Is Summer really over?....

The forecast for this weekend is rain, so I have heard, as I do not follow the weather reports. There, I have said it for the record - I choose to let the day surprise me. If I really want to know what it is going to be like that day, I just look outside OR if need be, I actually step outside and test the air.

Rain has not affected the crowds or the spirit at the market. It has delayed the crops by a few weeks, and gave us a storm to contend with at FreshFest last Thursday evening but regardless, the market is well attended, rain or shine. Thank You all for that!

Currently in-season produce includes beets, peppers, sweet corn, melons, peaches, pickling cucs, eggplant, and tomatoes. The first few apples are starting to show up (Paula Reds) and a few things are winding down - mostly the blueberries and raspberries. Learning to blanche is one of the easiest methods of extending the bounty of summer/fall harvest into winter. One year I decided to double up on almost everything I purchased from the farmers market and froze half of what i bought to extend into the winter. We enjoyed stuffed peppers (freeze as halves on a tray and store in ziploc bags; stuff frozen and bake- yummy!), fresh sweet corn, brocoli, green beans, and blueberries(also freeze on a tray, no blanching, and store in ziploc bags) through the entire winter season. I also made freezer tomatoe sauce, and froze leeks, onions, and 1 cup serving sizes of kidney beans and black eyed peas to make a quick crock pot of warming chili. These are just a few of my quick, easy methods of continuing to support local through the winter and make meals work for busy families. We are having a canning and preserves demonstration at the market on Saturday, September 12 - come with your questions and see how easy it is to preserve. I just finished off a jar of pickled green beans that was from my first attempt at preserving which we did with beans and dill from the market - they were delicious!

We are having some local talent performing this weekend so bring your chairs and prepare to stay a while. Centrepiece Marketing will be presenting the talented Siobhan O'Neal.

Born and raised in London, Ontario, Siobhan O’Neal stepped onto the local music scene an ex-band geek with a book full of songs and an electric keyboard. Finding her passion in a performing arts school and her church youth band, she began writing songs at the age of 12 and performed her original work for the first time at her high school talent show. Her musical style has grown and developed over the years, incorporating her childhood influences of classic rock and classical training to a range of folk and indie traits. Her songwriting is deeply introspective, exploring thoughts on disappointment, truth, hope and love.

Please visit Centre Piece Marketing to keep up to date with what's happening on the local music scene.

Have you heard about My Pick? There is information inside the market building about this new program from Farmers' Markets Ontario. My Pick vendors are verified local farmers audited by a representative of Farmers Markets Ontario. The My Pick logo is a way to ensure that the farmer is local, is the grower of what they are selling and that it is produced on their farm. Please note, if a farmer is not 'My Pick' verified, it does not mean that they don't qualify but rather that they have not done the verification process. Please continue to talk to the vendors about their produce, if they are the growers of all that they bring to the market, and where they source their additional produce if they do bring other produce.

This is the last Saturday in August but far from the last Saturday of the season (Market Season Ends October 31st ). Just like I don't follow the weather, I try not to get in on the famous saying of "Where has the time gone?" But sometimes, like this month of August, I just can not believe how the month has disappeared! My how time flies when you're having a social gathering every week! There are groups (ie. Doors Open & ACO of Ontario, Summer Blast, and IPM2010) at the market promoting other community events happening into September, October and later. Be sure to stop by their booths for tickets and details!

Look forward to seeing you soon,

Tricia Herbert

Market Manager

Peach Pies at the Market...

Have you ever had peach pie? I haven't. For those of you who have not (including myself) and for those of you who love peach pie - this saturday at the market is your day! The folks from the St.Thomas Seniors Centre will be back with peach pies. Although they bring plenty (50 or more pies), they always sell out before end of market day. You know what that means.... early birds get the pie!

I attended Fresh Fest last night at the CASO station here in St. Thomas where I had an information booth set up for the market. There were more than 300 people in attendance and I saw many of you there. We also added new members to our e-letter mailing list. If you are aware of anyone who is interested in joining this group, please pass along a copy of this letter and have them visit the blog for details of the 2009 Market season. This is one of the major resources that ties our market community together.

The market seems to have taken on a life of its own. The energy is positive, the tables are overflowing, and the community spirit is palpable. People look forward to coming to the market, rain or shine. There's withdrawal symptoms for everyone when one of our regular customers can't make it for a week or two. We wonder if they are okay; if they are away on holidays; if something came up that interupted the regular routine? Sometimes, I miss seeing or chatting with a few people due to some mission that I am on during market hours. They reassure me the next day that they saw me but that I was busy - Thank you for that!

As we do have new members joining this group weekly, following is a brief summary of the market vendors by location. (note: some vendors do move each week as some booths are pre-allocated to season vendors who start at different times during the market season)

Indoor Vendors include:

Farmgate Markets Inc.

Oegema's Turkey Shoppe

Frisa Farms Eggs

Coffee Cultures

Aunt Cin's Baked Goods

Susi Q Jewelry

Devrati Jewelry

Jaydancin

St. Thomas Public Library (first Saturday of Every Month)

Doors Open & Architectural Conservancy of Ontario (Elgin Branch)

South Pavilion Includes:

McSmith's Organics

Janis Smiths Flowers

Berry Hill Fruit Farms

Beaverbrook Culinary Herbs

Palmers Maple Syrup

Paul's Woodworking

DeBackere Farms

Janssens Farms

Erie Gardens / Kids Kraft Korner

Green Leaf Pastry / Green Fusion Arts

Ethel Mitrovic Potery

Boonie Doone Beachglass Artistry

Village Pantry Restaurant

Lindsay Farms Mushrooms

En Fleur Lavender in Bloom

North Pavilion Includes:

Kosciks Greenhouses

Ann Grace Designs

Bluegroves Fruit Farm

Gibson's Honey

John Martin Produce

Empire Valley Farm

RGrow Farms

The Bonsai Guy

Birdman on the Marsh

Lotus Thai

Moments Jewelry

Mark Wales Farms

And, we often have community fund raiser groups such as the Panthers Girls Hockey, the Fingal United Church, and several others. There is also room for the one or two time vendor who wants to come and try promoting their product at the market. The vendor mix is always a little different, with something for everyone.

With the busiest part of our season under way we have noticed the parking lot shuffle. I have heard several gentle reminders that when parking in the lot, please all park in the same direction and please allow room for your neighbour to manouver in and out. Parking lot painting is on our list of improvements for next season- this is a good sign of the growth of the market!

Remember to sign up for the customer appreciation draw, bring a friend to the market, and enjoy these last few days of August.

See you tomorrow!

Tricia Herbert

Market Manager

Fresh Fest this Thursday....

FreshFest is fast approaching.... what are you doing for dinner this Thursday August 20th? Why not come down to the CASO train station (behind Giant Tiger on Talbot Street) for this local event? Nine local chefs (from the likes of Windjammer, M.E. & Suzies, Garlic's, and Lakeview Gardens) using our local produce (MANY of whom are vendors at the Horton Farmers Market), providing delicious samples for you to experience.

Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Over 200 tickets have been sold so it promises to be a great social event with a silent auction later to support the CASO station.

The Horton Farmers Market will have a booth there also to support and promote our vendors and to enjoy the market atmosphere of this event. Visit FreshFest site for last minute details.

Hope to see you there,

Tricia Herbert

Market Manager

Muskmelon or Cantalope?

One thing I have truly loved since I was a child is Muskmelon. My mom used to buy it for us all the time and I always thought the term Muskmelon was a 'slang' name - like a nickname for Cantalope. (although I am not sure how those two names come even close to each other?) I also thought that my mother must be wrong because she was the only one I had ever heard call this melon a muskmelon.

Monika Rastapkevicius from R-Grow Farms of West Lorne has FINALLY set the record straight. (Sorry Mom - you were right all along!) Following is some information about the orange melon that you might also find useful. Visit Monika and her kids Anita and Joe this weekend at the RGrow stall in the North pavilion, for free samples of Muskmelon.

Most often what people refer to as a cantaloupe is actually a muskmelon. True cantaloupes are not netted , have deep grooves, a hard warty rind and orange or green flesh. These true cantaloupes are grown only in Europe. The muskmelons that most of us call cantaloupes have a distinct netted or webbed rind. Muskmelons have been masquerading as cantaloupes in our stores for many years. Did you know the muskmelon is so named because of the odor of the ripe fruit? Musk is a persian word for a kind of perfume and melon is french.It's interesting to watch people decide whether or not a muskmelons is ripe......they smell it, they squeeze it, they push on the end of it, they shake it next to their ear.....but actually they rarely look at the stem end of it. I try to explain to as many people as I can, what they need to look for. I ask them to look at the "belly button" of the melon. This is the point of attachment between the fruit and the vine it has come from. If the melon was picked ripe the vine lets go of the fruit easily. This is called being picked at " full slip." When a melon is picked at "full slip" and the cirlce of the "belly button" is complete. If the cirlce is incomplete or some of the stem from the vine remains attached the melon was forced of the vine before it was truly ripe. This info always generates the reaction " hey , I learned something new today". I think as vendors we need to teach our consumers the things they need to look for.

A few other melon facts.....

1. Always store a ripe melon in the fridge to maintain internal fruit quality

2. Melons can be frozen...great with other friut to make smoothies ( strawberries and melon are my personal favourite) just chop them up and put into a freezer bag or container

3. Melons are one of the top 10 antioxident foods. The bright orange colour of the muskmelon is a dead giveaway that they are loaded with an important antioxidant, beta-carotene. Muskmelons are alos high in vitamin C and a food source of potassium and folate.

Now that summer is in full swing, enjoy a healthy, flavourful and satisfying snack. Think melons.

Thanks Monika for the extremely useful information - I learned a few new things today!

This weekend at the market promises to be a warm one! We will have fans a blowing in the main building. Visit the FRESHFEST booth in the main building as this is their last weekend at the market. Purchase your tickets for this funfilled event happening August 20th at the CASO station. The Horton Farmers Market will have a booth at this event and some of the farmers from the market are also participating. Tickets are $25 each in advance or $30 at the door. For more info visit their site.

We have a few more 'sample' days planned and will be posting information on the boards inside the building at the back. Your input and ideas are always welcome! I have received so much feedback and have been able to see positive change at the market directly from your input. Many Thanks to you all who are reading and attending the market.

See you soon,

Tricia Herbert

Market Manager

Thank You Community!

The Market's 131st Birthday Celebration was a great event! We had cake, we had presents (I have contacted all the prize winners to pick up their presents at the market this weekend), and we had singing! We had a record day all around for customers, vendors and vendor revenue! I would also add that Mother Nature played her part and gave us a beautiful day - everyone's spirits were joyful. It was a memorable day and was so because of all the help that went in to preparing and coordinating to help the day run smoothly. Many Thanks to all the folks who contributed prizes for the singing contest, for the Board and Committee members who planned behind the scenes, to the Senior Centre for the delicious birthday cake, to Centrepiece Marketing and Sam Hurrie for providing ambience with a little blues singing, and to all the city officials who participated in the ceremonies. Special Thanks to our MC for the day, Alderman Baldwin-Sands, who encouraged many a closet-singer to perform "Good Things Grow in Ontario".

This week at the market, come to sample a delicious blueberry sauce -recipe compliments of Marianne Hatch of Bluegroves Fruit Farms of West Lorne. Marianne was so excitied to have me try this recipe that she brought a batch for me to sample. I LOVE it! I have mentioned before that blueberries top the list of favourites at my house and this new recipe is right up there at number one. I am finding many new things to try it on, but vanilla icecream is tops so far. Since we expect a little heat this weekend, vanilla waffers will be the sample partner of choice. Find the sampling set up at Bluegroves' table.

Ray & Sandy from Farmgate Markets will have fresh, local (from Shedden, ON) roaster chickens available. These chickens are hormone & antibiotic free and retail for $4.39 a pound. Great for crock pot cooking!

Look for some new crop at McSmiths Organics as they will have peppers, a variety of eggplant, salad & cherry tomatoes and fingerlings. Janis & Mark's flowers are a big seller every Saturday. They have been filling their coldroom all week to prepare for market day and still they sell-out. See them first for snapdragons, sunflowers, and glads (& much more!).

And Frisa Farm eggs will be ready this week for a larger crowd. They sold out early last week. Look for their 'new hen' eggs.

We have a well rounded mix of vendors including produce vendors, fresh meat & turkey, woodworking, jewelry, and body care products vendors (look for photos posted in various spots in the main building). As we are a producer-based farmers market we require our vendors to also be the producer (grower or manufacturer) of their product. From time to time, vendors may need to supplement their produce with produce from another farm. We do have regulations in effect that require this supplemented produce to be no more than 25% of that vendors entire product, that it come from a neighbouring or family farm within the 60km radius guideline, and that the produce be clearly labelled at the market so that the consumer can make an informed decision. If this is a concern of yours, please check the vendor labels and talk to the vendors to learn more about what they grow and if and where they source their supplemental produce. You can also direct any questions to me as I am always interested in feedback and using it to grow the market.

I may have said this before (you can check through previous posts on the blog), and most of us would agree that there is a cyclical nature to all things. I seem to recall a graph in economics class that showed the cyclical nature of business. It ebbs and it flows. The 'business' of the market defintely follows the cycle of Mother Nature. Enjoy the peak wave of nature's bounty through August into September and October. The market season runs until October 31st so be sure to plan your meal times in harmony with nature's harvest. This is a key factor in creating a more sustainable cycle with nature: not only for our local economy but also for our own personal health.

Look forward to seeing you at the market!

Cheers,

Tricia Herbert

Market Manager