At It Again

We've missed being out with our farmers and customers the last couple of weeks because of the crazy weather! A hurricane and a thunderstorm were enough for us to have to shut down the market for a couple of weeks but we were back this Thursday and our farmers were ready to show off some great fresh produce. We had 4 farmers this week including one new farmer, The Melon Man! We were so excited to have him and the rest of our great farmers. We had lots of variety in produce including corn, tomatoes, beans, squash, apples, melons of course, eggplant, and much more! We also had some fresh homemade honey and lots of fresh herbs and beautiful flowers.

Our sample for Thursday was fresh homemade low sugar peach jam which was made at our canning class on June 30th. During our class we learned all about jams and jellies and got to make this peach jam with fresh peaches from Indigo Farms. We also served pindo palm jelly. Pindo palm is a type of single palm that has a blue-grey color and curves in towards the trunk. The palm grows slowly but can grow up to 20 feet when fully mature. During the summer the palm produces a yellow-orange juicy fruit that is about the size of a large date. The fruit is edible and is often used for making jams and jellies. The jam and jelly was served at the market on 5 grain flat bread and was a huge hit! We are holding another canning class at the end of July on pressure canning and if you are interested in this class or learning more about making jams and jellies contact the Extension office at 910-253-2610.

We had a great time at the market and are looking forward to another great week ahead!

Here are some pictures from all 4 of our farmers...
The Melon Man, "T" Heirs, Shelton Herb Farm, & Rosa Gardner