Last week I wrote about visiting two Farmers Markets, this week I visited a third one. The first two Farmers Markets were somewhat disappointing, but rewarding since we enjoyed delicious homegrown produce and I also enjoy spending time in each town. So I ventured out to yet another one in our area and was extremely glad I did.
I went to the Farmers Market to the south on Wednesday which is about ten miles from home. It opened at 3pm and I arrived shortly thereafter. It didn't have a large amount of vendors, but each vendor was unique and well supplied. There were approximately fifteen vendors and I purchased an item from almost everyone.
The market was set up in the library's parking lot. One of the vendors sold used books that were also available inside the library. Children's books were 50¢ and books for adults were $1.00. They had a small amount of books but a wonderful variety, and I found two. They were all in excellent condition, like new.
Another vendor sold fresh eggs. Unfortunately, I had just purchased a couple dozen so wasn't able to try his.
Two vendor had homemade craft items. One took used bowling balls and golf clubs to make unique yard ornaments. Some looked like spiders, others like ladybugs, there were mushrooms, turtles and more. A very cleaver way of recycling items that others had discarded.
One vendor made wooden bowls from various types of wood. The bowls were of various sizes made with excellent craftsmanship. He also sold other items, such as knives and bottle cork screws made from carved wood.
One vendor had homemade soap made from goats milk that were scented with various fragrances or you could purchase them non-scented. She used different molds, so they came in various sizes and shapes. I purchased small ones for the bathrooms and a larger one for the kitchen hoping to introduce a wonderful fragrance to each room.
The vendors in the two previous markets were mostly women, where this market was mostly men and the ages varied from young to more mature.
There were two vendors who sold homemade baked goods. One had delicious cookies and bars of various sizes and scones. Of course, I had to purchase chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies for my family to enjoy. I must say they were delicious.
The other vendor sold homemade bread that her mother made. A large variety including sourdough, multigrain and even rye. Once I saw the rye bread I knew we were having BLTs for dinner that night. She also had other bake goods includes jumbo cookies and muffins. I was tempted to try her jumbo chocolate chip cookies, but had just purchased regular sized ones from the previous vendor.
Then there were the produce vendors. What a variety they each offered, too numerous to mention here. From fresh home picked large, plump peaches that were perfect for a pie or cobbler, to grapes for snacking or making jelly,
to Michigan apples for another pie or dipping in caramel and nuts or just snacking,
to kale for my delicious homemade soup, to various types of squash such as summer, zucchini and acorn that would make an excellent side dish or chips for snacks,
to root vegetables including carrots, potatoes, turnips, onions, and beets.
There was corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, peppers including hot and regular, cabbage, homemade fudge and much more.
And of course watermelon and cantaloupe.
One vendor had fresh picked glads (gladiolus). I am accustomed to seeing glads at Farmers Markets which the other two didn't have. They were beautiful.
It was a wonderful experience. Every produce was perfect and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner that evening and delicious items for breakfast the next day. I am looking forward to returning to that market before they close for the season to enjoy the good food from Pure Michigan.
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