Tuesday was the first day of the season that we closed with tomatoes still for sale.
& Pate Orchard is bringing the big truck Friday which will almost double our peach supply. The Red Havens are in!
Yes, we're entering the bountiful season. Word is that cantaloupe and watermelon are only a week or so away!
You will find these products at many stands, but those currently bringing in the largest supply are:
Sweet corn - Wells Farm
Green peppers - Troyer Farm
Green beans - Ka Yang
Potatoes - Ka Yang & Mor Xiong
Tomatoes - Troyer Farm, Josh Orr & Scott Yang
Plus you will find the above and much more like squash, zucchini, onions, hot peppers..... at those vendors as well as many others including the Lees, Eichers, Fairhaven, Shoal Creek, the Chas, the Vangs, & Fredricksons. Just take a stroll through both pavilions to see what's in season.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Tuesday Market
Here are a few things we're expecting on Tuesday:
Green Peppers at Troyers and Lees
Incredible (yellow) corn at Wells
Temptation (bicolor) corn at Troyers & Eichers
Ambrosia (bicolor) corn at Fairhaven
Okra at the Chas
Plus lot of other good stuff!
The Exchange Club runs Cooking for a Cause and donates their profits to the 501c3 Healing the Family counseling service.
Ka Yang is back with her egg rolls!
Green Peppers at Troyers and Lees
Incredible (yellow) corn at Wells
Temptation (bicolor) corn at Troyers & Eichers
Ambrosia (bicolor) corn at Fairhaven
Okra at the Chas
Plus lot of other good stuff!
The Exchange Club runs Cooking for a Cause and donates their profits to the 501c3 Healing the Family counseling service.
Ka Yang is back with her egg rolls!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Wow - what a crowd
Friday was the biggest market, in terms of sales and customers, that we've ever had. Folks were parked half way to the soccer field on the south and west of the Kneeling Miner on the north. It must be the allure of sweet corn.
Above, the Yangs fill bags as quickly as they can on Friday.
Thank goodness most folks were patient and kind about the traffic jam. And thank goodness Duane Hunt was running the golf cart. He got quite a workout.
When you have to park a distance, think positive - not only can you get fresh local produce, but also your exercise!
Saturdays have been much calmer than the weekdays, so it might be an ideal time to do your marketing. We're expecting:
Sweet corn - The Wells Farm, Troyer Farm & Fairhaven
Peaches - Pates Orchard & Fairhaven
Blackberries - Fairhaven
Green Peppers - Troyer Farm, as well as several others
Green Beans - Helen Cha & others
Tomatoes (in limited supply) - Pates Orchard, Lee Farm, Troyer Farm
plus lots of other good stuff - just wander around.
New this Saturday - pies from Redings Mill - peach pie and blueberry pie
The Joplin Welcome Club will hold a bake sale.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Sentinel Column 7-11
Finally, we have sweet corn and loads of it. We have Bodacious, a yellow variety, and the bi-color Temptation. You’ll find corn at the Troyers, Wells, Palmers & Eichers on Tuesdays and Fridays and all the afore mentioned except the Eichers on Saturdays. In other words, we’ve got A LOT of corn.
Hannah Mehrens, our intern volunteer this summer, went with me on several farm visits this weekend and one of the highlights was the Wells cornfield. It’s hard to beat shucking an ear of corn and eating it right in the field. (That's Kristie Wells shucking my snack.) The early corn is so tender that it doesn’t even require cooking.
But cooking does have its fans and there are so many ways to cook corn - boil, steam, grill, roast or microwave, and then slather it with butter. That’s the time to add some salt. According to the Illinois Extension service, adding salt to the boiling water just makes the corn tougher, as does overcooking, so wait until the butter goes on.
The service also suggests squeezing on some lime juice or brushing the ear with olive oil and sprinkling on the following dried herb mix.
4 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon thyme
The key to good corn is freshness and proper storage. The shorter the time between harvest and eating, the better it will be, and if the corn is kept cool or refrigerated during that time, so much the better. Don’t shuck the corn until right before cooking.
Back to Hannah. She’s volunteering at the Saturday market. She works during the week at Richardson’s Candy House while she pursues an associate degree in agriculture at Crowder College. Her passion is growing and using fresh produce and convincing others to do the same, which makes her a really good match for the market. We hope that she’ll share a little of that passion and do a few cooking demonstrations for us this summer.
Two other volunteers I need to acknowledge are Cody Vaughn and Duane Hunt. They’re driving the market cart for us so folks parking in the far lot have an easy way in and out. Tuesday and Friday have become so busy at opening that the cart is a real godsend, especially now that the corn is in. It’s one thing to enjoy a walk to the pavilion, but something entirely different to haul 3 dozen ears of corn that distance.
Friday’s lunch is chicken salad on a lettuce leaf, tomato and zucchini salad, corn, banana pudding and a drink for $6. Jack and Lee Ann Sours will play traditional music.
On Saturday morning, we’ll have a full breakfast from Hazel’s Bakery, as well as cooked-at-the market pizzas and stuffed mushrooms from Redings Mill Bakery. They’ll also have specialty sandwiches and, brand new for the Saturday market, pies! Blueberry and peach.
Saturday has been short on baked goods, but that time is past because in addition to the Bakery’s pies, our non-profit bake sales are kicking in this week. The Joplin Area Welcome Club will host the bake sale this Saturday.
The Loose Notes will play gospel and bluegrass this Saturday.
Monday, July 7, 2008
No Eggrolls This Week
Ka Yang will be out of town this week visiting her mother who is ill. Ka expects to be back at the market on Tuesday, July 15th.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Lost & Found
If you're missing a key with a red covering on the head, please stop by the information table. Also, we found way back in early May the bluetooth headset of a cell phone. It has a Motorola symbol on it.
PestoFesto
Our annual PestoFesto is this Tuesday. Darryl Alton of Urban Gardeners will demonstrate pesto making using both the traditional pestle and the food processor at noon. He'll be located in the northeast corner of the north pavilion.
Urban Gardeners will be making a rare Tuesday appearance in honor of PestoFesto. They have wonderful planters with a variety of basils, as well as mixes of gourmet herb plants. They'll also have pesto kits Tuesday.
Inside News
Looks like we'll have at least three vendors on Tuesday with sweet corn!
Steve McLaughlin is planning do fried green tomatoes at the market, and may also grill corn. He'll be set up by his mom, Kay McLaughlin at Hazel's Bakery. Making it a family affair - Steve's daughter, Maddie, will usually be at the market with her lemonade stand. All her profits go to the Autism Center.
Steve McLaughlin is planning do fried green tomatoes at the market, and may also grill corn. He'll be set up by his mom, Kay McLaughlin at Hazel's Bakery. Making it a family affair - Steve's daughter, Maddie, will usually be at the market with her lemonade stand. All her profits go to the Autism Center.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Sentinel column - 7-3 We're open Thursday this week!
I’ve always heard that, in our area, a good gardener will have tomatoes for the Fourth of July. Well, not this year. Our Spring was so cold and wet that most field produce is a good two weeks behind schedule. What that means is that you won’t see a lot of tomatoes at the market today. But in another couple of weeks, we should be buried in them.
Our growers have planted literally thousands of tomato plants to be sure we have enough, but the weather has delayed the harvest. The up side is that we should have produce a little later than usual this year, but to take advantage of that folks will need to continue coming to the market as summer turns to fall – not much consolation now, I know.
Hector Troyer hosted a field day for our growers last month and I think most were amazed by the number of tomato plants in his fields. Hector’s goal this year is to come home with a few of boxes of tomatoes after every market, in other words to have tomatoes for the late shoppers as well as the early ones. According to his research it should take 240 man-hours each week to harvest the number of tomatoes he has planted. That’s a few more hours than Hector has and I don’t think his son Lance is going to be much help. Lance has a great smile and can stand on his tipy-toes now, but at 8 months he’s not much of a field hand. I expect Hector will be putting in long hours this summer, like most of our farmers.
The market is blessed with growers who make the market’s well-being part of their plans. Hopefully, Hector will profit from his massive tomato planting, but his primary motivation was to be sure the market had plenty.
Another grower, Tim Green, is already looking to double the size of his high tunnel next spring. He has hated that some of his customers waited in long lines for tomatoes only to see the last ones sold before their turn.
That experience has been far too common for our customers lately because of high demand and delayed harvests. Most have been very kind and supportive and we really appreciate that because we know it’s disappointing. Stick with us – the bounty is just around the corner.
We’ve had lots of beautiful onions at the market this year, something we were short on last year. We’ve also had a much-improved supply of green beans, potatoes, kohlrabi and cabbage.
The first of the Asian cucumbers were at Helen Cha’s stand Tuesday. I’m not a cucumber fan, but my friend Claudette Brown says the Asian ones are wonderful. Raspberries and blackberries are coming into season and can be found at several stands – Fairhaven, Pates, and Orr to name a few.
Lunch today is a barbecued beef sandwich, baked beans, potato salad, cake, and drink for $6. The Plainsfolk will play Irish music. We host our big bake sale to benefit Crosslines today.
Cooking for a Cause on Tuesday also benefited Crosslines and raised over $450 for our regional food and clothing pantry. We had a bevy of volunteers from Central United Methodist and First Baptist churches, both of Webb City, manning the grill and serving tables.
On Saturday, we’ll be open from 9 to noon under the pavilions. The Missouri Mountain Gang from the Springfield area will play bluegrass.
Jann Amos will have a demonstration hive at the market Saturday. You, and the kids, can see a cross section of a living, working beehive without the usual risk.
Hazel’s Bakery will serve a full breakfast. Jamie Smith will have cooked-at-the-market pizzas and stuffed mushrooms, as well as specialty sandwiches on his artisan breads. I had his Hillbilly BLT last week and it was delicious. It’s piled high not only with the bacon, lettuce and tomato that you’d expect but also shaved ham. And for $4 you get a sandwich that is plenty big for two people. It’s a real buy.
Next Tuesday is our Pestofesto. The Urban Gardeners will have pesto kits for sale and several of our growers will have basil for sale. Darryl Alton will give a pesto making demonstration at noon. You won’t want to miss that. He’s quite the showman, plus you get to sample.
Remember, we’re open rain or shine – last Saturday should prove that. Despite an absolute downpour during most of the market we had 14 vendors and over 300 customers. What a crazy bunch! Can’t help it, we love our market.
Our growers have planted literally thousands of tomato plants to be sure we have enough, but the weather has delayed the harvest. The up side is that we should have produce a little later than usual this year, but to take advantage of that folks will need to continue coming to the market as summer turns to fall – not much consolation now, I know.
Hector Troyer hosted a field day for our growers last month and I think most were amazed by the number of tomato plants in his fields. Hector’s goal this year is to come home with a few of boxes of tomatoes after every market, in other words to have tomatoes for the late shoppers as well as the early ones. According to his research it should take 240 man-hours each week to harvest the number of tomatoes he has planted. That’s a few more hours than Hector has and I don’t think his son Lance is going to be much help. Lance has a great smile and can stand on his tipy-toes now, but at 8 months he’s not much of a field hand. I expect Hector will be putting in long hours this summer, like most of our farmers.
The market is blessed with growers who make the market’s well-being part of their plans. Hopefully, Hector will profit from his massive tomato planting, but his primary motivation was to be sure the market had plenty.
Another grower, Tim Green, is already looking to double the size of his high tunnel next spring. He has hated that some of his customers waited in long lines for tomatoes only to see the last ones sold before their turn.
That experience has been far too common for our customers lately because of high demand and delayed harvests. Most have been very kind and supportive and we really appreciate that because we know it’s disappointing. Stick with us – the bounty is just around the corner.
We’ve had lots of beautiful onions at the market this year, something we were short on last year. We’ve also had a much-improved supply of green beans, potatoes, kohlrabi and cabbage.
The first of the Asian cucumbers were at Helen Cha’s stand Tuesday. I’m not a cucumber fan, but my friend Claudette Brown says the Asian ones are wonderful. Raspberries and blackberries are coming into season and can be found at several stands – Fairhaven, Pates, and Orr to name a few.
Lunch today is a barbecued beef sandwich, baked beans, potato salad, cake, and drink for $6. The Plainsfolk will play Irish music. We host our big bake sale to benefit Crosslines today.
Cooking for a Cause on Tuesday also benefited Crosslines and raised over $450 for our regional food and clothing pantry. We had a bevy of volunteers from Central United Methodist and First Baptist churches, both of Webb City, manning the grill and serving tables.
On Saturday, we’ll be open from 9 to noon under the pavilions. The Missouri Mountain Gang from the Springfield area will play bluegrass.
Jann Amos will have a demonstration hive at the market Saturday. You, and the kids, can see a cross section of a living, working beehive without the usual risk.
Hazel’s Bakery will serve a full breakfast. Jamie Smith will have cooked-at-the-market pizzas and stuffed mushrooms, as well as specialty sandwiches on his artisan breads. I had his Hillbilly BLT last week and it was delicious. It’s piled high not only with the bacon, lettuce and tomato that you’d expect but also shaved ham. And for $4 you get a sandwich that is plenty big for two people. It’s a real buy.
Next Tuesday is our Pestofesto. The Urban Gardeners will have pesto kits for sale and several of our growers will have basil for sale. Darryl Alton will give a pesto making demonstration at noon. You won’t want to miss that. He’s quite the showman, plus you get to sample.
Remember, we’re open rain or shine – last Saturday should prove that. Despite an absolute downpour during most of the market we had 14 vendors and over 300 customers. What a crazy bunch! Can’t help it, we love our market.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Inside News
Boy, did we ever get slammed today. Tomatoes, peaches and corn were all sold out in 30 minutes, mostly because supplies are still very limited. We're hoping that by next week, there will be plenty - or at least enough to last through lunch.
Don't forget that we're open on Thursday, not Friday, this week because of the holiday. We'll also be open on Saturday. We won't be seeing Madewell Pork or Flintrock Buffalo this week because of the Fourth. However, we are expecting pretty much everyone else. We'll have our usual bakers on Thursday as well as our annual Crosslines bake sale.
Speaking of Crosslines, we cleared $458.25 for Crosslines at Cooking for a Cause today. Great turnout of customers and super volunteers supplied by First Baptist and Central United Methodist churches of Webb City and the Carterville United Methodist Church.
Don't forget that we're open on Thursday, not Friday, this week because of the holiday. We'll also be open on Saturday. We won't be seeing Madewell Pork or Flintrock Buffalo this week because of the Fourth. However, we are expecting pretty much everyone else. We'll have our usual bakers on Thursday as well as our annual Crosslines bake sale.
Speaking of Crosslines, we cleared $458.25 for Crosslines at Cooking for a Cause today. Great turnout of customers and super volunteers supplied by First Baptist and Central United Methodist churches of Webb City and the Carterville United Methodist Church.
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