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Tuesday, February 9, 2010 |
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New farmers’ market offers in-season eats
Published May 13, 2009
SCHERTZ — A new breed of creature has been spotted in the area, identified as a “localvore.”
Satisfied by only the freshest and most seasonal produce, these beings will stop at nothing to seek out the best broccoli, the most succulent squash and the tastiest tomatoes.
And their numbers are growing.
With the new Schertz Farmers’ and Artisans’ Market having opened just after the dawn of the new year, produce-lovers have yet another place to get their freshness fix — one that offers only naturally-grown fruits and vegetables sold by the producers themselves.
“We go to Pickrell Park (701 Oak St.), on Mondays from 3 to 6 p.m.,” said Seguin-area farmer John Peterson. “It’s what we call a growers-only market — whatever we sell we have to personally grow. We’re a year-round market, and by being growers-only, customers can be assured that everything’s local and seasonal and it’s going to be the freshest that they can get.”
And that’s not an exaggeration. Peterson said that in most cases, the items available at the market are picked just hours before they’re sold.
What’s more, the market in Schertz has also begun to feature other products in addition to the variety of fruits and vegetables.
“Normally everything is harvested Monday morning, Sunday afternoon, and then we go to market on Monday,” he said. “Currently we have just a few vendors — there’s a couple of vegetable vendors, we have a goat cheese vendor and a baked goods vendor that comes.”
But Peterson said not to expect to find any exotic produce that isn’t indigenous to the area. Sorry, kiwi fans.
“One thing is, we are seasonal, so we’re just getting in tomatoes,” Peterson said. “None of us sell pineapples or any of that kind of stuff — it’s just what we can grow here at this current time of year — that’s what we sell.”
During the current season, a large selection of greens, including lettuce, collard, kale, chard and mustard, will be available, as well as some cabbage and kohlrabi. Root crops, such as carrots and turnips, are also being sold, with a new batch of produce beginning to come in as the weather continues to warm up.
“We’ll have green beans, all the various summer squashes, zucchini, yellow squash, and what they call the white bush scallop squash,” Peterson said. “Potatoes are coming in — we have little new potatoes, but we’re getting near the end of broccoli and cauliflower and all of that.
“We do have strawberries coming in — asparagus and onions are definitely coming in at this point in time, and there’s some carrots and beets and radishes and so forth.”
As for Peterson, he’s more of a tomato man — heirlooms to be exact. Not particularly interested in the outside appearance of the crop, Peterson focuses more on the effect it has on one’s taste buds.
“I concentrate on heirloom tomatoes,” he said. “We grow about 10 different variety of tomatoes and a lot of them are the heirlooms. They’re not pretty, but they’re extremely flavorful, and that’s one of our big focuses during the summer months.”
Committed to reducing the impact that farming has on the earth, the collection of growers who offer their food at the Schertz market are also there to give buyers peace of mind.
Because the person across the counter is the person who raised the crops themselves, they can not only tell the buyers how they were grown and when they were harvested, but also how they can best be prepared to eat.
It’s all part of the local food movement that Peterson has been involved in since he bought the Wholesome Harvest Farm — located about eight minutes from downtown Seguin — in 1994.
“I grow organic — I say I’m growing naturally,” Peterson said. “And I’ve been doing it virtually ever since I started.”
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