NAMPA - Looking for a fun weekend family activity? If you haven’t been to one of Idaho’s farmers markets, you’re missing out on the wide variety of things for sale, from arts and crafts to edible treats, to fresh flowers and garden produce.
Today on “You Can Grow It,” garden master Jim Duthie takes us to opening day of the Nampa Farmers Market, just one of several local farmers markets that are open for business every Saturday from now until fall. And chances are, there’s one not far from where you live.
It’s an iconic part of Idaho, farmers markets every weekend stretching from one end of the Treasure Valley to the other. We went to the Nampa Farmers Market on opening day.
Whether you’re going to eat it or grow it, you’ll probably find it at a farmers market.
“I buy cucumbers.”
“What is this?
“This is a lilac tree. Lilac tree, tomatoes… I like it. I like the farmers market.”
Farmers markets provide local small farms and market gardens a way to sell their products and deal directly with the people who use and eat what they sell. And consumers, like you and I, get to meet the growers and know exactly where the food comes from.
“Thank you very much.”
“Good stuff!”
Like Pitchfork Farms in Nampa, a small family farm run by Jeremy Maxson and his wife and sons.
“We’re growing leafy greens and small baby root vegetables, tomatoes, cucumbers, on about 7,500 square feet. So the majority of our produce is sold here at the Nampa Farmers Market.”
So what’s so special about this farmers market?
“Just the community, I mean the people that you get to know.”
“The farm is in Nampa, and so we want to be able to keep it as close as possible, and then bring it right back to the community here.”
Seven years ago, Bob Wagner and his wife began making and selling their own brand of flavored mustards.
“Well, this is the original. This is our Idaho mustard. It’s the one that started it all seven years ago.”
And since then, the business has grown quite a bit.
“Well, we have ten flavors of Idaho mustard, including our brand new one, the Atomic Lava.”
“Yes, it’s hot.”
Farmers markets like this one are an important part of Wagner’s business.
“I would come to this market even if I was doing a million dollar business a year because I love this market.”
“It’s the camaraderie of the vendors, the customers. We have the atmosphere. We try and really have that festival atmosphere every week. We’ve got music. Everything is just so much fun.”
And the customers seem to agree.
“Thank you very much.”
“I don’t need a bag. You don’t need a bag? Okay.”
John Davis and his wife, Anna, own Season’s Best, and today they’ve got hanging flower baskets just in time for Mother’s Day.
“This has ivy geraniums as kind of its center point. It just makes a beautiful Mother’s Day present.”
And they like being part of the farmers market.
“There’s a great bunch of people. Customers as well as vendors.”
We’ll make one more stop, at Little Acres Jams, which sells a wide variety of jams and preserves, all produced on their farm in Homedale.
Scott Lazarus runs the business along with his mom and dad, using family recipes going back for generations.
“They’re all my mom’s home recipes.”
Besides traditional favorites, you can check out some of their not-so-traditional flavors.
“I do about 25 different varieties of pepper jams. I have everything from no heat in the pepper jam, to how spicy can you take it?”
Sample the flavors before you decide what to buy. It’s just part of the intimate farmers market experience.
“I love it. I love being here. I mean, it’s a friendly environment, the customers are great, it’s local.”
“I love the people. We’ve got a good group of people.”
There are nearly two dozen farmers markets across southwest Idaho and eastern Oregon. Most are open on Saturdays from April until October, but some are open during the week and even into the winter.
For a list of farmers markets near you, click on this link.