Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Webb City Sentinel market column - Wednesday, June 23, 2020


Can June really almost be over? A week from today will be July 1st. In my world in Denver, where I rarely see anyone but family, it feels like time passes slowly and then I look at a calendar and realize that it has been rushing by! But I certainly won't complain about my time here, filled with the laughter of grandchildren, the kindness of my daughter and son-in-law, the beautiful weather of Colorado, the Facetime with my French family. There are lots of silver linings for me during this time that has been so hard on so many.

And I am happy to hear good things about the market. The blueberries are pouring in. Blackberries are in season as well. Word is that sweet corn is only a few weeks away.

The market is loaded with tomatoes of various sizes and colors. There are eggplants too in different shapes and sizes. I know a certain loyal customer who is always eager for the Japanese eggplants he loves for grilling. Good news, Bob, they're here! The Yangs and Vangs are bringing lots of cut flowers. We're seeing green beans and new potatoes, squash and zucchini, goose berries and popcorn, cabbages and cauliflower, carrots and beets, and so much more.

Tomorrow Max Barnett is on the market stage. Songbird's Kitchen serves eggrolls and other Asian specialties to go featuring ingredients from her family's farm. 



Thursdays are a great day to come to the market if you want to avoid crowds. Really any market day is pretty good for social distancing if you don't come in the first hour and a half, traffic and parking are easier too. We are working hard on spreading the market out more to reduce crowding, and thank goodness, the Perry Foundation funded our pavilion extension which was finished just in time for the summer. Without it, I don't know what we would have done. It increased our space by 25%. Hopefully some canopies and other shelters will soon add another 25% or more before we hit the busiest time of year – the 4th of July. Our manager, Rachael, is doing an admirable job keeping the market as safe and welcoming as possible during very challenging times. Please give her and our other staff and volunteers a thumbs up when you see them. They deserve it.

Remember, if you cannot or prefer not to enter the pavilion, or just don't want to stand in line, check out the market's online store at localline.ca/webb-city-farmers-market. It's open from Thursday noon to Sunday noon with pickup at the market on Tuesdays from 5 to 7 pm.

Saturday we host The Mayfields with their lively bluegrass and gospel. Cooking for a Cause this week benefits the Wildcat Glades Friends Group who will be cooking and serving breakfast. The $6 meal is packaged to go so you can take it home or over to the splash pad or lakes in the park or stay at the market and enjoy it at a picnic table.

The Free Kids Meals are served up hot to-go and this week's menus are:

Tomorrow from 11 to 1 in the tent north of the market: pepperoni pizza roll-ups with veggie sauce and spinach, local blueberries, and milk.

Saturday from 9 to 11 at the Cooking for a Cause table (kids get both breakfast AND lunch): breakfast – choice of sausage biscuit or biscuit with gravy, plus Braker blueberries, and milk; AND a sack lunch of pepperoni pasta, applesauce, sliced market cucumber with D'n'D ranch dip, and milk.

I thought you might enjoy hearing what's going on at one of our farms so I asked Mabel with Harmony Hill to give me an update:

Believe it or not, we're actually wishing for rain! It seems the endless rain clouds suddenly vanished, and we have enjoyed day after day of beautiful, sunny skies! The mud began to dry up and we were finally able to work in fluffy soil instead of in mud, though you could barely call some of the soil fluffy because the rain had packed the dirt so hard it turned into dirt clods when disked or cultivated! We were thrilled that the sunny weather allowed us to get caught up with all the weeds and planting.  Plus,  with the days finally warm,  all the sad yellowish plants took off growing at an amazing rate,  and finally, one by one the crops have begun to give of their bounty!



We're already getting zucchini by the bushel, the cucumbers and green beans are kicking in. Now that we've harvested the last green onions,  we're pulling out the big sweet onions,  some weighing nearly 1.5 pounds each! The tops of the first onion setting we planted are beginning to droop,  signifying that harvest is near.  We went through and pulled all the weeds around the onion plants and threw them on the hot,  dry soil with an almost vengeful delight,  knowing the sun would soon scorch them beyond hope of growing again.  We could hardly believe the last time we'd weeded them three weeks earlier,  we'd been wading through mud and water! Thankfully the onions didn't drown since they are planted in raised rows under plastic mulch.

We're also beginning to dig the potatoes,  and we love our potato digger we got this year.  No more crawling through the dirt and digging through it for hidden potatoes! We're hoping we can use it for the onions too,  because harvesting thousands of onions by hand is an exhausting job!

The tomatoes are going strong so far,  and the early crops such as cabbage and cauliflower did well. We have one more setting of early crops to go before those are over because it's about time to drop some crops as we gear up for our biggest crop of the year: melons! Because of the cool, wet weather,  they'll be later than some years,  but we're hoping the cantaloupe and an early small,  yellow variety of melons will be coming in about three weeks from now. 

We were finally able to get some mulch for our fruit bushes and trees. It's a pleasure to see the rows well mulched instead of weeds growing there.  The raspberry crop was nearly a failure this year from the cane borers, but the blackberries are loaded! We're also getting a few blueberries from our small plants.  The peaches are loaded this year as well as other fruit trees. We're grateful we didn't get hit by a hailstorm like the one last year that stripped the trees bare of their leaves, fruit, and even some bark!

This year we had a successful hard winter wheat harvest, the kind of wheat we use to make our bread.  Last yea was too dry just as the heads were forming,  but this year was just right,  so we are excited to add wheat to the list of foods we can grow! It wasn't a big batch,  but now we know it's possible to grow it in this area. 

Our customers know Mabel for her skill as a farmer, baker, and gracious salesperson, but she is also a talented writer,artist and now videographer. You can take a tour of the farm on the Harmony Hill Produce Farm Facebook page. Mabel is one of the many lovely people we are privileged to work with at the market. We hope you will stop by this week or order online to enjoy the fruits of their labor.