Local Farmer’s Market open for business

By Ashley Rader

The Elizabethton Farmer’s Market has returned for another year to provide grocery shoppers with the option to buy fresh, locally grown produce as well as other homegrown food products and some hand-made crafts.

The Farmer’s Market is held on Saturdays in the parking lot of the Farm Bureau insurance offices during the main growing season. The vendors are open from 8:30 a.m. until around 11:30 a.m. or until the produce is sold out. The market is scheduled to continue until at least the end of September.

This past Saturday there was a smaller number of vendors set up at the market because many of the gardens in the county have not yet started to produce their fruits and vegetables. The vendors that were present at the market had some squash, potatoes, green beans and cucumbers. Others had local honey for sale.

There is no charge for people to set up at the Farmer’s Market to sell their produce or craft items. The only rule is that everything must be grown or made by the seller. They can’t purchase items and bring them to the Farmer’s Market for resale. Also a majority of the produce items for sale are organically grown.

Caryn Carter has taken over the organization of the Farmer’s Market and runs the effort with the help of her mother Susan Carter. The pair have been involved in the Market on and off for the six years it has been operating in Elizabethton. They frequently have many different fruits and vegetables for sale at the Market.

Caryn noted the market was always accepting new vendors and that everyone is welcome to come to the market to sell their produce or any extra vegetables their garden produces. She added anyone could come to the Farmer’s Market, whether it was an individual who grew items specifically for resale or a family with extra from their garden. There is no charge to participate in the Farmer’s Market.

The Farmer’s Market is open every Saturday from the first of June until Oct. 6 from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. The market is located in the Farm Bureau Insurance parking lot at the corner of Elk and Lynn Avenues.

The market features several varieties of home grown hybrid and heirloom tomatoes, black and red raspberries, blueberries and blackberries, yellow squash and zucchini, cucumbers, several varieties of potatoes, sweet potatoes, hot and green peppers, okra, beans, butternut squash, broccoli and cauliflower, watermelon and cantaloupes, onions and garlic, lettuce, swiss chard, chrysanthemums in the fall and many more. The variety of foods available does depend on when they come into season so the produce will vary at the market.