Coming to a Neighborhood Near You
Article by Jeanne Talich
Photographs by Bill Talich
If you love shopping for locally grown produce, and you wish you had access to a farmers market close to where you live, you may have a pleasant surprise in store. This summer, there are wonderful choices right here in our community. The Old SalemCobblestone Farmers’ Market, The King Farmers’ Market, and the Peachtree Farmers ’ Market in Advance are just a few of the markets which offer visitors artisan and fresh farm products grown by local farmers who supply fresh and affordable products. The Old Salem Cobblestone Farmers’ Market management team, Beta Verde, visits all vendors’ farms to ensure the use of sustainable and humane practices. Old Salem’s partnership with Carolina Farm Stewardship Association brings a producers-only farmers’ market into the heart of the city.
The markets restore a tradition that began over 200 years ago. Many Forsyth County residents can recall “peddling” with their grandparent or parent from their farm to the city with milk, eggs, sausage, and seasonal produce for sale to their city customers on a regular weekly schedule. This long-standing tradition was sadly lost to supermarkets, imported food, and industrial agriculture in the second half of the 21st century. Thankfully, we are experiencing a return to these practical, old ways.
Cheryl and Ray Ferguson, of PLUM GRANNY FARM located near King, operate one such farm that has been “re-claimed” to carry this tradition forward. The farm is set on 54 beautiful acres of rolling countryside just south of Hanging Rock State Park in the Capella community. Cheryl grew up on this farm and her father, grandfather and great-grandfather all practiced the art of cultivation. Cheryl and Ray are building on their heritage as a NC Century Farm, as the farm has been in the Ferguson family for over 140 years. Ray has his farming roots in Kansas where his mother grew up amid some of the most beautiful soil that has ever been seen. They say, “our approach to farming is to nurture the soil and the land to return it to its optimal state. Building the soil with cover crops, compost and manure will help us produce better, healthier crops without pesticides or chemicals and is an essential part of our sustainability.” Their passion for health and their willingness to share their knowledge of gardening and nutrition is evident as soon as you meet them.
You can find a list of all the vendors at the Old Salem Cobblestone websites: www.oldsalem.org/farmersmarket. All of the markets have lists of vendors too, so you can easily find what you want if you do a little research on-line. You’re sure to find a market close to you at http://www.localharvest.org
Here is a sampling of the markets around the area:
Old Salem Cobblestone Farmers’ Market
Market hours: Saturday mornings 9:00 a.m. to Noon
Tuesdays 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Location: Old Salem, Winston-Salem
(adjacent to the Single Brothers Garden, at intersection of West Street and Salt St.)
Wednesday King Farmers’ Market
Market hours: Wednesday mornings 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Location: Stokes Family YMCA, 105 Moore Road, King, NC 27021
Peachtree Farmers ’ Market – Advance
Market hours: Friday mornings 4 pm-8 pm
Location: Corner of Peachtree Lane and Hwy 801 South in Bermuda Run
There is a wonderful variety of vendors, all offering the highest quality products, in a fun and energetic atmosphere you just can’t find anywhere else. The roasted coffee, ground and brewed on the spot by Krankies’, makes the trip to the Old SalemCobblestone Market worth getting out of bed for!
Come by one of these markets and explore the variety of homegrown goodness and meet the farmers who work the land to produce healthy food like your grandparents used to grow!