The last farmers markets of the season are headed your way...The final full session of the Midtown Farmers Market is this Saturday, November 1st. The last Raleigh Downtown Market is Wednesday, November 5th. You can still easily get our produce through the winter months - full details next week! - or come see us at either market this week, and we'll fill you in, in person.
The farmers markets are fun and exciting, and exhausting, and somehow seem to go on forever yet be over for the year in a flash. We meet all kinds (and I mean all kinds...) of people out there. But by and large we always hear positive responses from amazing people. Heaps of gratitude, joy, pleasure. I love hearing about the fabulous things you made to eat the previous week out of the simple things we grew with our four hands. I first met some of your children when they were in babies in strollers, and it always shocks me when I see that they've now grown taller than their parents - when did that happen? Never-ending workdays in summer are offset by joyous high-fives and beaming faces at the first tomato harvest brought to town. I've seen classes of schoolkids actually line up to buy peas, excited fans yell 'yes - cauliflower!' while running from across the market space, and I've successfully turned 99% of you into Sungold cherry tomato addicts. Sorry. Well, no, not really.
I hear more 'thank-you's' than I can keep track of. Probably - no definitely - more than I return. Before many of us part ways 'til spring, I just wanted to express a heartfelt thank you for making it possible for us to earn a living doing what we love. Your joy, enthusiasm, and gratitude for what we make out of soil, sun, and sweat is a huge part of what makes all those long hot summer days worthwhile. Ain't no other job quite like it! So long as you all keep on eating, I plan to still be out there with my peas and lettuce and tomatoes when you're pushing your grandchildren around in strollers.
Still loads of salad greens for this week. Almost November now, and while we still have plenty of green and purple peppers, the days just aren't long or warm enough anymore to get much in the way of ripe red peppers. It looks like we may get our first frost of the season this weekend, which means the last of the peppers and eggplant this week, but the cold sweetens up the leafy greens nicely. More turnips and radishes in a week or two; cabbages, collards, and cauliflower coming soon, too!
One more round of markets for the year everybody - see you out there!!