Farmers Market offers fresh food, information
My granddaddy was a farmer, and he was constantly sending me home with fresh vegetables after every visit – nothing really beats a fresh grown tomato or bell pepper.
Last week, after I repeatedly told myself I was going to check out the Aiken County Farmers Market, I finally went there for a story. It was a Tuesday morning, but the turnout was still pretty good. One table was set up with milk, eggs and large jars of golden honey. Other tables held fresh okra, blueberries and peppers of the most brightest and vibrant colors.
I find myself envying the lifestyle of a farmer. Spending time outdoors working on a farm sounds like a fun, fulfilling job especially after you gather up the fruits and vegetables you worked so hard to grow. I spent a lot of time on my granddaddy’s farm helping him pick vegetables and feeding his cattle. I enjoyed it immensely, but I was always exhausted by the end of the day. I would help him out for one day and go back to my normal routine while he would continue on with his early mornings and long days of hard, physical labor.
It is hard work, and it’s one of those jobs that never stop. It’s a fragile career, too, as farmers depend on the weather, the most unpredictable and volatile thing in the world, to assist in the growth of their crops.
I know my granddaddy had some rough years on the farm – especially when the price of feed for his cattle increased and people started buying less and less locally. The financial balance was altered – he was spending more money than he was making to keep his farm going. That hasn’t stopped him though; he’s 70, still raising cattle and growing his pepper and bean gardens.
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Meet a Master Gardener program returns
Visitors to the Aiken County Farmers Market will have a chance to chat with their green-thumbed neighbors Saturday as the monthly Meet A Master Gardener program returns.
Members of the Aiken Master Gardeners will be on hand from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Farmers Market on Williamsburg Street for the Meet A Master Gardener program.
The group will be available to answer questions, give information on the Clemson Extension Master Gardeners course and promote other programs such as Rent A Master Gardener and the Lunch Box Lecture Series.
“We started Meet A Master Gardener in March, and we go through November with it,” said Master Gardener Al Snell. “We always get a lot of questions. We’ll be on hand to answer any gardening questions or identify any lawn or garden problems people have.”
The group will also sell copies of the new edition of “The Aiken Master Gardeners’ Almanac for Aiken and Vicinity” and copies of their cookbook, “A Collection of Favorite Recipes: Aiken Master Gardeners in the Kitchen.”
“The Aiken County Farmers Market has been a really good venue for people to come see us. It’s a good place to meet people,” Snell said.
For more information about the Aiken County Master Gardeners and the group’s upcoming programs, call the Clemson Extension Service office at 649-6297 or visit the Clemson Extension Service website at www.clemson.edu/extension/mg/counties/aiken/index.html.
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Get your tickets to sample taste of downtown.
Tickets went on sale 17th Sept 09 for the 12th annual A Taste of Downtown Aiken.
Thirteen downtown restaurants and food retailers, along with vendors from the Aiken County Farmers Market, will participate in this year’s event, held Tuesday from 5 to 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 on the day of the event, and can be picked up at the Aiken Downtown Development Association office in The Alley. During the event, patrons will be able to sample an assortment of dishes and deserts, which will include shrimp in a white cilantro sauce, guava cheese flan and creamy black beans from Cafe Rio Blanco, sticky toffee pudding at Plum Pudding and Humming Bird Cake from Desserves. Rose Hill Estate’s RH Stable Restaurant & Beer Garden will offer citrus plank shrimp, beef short ribs and German bratwurst. Casa Bella will have Penne al Briamasco and Davor’s will serve mini beef Wellington.
Only 300 tickets will be sold. Once the limit is met, there will be no other tickets available. Proceeds for A Taste of Downtown Aiken will go to benefit theAiken Downtown Development Association. For more information, call the association’s office at 649-2221
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Evening Market proves to be a hit.
Thursday evening at the Aiken County Farmers Market has been going well, according to local vendor Elbert Holston, who is best known for his watermelons and cantaloupes.
Other vendors agree with Holston that the Thursday night experiment has turned into a great success, giving customers another chance to purchase the same fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, spices and sauces from local farmers.
Since the start on May 28, Thursdays have become almost like Saturdays, Hollie Gartman said. She stocks the same produce as she does on any other day and said her stand typically sells out by the end of the night.
Although the market officially opens at 4 p.m., Gartman said she has eager shoppers at her stand ready to shop around 2:30 p.m. as she is setting up.
A woman who goes by “The Pepper Lady” from the Hillview Farm Stand agrees. “Everything is good on Thursdays, but it depends on the weather,” she said.
The Hillview Farm stand is well-known for its peppers, selling a variety from red and green bell peppers to habaneros, jalapenos and chili peppers. The stand is also known for its white eggplant, which is carried only on Thursdays and Saturdays.
“Thursday has been working really well for people,” Sandra Corper said.
Her son, Jamie, works the stand Thursday night, and their peaches have been their biggest draw.
The Thursday evening market is open from 4 to 7 p.m. and is located on Williamsburg Street, between Park and Richland avenues.
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Farmers Market to hold pre-Fourth event
There will be a Pre-Fourth of July celebration at the Aiken County Farmers Market on Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m.
The event will be held in conjunction with Thursday Nights at the Farmers Market, the City’s new experiment which has the market open extra hours on Thursday evenings. The new Thursday schedule began on May 28.
The additional day was introduced in an effort to draw shoppers who would not typically visit the Farmers Market, according to City officials.
Coleen Reed, a member of Farmers Market Committee, said the Pre-Fourth of July celebration will include music, as well as free cake and ice cream. Reed also noted that it is currently peak season for corn, cantaloupe, watermelon and tomatoes and said farmers will have the fruits and vegetables at the market.
The Farmers Market will be open on the Fourth of July for its regular hours.
The Aiken Farmers Market is one of the oldest farmers’ markets in the state. It is also listed on the Aiken Historic Register.
The market is located on Williamsburg Street, between Park and Richland avenues. It is open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. until noon or until the farmers sell out.
Find fresh produce on Thursday nights soon
Fresh, ripe, locally grown produce will be available during the evening hours, beginning on May 28.
That is when the Aiken County Farmers Market will introduce Thursday Nights at the Farmers Market, during which the market will be open from 4 to 7 p.m.
Jeff Metz, an athletic supervisor with the City of Aiken, said the decision to open the market up on Thursday evenings was made to draw those customers who aren’t able to come out on Saturdays.
Coleen Reed, a member of the Farmers Market Committee, said many of the same local farmers who come out to the market each week will be present on Thursdays, along with their fresh fruits, vegetables and meats.
At the market, shoppers will find “small, local family farmers where the family does 100 percent of the work,” said Reed. “People can look forward to the same quality and the same freshness; many of the same faces will be there and a few extra faces.”
The Aiken County Farmers Market is one of the oldest county farmers’ markets in the state. It is also listed on the Aiken Historic Register.
The market is located on Williamsburg Street, between Park and Richland avenues. It is open Monday through Saturday, from 7 a.m. until the farmers sell out, which is typically around noon, said Metz.
For more information, call 642-7761.
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