Farmer’s market off to fruitful start

By William White

Published: April 29, 2008

A variety of fresh-from-the-farm produce, plants and locally made products start The Market at Ag Heritage Park’s season off Thursday afternoons under the tents on the Auburn University campus.

The market, located off of Samford Avenue just past Donahue Drive, will be open from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. rain or shine on Thursdays through Aug. 14.

“This is the fourth year of the growers-only market,” said Dani Carroll, county agent with the Lee County office of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. “All the produce is grown right here in Alabama.

“Right now, we have a lot of the early spring produce available on Thursday, like onions, greens, strawberries and greenhouse tomatoes that will be replaced by home-grown, outside tomatoes when available.”

Carroll said the list of available products is long and will change with the seasons — local honey, goat cheese, goat-milk soap, ornamentals, bedding plants, hanging baskets, trees, shrubs, herbs, flowers, hamburgers/hot dogs, casseroles, roasted coffee, shrimp and even Mater Dirt and Tunia Peat to grow things were available from local, area and regional vendors last week.

“This is Al Hooks from right up the road in Shorter,” Carroll said, picking up a bag of cut greens from the table in his tent. “He always goes ahead and cuts up all those greens, washes them, mixes them up together and bags them.

“No washing for me,” she said.

Carroll said Hooks has been there before, but there are some new growers at the market this year who have not been there in years past.

For more information visit the market’s Web site at http://www.ag.auburn.edu/the market.