Watauga County Farmers' Market

Growing the perfect homegrown tomato is a matter of pride for many farmers and gardeners. The tomato harvest has begun for some of our farmers, and soon everyone will be enjoying their favorite varieties. Zydeco Moon Farm will be sponsoring a contest on this year's Garlic and Tomato Day, August 9, which will give everyone a chance to show off their tomato growing success. Prizes will be awarded for the biggest tomato, the prettiest, and because we all know it is what is inside that counts, a prize will be awarded for the ugliest tomato as well. We will have more details as the date approaches. The contest will be open to all homegrown tomatoes.

The folks Watauga County Farmers' Market continue to work towards providing for your complete menu. Jeff Thomas of Creeksong Farm announces that he and son Will are adding humanely raised beef to their stand. The steers are not vaccinated, given antibiotics or growth hormones, are fed on local grain and hay through the winter, and exclusively pastured after May 1.

The vegetable harvest is going strong, and David Sengal will have Roma green beans, Romaine and mixed lettuce, kale, collards, chard, fresh garlic, chard, Yukon Gold and Fingerling potatoes, basil, rhubarb, parsley and oregano. Reba and Fred Greene will have plenty of blackberries at least for a couple more weeks, and will be harvesting more red and white potatoes and cabbage. Reba has a good supply of heirloom multiplier onions as well. Cheryl Piracci will be handing out recipes to go with her fresh organic Swiss Chard.

Jerry Harvey has a nice crop of sweet blueberries to offer, and he also will continue to pick lots of blackberries. The peach harvest is coming in well this year, and Deb Lowe is a new vendor at the market this year with plenty of yellow and white Brushy Mountain peaches.

Don't forget to take a look at the high quality handcrafts available at the market, such as April Greene's hand made jewelry made with natural materials such as various gemstones and fossils.

Representatives from Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture will be at the market every week to sell advance tickets to the 2008 High Country Farm Tour. The tour will be on Saturday, August 2 and Sunday, August 3, from 1 to 5pm each day. Buttons will be sold in advance for $20 and for $25 on tour days. There are new farms on the tour this year as well as some favorites from past tours. This is a great opportunity to see where your food comes from.

Watauga County Farmers' Market was featured in the July edition of Southern Living. Make sure your copy has the red circle with Bonus Section: Carolina Living People and Places written inside. High Country Magazine also has a fine article about the market in their July edition, available free throughout the area. We really do appreciate all the coverage given to us, and hope you will have a look.

Watauga County Farmers' Market is continuing to work on the parking problem. We will be having assistants to help you find a parking spot. We also ask that everyone enter the parking lot through the entrance closest to the native gardens, and exit the lot near the stop sign. The entrance is just too narrow for cars to pass in both directions. We do hope to provide parking for everyone, and we are also looking into the Appalcart routes for possible relief.

Watauga County Farmers' Market will be open on Wednesday mornings through September 10 at the same location as on Saturday mornings, the Horn in the West in Boone. Turn next to First Citizens Bank on Highway 105 Extension and go to the top of the hill. Call WCFM manager Karen Bauman at 1-828-355-4918 for more information. We will be there rain or shine!

The folks at Watauga County Farmers' Market would like to thank everybody who came out this past Saturday, especially those who braved the light rain later in the morning. It was a good day to find everything from home ripened tomatoes to fresh picked berries, and selections should only increase in the coming weeks.

There have been increasing selections at the Wednesday market as well. Wednesday morning markets are a bit calmer; they don't get started much before 8am and there is plenty of parking. Bring the young ones along, they will enjoy Melissa Jaroszewski's Kids’ Craft Table while you choose from the freshest produce available.

Saturday's market features an abundance of veggies including Ed Winebarger's Chioggia beets, Red Russian kale, spring lettuce mix, cut herbs, Swiss chard, squash and zucchini. Shiloh Avery and Jason Roehrig of Tumbling Shoals Farm will have homegrown tomatoes, pickling and slicing cucumbers, zucchini and yellow squash, okra, and red and white sweet onions. Mildred green will be harvesting more of her green peppers, cucumbers, squash, and will also have fresh blueberries and blackberries. Jerry Harvey will have plenty more blackberries and maybe some blueberries too.

Richard Boylan plans on having plenty of kale, fresh basil, mint and chives, and perhaps the first of the fresh cilantro and oregano. Richard will be harvesting fingerling and new potatoes for this weekend, and will offer some nice looking Speckled trout Romaine for your salads.

Shady Grove Gardens will have a fine selection of cut flowers throughout the summer including Zinnias and Dahlias in every color. Show off your arrangements with great looking blacksmith made planter items by Tom Wooten.

Dorene Jankowsky will be at the market with chipotle salsa, smoked habanero and serrano sauce, and BBQ sauce from fire From the Mountain. All sauces are made with homegrown applewood smoked peppers. Dorene will also have happy chicken eggs, blueberries, and romaine and red leaf lettuce.

Watauga County Farmers' Market is continuing to work on the parking problem. We will be having assistants to help you find a parking spot. We also ask that everyone enter the parking lot through the entrance closest to the native gardens, and exit the lot near the stop sign. The entrance is just too narrow for cars to pass in both directions. We do hope to provide parking for everyone, and we are also looking into the Appalcart routes for possible relief.

Watauga County Farmers' Market will be open on Wednesday mornings through September 10 at the same location as on Saturday mornings, the Horn in the West in Boone. Turn next to First Citizens Bank on Highway 105 Extension and go to the top of the hill. Call WCFM manager Karen Bauman at 1-828-355-4918 or visit http://wcfm.info for more information. We will be there rain or shine!

The folks at Watauga County Farmers' Market enjoyed a beautiful Saturday morning this past weekend, and hopefully the rain that fell later helped out all the area farms. Some areas have been much more fortunate than others recently, and rain is something we all need.

We will be celebrating Red, White and Blue Day this coming Saturday at the market. We are very pleased that the popular band Southern Exposure will be on hand to provide entertainment. Come on out and enjoy the bluegrass and old time, with some reggae, blues, and folk tunes thrown in for fun.

The variety of produce at the market continues to expand. Bill Moretz will be harvesting fresh raspberries, huckleberries, snow peas, and the first of his wonderful, fragrant basil. Jason Roehrig and Shiloh Avery of Tumbling Shoals Farm will have an exciting lineup of veggies for this Saturday, including Red Dale, All Blue, Carribe and Corolla potatoes, red and white sweet onions, zucchini and yellow squash, and okra.

Don't miss the ripe homegrown tomatoes and peppers grown by Don and Roger Owens. They sold out of them early last Saturday and also on Wednesday, but we can only hope that the supply will grow!

Rene Donker of Mixed Produce Farm, Inc will have fresh Shiitake mushrooms this weekend along with potted landscape plants such as blue fescue, mountain mint, coral bells, and ferns. Erik Selvey has a great selection of flowering perennials. Plan ahead for winter time blooms with one of his healthy Hellebores or enjoy instant gratification with spiderworts and yellow Stokesias in full bloom.

Serve up your fresh vegetables in style and enjoy the shapes of summer with one of Caron Baker's yellow squash pottery leaf bowls. Caron and husband Jim Wike are also the ones to see for fresh cut lavender.

Watauga County Farmers' Market is continuing to work on the parking problem. We will be having assistants to help you find a parking spot. We also ask that everyone enter the parking lot through the entrance closest to the native gardens, and exit the lot near the stop sign. The entrance is just too narrow for cars to pass in both directions. We do hope to provide parking for everyone, and we are also looking into the Appalcart routes for possible relief.

Watauga County Farmers' Market will be open on Wednesday mornings through September 10 at the same location as on Saturday mornings, the Horn in the West in Boone. Turn next to First Citizens Bank on Highway 105 Extension and go to the top of the hill. Call WCFM manager Karen Bauman at 1-828-355-4918 or visit http://wcfm.info for more information. We will be there rain or shine!

Watauga County Farmers' Market would like to thank everyone who visited the Wednesday market on opening day. We will continue to have a selection of local produce, plants and hand crafts on Wednesday mornings until the middle of September.

Don and Roger Owens use their greenhouses and season extenders to provide ripe produce as early as possible. They will be harvesting all of summer's goodness through the next few weeks. Other growers expect to be harvesting the first of the tomatoes to begin to ripen in the next couple of weeks.

Charles Church will be harvesting broccoli for the market this Saturday. He should also have plenty of onions, and cabbage very soon.

The mountain climate allows for the planting of potted plants and shrubs throughout the growing season, and recent rains have been encouraging for gardeners and landscapers. Chris Teague has a number of garden ready plants for sun or shade that require no watering by humans. Susan Wright of Shady Grove Gardens has a great selection of daylilies coming into bloom, Astilbes, and many other mountain grown perennials.

There are a number of crafters at Watauga County Farmers' Market providing unique items such as Eric Border with his handmade copper cookie cutters and Harmony Acres Soap Company with natural deodorant, lip balm, and natural soap containing various essential oils. You will also find long time vendor Katy Wilson and her Colibri hand crafted jewelry made with semi precious gemstones from around the world.

Watauga County Farmers' Market will be open on Wednesday mornings through September 10 at the same location as on Saturday mornings, the Horn in the West in Boone. Turn next to First Citizens Bank on Highway 105 Extension and go to the top of the hill. Call WCFM manager Karen Bauman at 1-828-355-4918 or visit http://wcfm.info for more information. We will be there rain or shine!

By the time you read this, Watauga County Farmers' Market will have already held the first Wednesday market for 2008. The good news, if you missed it, is that there will be a market every Wednesday through September 10. The crops are coming in so well and frequent harvests are a necessity. We hope you will come out and enjoy the freshest produce available.

Ed Winebarger has returned to the market this year, and he will have plenty of organic salad greens in a mesclin mix, Chioggia beets which are often called Candystripe Beet or Bull's Eye Beet, kale, radishes and chard. Reba and Fred Greene will also have some beets, fresh rhubarb, garden ferns, maybe some strawberries, and the first of the blueberries if the turkeys don't get them. Reba has a good supply of heirloom multiplying onions, what you don't eat this winter you can set out and grow next year.

Carol Davis and Susan Jacoby will be at the market this Saturday with the beginning of their blueberry crop. If conditions are favorable they will have a steady supply of fruit through July. V.J. and Jon Bost will be there with plenty of old timey daylilies. Not only are these hardy plants good for naturalizing, but every part of the plant is edible. The nutritious flower buds are especially popular in Oriental cuisine. Pick the buds before they open to dry as golden needles for Chinese dishes, or cook fresh buds tempura style in the Japanese tradition.

Area farmers continue to work on increasing the production of free range hen eggs. Jerry Harvey will have a supply of fresh eggs along with some wild cherries and perhaps the first of the blackberry harvest. James Wagner supplied 60 dozen eggs from his Rhode Island Red, Dominiker, and Buff Orington hens to happy shoppers this past Saturday. People wanting to try their own hand at fresh egg production will want to see Joanna Wilcox and her live free range trios. Joanna raises Cuckoo and Wheaton Morans, famous for their extremely dark brown eggs, and also Salmon Faverolles, which are good layers and are also good for meat.

Jason and Laura Brooks will continue to have a good supply of grass fed beef. They have popular cuts of steak and also roasts and hamburger.

Jeff Martin has added custom free range t-shirts to his line this year. Jeff also has carved and Japanese Wabi Sabi pottery in perfect beauty.

Watauga County Farmers' Market will be open on Wednesday mornings through September 10 at the same location as on Saturday mornings, the Horn in the West in Boone. Turn next to First Citizens Bank on Highway 105 Extension and go to the top of the hill. Call WCFM manager Karen Bauman at 1-828-355-4918 or visit http://wcfm.info for more information. We will be there rain or shine!

Cindy Wilkins and Bruce McDougald are among a good number of farmers
that have joined the market for the first time this year. Their
inventory this weekend will include gold and purple top turnips, snow
peas and lettuce mix. Sue Thomas is also new to the market this year.
Sue will have brown and white free range hen eggs, strawberries,
spinach and lettuce, and a number of ornamental plants including
mother-in-law's tongue, hanging basket Geraniums, Bath Pinks, and
Ajuga.

Maverick Farms will be harvesting more garlic scapes, green onions,
salad mix and spinach. Andy Bryant and Griffin Abee will have arugula,
tomato plants including varieties Roma and Cherokee Purple, potted
herbs and fruit trees.

Rebecca Kaenzig will be at her usual spot with apple and blackberry
pies, your choice of savory or sweet scones, and plenty of coffee and
fresh lemonade.

Don't forget to check out Katy Wilson line of fine handcrafted
jewelry made with semi-precious gemstones. You will find plenty of
original designs all at reasonable prices.

Watauga County Farmers' Market will be open on Wednesday mornings
starting on June 18 at the same location as on Saturday mornings, the
Horn in the West in Boone. Turn next to First Citizens Bank on Highway
105 Extension and go to the top of the hill. Call WCFM manager Karen
Bauman at 1-828-355-4918 or visit http://wcfm.info for more
information. We will be there rain or shine!

Watauga County Farmers' Market will be celebrating Spring Greens Day this Saturday with the crowd pleasing music of The Produce Pickers. There will be plenty of greens to celebrate this weekend, and practically every vendor will bring their own favorite varieties to the mix. James Wilkes will have green leaf lettuce and mesclin mix along with free range brown hen eggs, poplar honey, and fresh bread. Roger and Don Owens will be bring fresh cabbage to enjoy with their sugar snaps, snow peas, pickling cucumbers, and they are pretty sure to have some homegrown squash this weekend.

Charles Church will be harvesting tasty and nutritious lambsquarters and red chard to add to the fresh greens mix along with onions, garlic, sugar snaps, and all kinds of pork. Charles also has some fine looking cinnamon ferns for planting. Reba Greene will begin the cabbage harvest from her garden and hopefully will have more May cherries this weekend.

Larry Denny has various potted herbs ready for planting and a few more tomato starts including some heirloom varieties. Larry will have columbines and painted daisies in bloom, and a good supply of mixed lupines. Ruth Vannoy will have potted rattlesnake ferns, decorative fern gardens, and some fine looking potted catnip for the cat lovers out there.

Watauga County Farmers' Market will be open on Wednesday mornings starting on June 18, and you can find us Saturday mornings at the Horn in the West in Boone. Turn next to First Citizens Bank on Highway 105 Extension and go to the top of the hill. Call WCFM manager Karen Bauman at 1-828-355-4918, send an email or visit http://wcfm.info for more information. We will be there rain or shine!

The growing season is moving along nicely and the selection of fresh new vegetables is increasing steadily. Roger and Don Owens will have the first of the sugar snap and snow peas this Saturday. Bill Moretz will have plenty of fresh lettuce including Romaine and Butterhead. William Edmisten will have fresh strawberries for one more week, and he will also have some spring onions, Romaine lettuce, spinach, and kale. Jeff Thomas has eggs from free range hens that have been fed local feed and are without any antibiotics, hormones or animal by-products. Jeff will also be bringing lots of different varieties of tomato plants. Ask Jeff about Creeksong Farm's hydrosol offerings and uses, you will find hydrosols made from lavender, elder flowers, lemon balm, rose geranium, lemon verbena and clary sage.

Mildred and Gene Greene will have plenty of white sweet potatoes, lettuce, greens and spring onions at the market this weekend, and also garden plants including ferns, Hostas and Dahlia bulbs. Mildred was busy with crochet all winter, and she has a nice assortment of hats, berets and scarfs on offer. Next door you will find Sandi Henry with her famous handmade grapevine and dyed reed baskets and personalized garden bricks, along with fresh spring cut flowers.

Andy Bryant and Griffin Abee will have fig trees and Concord grape vines ready for planting, and also herb and organic heirloom tomato plants.

Find us Saturday mornings at the Horn in the West in Boone. Turn next to First Citizens Bank on Highway 105 Extension and go to the top of the hill. Call WCFM manager Karen Bauman at 1-828-355-4918 or visit http://wcfm.info for more information. We will be there rain or shine!

Fresh, homegrown, red ripe strawberries are one of the most impatiently anticipated spring crops. Jerry Harvey can expect to be very popular this weekend as he has a very healthy supply of delicious fruits. The farmers also have the main course covered, Charles Church will have everything from a full selection of local pork to Swiss chard, baby garlic and onions, and maybe some fresh lamb's quarters. Shiloh Avery of Tumbling Shoals Farm is new to the market this season, but she and James Rochrig are putting on quite a show with fresh carrots, beets salad greens, collards, kale, and baby bok choi.

James Wilkes of Faith Mountain Farm expects to have at least 20 dozen farm fresh eggs for sale this Saturday, along with sourwood and wildflower honey, and the first of this year's spring honey. James will also have plenty of home baked bread, scones and muffins. Right next door you will find Boone's best kept secret: Don Cox with the Bald Guy Brew featuring fresh roasted, fair trade organic coffee.

Growers at Watauga County Farmers' Market are bringing out new garden ready annuals, perennials and herb plants every week, the selections range from the popular to the rare and unusual. You will do no better than to choose carefully tended starts that are already adjusted to our mountain conditions.

Don't forget to check out Ruth Vannoy's new series of handmade cards, indoor/outdoor fern gardens, and new pounded flower prints.

Find us Saturday mornings at the Horn in the West in Boone. Turn next to First Citizens Bank on Highway 105 Extension and go to the top of the hill. Call WCFM manager Karen Bauman at 1-828-355-4918 or send an email for more information. We will be there rain or shine!

The market enjoyed another great Saturday with only a little wind and chill. The harsh turn the weather has taken did bring some needed rain to the crops. Shoppers can expect to find an abundance of lettuce, spinach, spring onions, asparagus, and new potatoes. The freshness of spring greens of spring greens harvested just hours before is a treat you don't want to miss.

Watauga County Farmers' Market is also a great place to find vegetable, herb and flowering plants that have been carefully tended to by the grower and already acclimated to Boone weather. Don and Roger Owens will bring more of their garden ready plants including three types of thyme, three types of oregano, four different sages, and three types of basil. Roger and Don will also have dill, chives, cucumber and squash plants, and plenty of heirloom tomato starts.

Ryan Abrams has plenty of dill, basil and cilantro plants, and he also has sunflowers, all different types of morning glories, lemon balm, and four types of mint. Erik Selvey offers many unusual varieties of perennial plants along with popular favorites such as ferns, yellow Coreopsis, and blue Hostas.

Don't forget to stock up on everyone's favorite hot sauce, salsa and BBQ sauce from Fire From the Mountain, all made with Dorene Jankowski's apple wood smoked peppers.

Find us Saturday mornings at the Horn in the West in Boone. Turn next to First Citizens Bank on Highway 105 Extension and go to the top of the hill. Call WCFM manager Karen Bauman at 1-828-355-4918 or send an email.We will be there rain or shine!