This time of year our farmers
are already thinking about next year. It is the perfect time to ask your farmer
to plant a crop you want to try or crave from your past. We are always looking
for gaps in our products. A few years ago, Joe Palmer asked me that very thing
– what are we missing? I responded “shallots”
and he has been growing them and selling out of them ever since.
If you have a special request or a suggestion, take
it to your farmer this fall. They will be ordering seed for next year before
you know it! (Something new in recent years - Baby Ginger. It's in season right now!)
I, on the other hand, am thinking about the
Christkindlmarket. It’s only two months away!
(I've included some photos from last year to whet your appetite.) We expect to have a full house during November and December but that
doesn’t mean we won’t find room for a few new vendors with Christmas/craft
handmade items that will grace our customers’ holiday tables and trees. All our
market applications are on-line at webbcityfarmersmarket.com, including the
Christkindlmarket. Get those in soon as we will soon be allocating space.
And you should be thinking about Saturday, October
14th, because that’s the morning that Bob Foos will take Fall
Portraits At The Market. More details will follow, but put it on the calendar
for now.
I am in the process of wrapping up our major
federal grant. It’s been an exciting two-year project that saw us able to hire
a market manager, expand, promote and better heat our winter market, repair our
winter sidewalls which after four years of heavy use were in tatters, put in
place our red barn and add important equipment to the kitchen. It’s been a
remarkably easy grant to administer except connecting with my federal contact. She
was great to work with but close to impossible to catch by phone or email – and
I think she’s working way too much. The last correspondence I got from her was
posted on Sunday night and I’m sure that’s not her normal working hours. Contrary
to common belief, the government employees on both the federal and state level
that I work with are dedicated, hard-working people.
On a more local level, what’s happening at the market
this week? On Saturday Cooking for a
Cause benefits the Tri-County Cerebral Palsy Center. This special Webb City
organization has been working with special needs kids for decades. As a bonus
we get to hear No Apparent Reason while we eat because the director of the
center is married to a member of the band. Normally we couldn’t afford this
top-notch bluegrass band that is the house band for the Wood Shed in Carthage
but they donate what little we can pay them to the center. Win-win!
Stewart’s Bakery will have baked ziti pasta with
garlic bread for $6, eat-in or take-out.
Tuesday Just Jake and Corky are on the market stage.
Stewart’s Bakery will have both a full and a light supper.
At every market we have lots of fall decorations –
mums, celosia, pumpkins of all shapes, sizes and colors, and corn stalks. (And LOTS of green beans!) There
will be lots of produce, both summer and fall crops, including apples. And
thanks to finally after a two-year drought we should have honey at every market.
The demand for honey is so great that it takes four honey businesses to keep us
in a steady sweet supply. If one particular apiary is your favorite just keep
an eye on the market’s Facebook page to see when they are coming. Location may
be a factor in who you buy honey from, though many of the hives are on farms scattered
throughout the region. Our newest honey farm, Helm Family Farms, is based near
Seneca. They will be at the market on Saturday.
It’s another sweet day at the market. See you
there!
