry, Bunny). Here's two that were watching the race:

and another tiny one, also watching the race:

This one looks demonic, but the eyes were such a pale blue (and she wouldn't stand still), so it's the best I got of her. Beautiful dog, though:

And A PUPPY:

So fluffy! Four months old. Look at those FEET!

Right after the race was over, just before the normal time for the market to begin, look what we saw:

Ruh-roh:

We had a little rain. It pretty much killed the market before it really began. Sales were pathetically slow for everyone. I am happy I had a pavilion spot and was dry the whole time, though, so there's that. We had fun dumping the water off the farmers' tents. ;/

In other news, I still have four of four cards to make up for next weekend's Stamp Camps. No clue. I have made nothing today but a mess. Thank goodness I have tomorrow to hopefully get a clue. If I figure it out, I'll be sure to post something.

Oh, tomorrow is a Fall Fun Blog Hop, so do stop by for that! There's a bazillion of us participating, and my card might be, well, just a little "different". :)

Thanks for stopping by!