Fresh Picks

1 June 2012 / V2N2

Saturdays 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. through the end of October 720 North Lewis Street Glenville, West Virginia Market Information Mary Lee: 304-853-2440 304-462-7039 John: 304-871-3198 Larry: 304-462-5631 Thank You to Our 2012 Newsletter Sponsor

Down on the Farm

Taking the bold step into full-time organic farming is a challenge and a joy
Kim Yanceys face brightens as she talks excitedly about Ry Farm, the 107-acre working farm named for her father, Roland Yancey. Its not just this, she says, spreading her hands over her table filled with enormous bunches of red and romaine lettuce at the May 26 market. Weve got pigs and chickens, goats and cowsweve got everything. Kim, a member of the Gilmer County Master Gardeners, has been farming all organic for some time, but this is her first season as a regular vendor at the Gilmer County Farmers Market. She and partner Brigid Ryan have recently committed themselves to full-time organic farming, which includes both produce and livestock. We hope to have piglets ready for market later this summer, and we just sold a bunch of little chicklets. Something new at the market will be dressed chickensraised organicallynear the end of summer. We wish Ry Farm all the best!

Newsletter Editor Melissa Gish 575-302-1732 Glenville.Market@gmail.com Join our listserv to have full color issues of Fresh Picks delivered to your email inbox Visit our Web site: Glenvillemarket.blogspot.com

Making the Market Happen

Mary Lee McPherson and John Bennett have been involved in the Gilmer County Farmers Market since its inception, and they continue to help the market grow through their assistance to returning vendors, encouragement of new vendors, and well-organized preparation each week. In addition, Mary Lee is the official greeter of the market, and John spearheads an efficient set-up and tear down each week. Thanks also to Larry Chapman for his work on the market. If you would like to become a vendor at the market, contact Mary Lee, John, or Larry at any of the numbers in the info section. New vendors are always welcome!

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Kids Make the Most of Market Day

Allyson Peters and Matt Montgomery took advantage of a beautiful early summer morning by selling vegetable and herb plants, geraniums, and hanging flower baskets to raise money for Future Farmers of America (FFA). Matt was recently elected FFA Reporter, so if you see him around Glenville, encourage him to share his talents with Fresh Pickswe are always looking for articles and essays, and wed love to hear about FFAs activities in Gilmer County. The FFA kids will spend their summer gearing up for the Gilmer County Farm Show, which will take place September 48. We wish them all success! Autumn Marks showed off her kitchen talents at the market with banana bread that practically flew off her table within the first hour (Im enjoying a thick slice right now as I write this!) as well as a delightful selection of oldfashioned hard candy in flavors ranging from grape and apple to watermelon and hot cinnamon. We are definitely making more cinnamon, says Autumn, as she offers a market patron a sample. This is the most popular flavor. Hope she bakes more bread too! Also on May 26, Emily Loftis took charge of the markets lemonade stand, serving up refreshments that hit the spot for many market patrons. When business slowed, the little gal took a proactive approach, visiting vendors tables as well as catching the attention of wandering patrons to offer up her delectable product. She was a gogetter, remaining busy the entire market morning, and we applaud her gumption. The lemonade stand is available to any youngster who would like to manage the sales, and the market provides the lemonade. Contact Mary Lee McPherson if youve got a mini vendor interested in making a few (or more than a few) dimes on a Saturday.

Butterfly Corner
The Gilmer County Master Gardeners have spent a year preparing the soil in a special spot at the entrance of the Farmers Market grounds for a very special purpose: a butterfly garden. On May 26 members planted the first of what they hope will be many flowering plants and shrubs particularly attractive to butterflies. If you are thinning your flower garden, please consider donating your extra plants to the butterfly garden some Saturday morning.

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Summer lemonade . . . l and then some

Here are some fruity drink recipes guaranteed to put an Ahhhh in your summer evening. Rosemary-Infused Cucumber Lemonade
3 large cucumbers 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, plus 4 sprigs for garnish 1 cup water 1/2 cup lemon juice 3 tablespoons agave syrup Cut 12 thin slices of cucumber for garnish. Peel and chop the rest of the cucumber; transfer to a food processor, add rosemary and puree. Pour the puree through a fine-mesh strainer set over a medium bowl or large measuring cup. Press on the solids to extract all the juice. Add water, lemon juice and agave syrup to the cucumber juice; stir until the agave is dissolved. Divide among 4 ice-filled glasses. Garnish with cucumber slices and rosemary sprigs. NOTE: You may also use a juicer to prepare the cucumber. Makes 4 servings

Summer Fruit Punch

2 cups diced stone fruit, (apricots, plums, peaches, nectarines) 2 cups apricot juice 2 cups sparkling wine 1 cup sparkling water Makes 4 servings

Strawberry-Coconut Daiquiri
2-1/2 cups chopped fresh or frozen (not thawed) strawberries , (about 12 ounces) 3 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons lime juice 3 cups ice cubes 3/4 cup coconut-flavored rum, such as Malibu or Parrot Bay NOTE: For a non-alcoholic drink, omit the rum and add 1/2 cup additional strawberries Makes 6 servings

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Herbs: The Garden Mainstay

The Helpful Gardener tells us about herbs in our gardens. Herbs can be classified in three categories: culinary, medicinal, and ornamental. First are the culinary herbs. These are familiar herbs such as basil, rosemary, parsley and oregano. In growing these plants, we not only provide ourselves the joy of gardening, but the satisfaction of eating the fruits of our labor. The flavorings that herb gardens provide to our daily bread can truly enhance our lives. These plants are easy to grow and provide one of those simple pleasures that is an inexpensive luxury. Medicinal herbs are seeing a resurgence. Echinacea, valerian, hypericum, gingko, and garlic are all on the shelves as medicine. For the home gardener, however, it is difficult to extract the medicinal parts of these plants. Echinacea, for instance, must be extracted by boiling only the roots, reducing it over a period of hours while skimming off the impurities. It seems unlikely that most gardeners would be willing to devote the time (and destroy their coneflowers) to make their own echinacea extract. And some herbs should be considered for strictly ornamental purposes. The ancient Greek botanist Dioscorides recommended absinthe, or wormwood, as a cure for drunkenness. We now know it to be destructive to both the heart and the nervous system, but it still remains in the herb garden in its many forms, providing a wonderfully soft, silvery foliage. Many of the plants thought of as mainstays of the herb garden are holdovers from superstition and magic. Perhaps that is part of the mystique of herb gardening.

The National Wildlife Federation has this to say about butterfly gardens:
Attracting butterflies involves incorporating plants that serve the needs of all life stages of the butterfly. The insects need places to lay eggs, food plants for their larvae (caterpillars), places to form chrysalides and nectar sources for adults. Adult butterflies are attracted to red, yellow, orange, pink and purple blossoms that are flat-topped or clustered and have short flower tubes. If you dont grow caterpillars, there will be no adults. Bringing caterpillar foods into your garden can greatly increase your chances of attracting unusual and uncommon butterflies, while giving you yet another reason to plant an increasing variety of native plants. In many cases, caterpillars of a species feed on only a very limited variety of plants. Butterflies need sun for orientation and to warm their wings for flight. Place flat stones in your garden to provide space for butterflies to rest and bask in the sun.

Beef: Its Whats forFashion

Belts, purses, wallets, moccasins. These are just some of the items produced by Eugene Breza of Tanner Leather Works. I plan to become a regular at the market again, says Eugene. Well have more on Eugenes creative arts in an upcoming newsletter. Be sure to stop by Eugenes table and check out his leather work.