For the market existing 9 whole weeks it’s almost a miracle that we haven’t seen such foul weather sooner. We’ve been lucky up until yesterday, when we experienced intermittent drizzle punctuated by occasional downpours. A big giant thank you to the die-hards (vendors and customers alike) who come to the market rain or shine! Your local growers are committed to you and the market and will not let a little weather get in the way of this food chain. As the community works together to build a stronger food network, one of the sacrifices we face is working through the challenges (like the weather) so that we can depend on each other being there.

This week our vendors brought even more tomatoes, onions, garlic, peppers, potatoes and cut flowers than we have seen in previous weeks. Walker Mountain Meadows was there with their assortment of water plants, Japanese maples and exotics. On such a chilly day it was nice to get a hot cup of coffee from Princess Valiant or a juicy Grange Grill burger for lunch. Tuna Dan grilled up some of his salmon for lucky taste testers. Elk Meadows quickly sold out of raspberry tarts which were quite the comfort food for the day. All you need is a little bit of honey from the Elwha Apiary to sweeten up that tea at the end of a soggy market visit.

The Sequim Lavender Festival may have stole some of our thunder this week but our growers reported higher than expected sales. Locals are getting more familiar with the market’s presence and each week we see more people coming out and coming back.

Luckily for the locals our farmers are bringing a better selection each week. On Sunday we saw our first tomatoes and peppers of the season, the good sized onions are finally here, along with big, hearty carrots and cabbages.

Next week expect more of the same beautiful, certified organic (and organically grown) produce. If you’re not thinking about the winter months, you should be. Now is the time to get the best deal on abundant produce. Consider freezing or canning for the future!

Another stunning Sunday for the market with 18 vendors, the most yet. New vendors were diverse, offering chair massage, landscape logs, water lilies/lotus and unusual or exotic plants of all kinds. The Grange Grill has fired up the BBQ and kept everyone fed with their tempting hamburgers. The highlight of the day for everyone was the day long performance by Tones of Peace, a marimba band with members from Port Townsend and Bellingham. They kept everyones’s spirits happy and cool on an other wise hot day.

Next week is the Sequim Lavender Festival, our usual vendor Sequim Lavender Company will be missing from the market and attending the big event which is said to draw 30,000-40,000 people. If you are in the area, stop by our market and sample the best of what the Olympic Peninsula has to offer!

What a nice turn out this week. Colinwood Farm brought 5 of the 12 varieties of potatoes they are growing this year. Snow and snap peas were widely available this week from Red Dog Farm, Dharma Ridge Farm and Wildwood Farm, along with heartier onions and beets that have enjoyed the sun. Calvin the Tarboo Valley Bee man was on hand gathering interest about future bee needs. G&R Quality Seafood served shrimp cocktails and oysters on the half shell. We are so lucky to have Olympic Pastured Poultry and Tuna Dan providing peninsula grown protein in organic chicken and wild salmon, respectively. The Elwha Apiary is now offering a smaller sample size honey along with their regular pints and/or quarts. In case you missed it, Sequim Lavender Company’s Dr. Lavender was profiled in the Peninsula Daily News on Monday, July 7th.

Next weekend is Hadlock Days! While you are in the area come visit the market, support local agriculture and buy the freshest, most nutrient rich items available unless you are growing it yourself. We are hoping for a full house, with Princess Valiant Coffee, Rosa’s Deli-Mex, and our wonderful vendors with their assortment of produce, plants, honey, lavender, seafood, chicken, wool and jams. You can find great ready to eat food and music will be provided all day by Tones of Peace, a fantastic marimba band. Bring your dancing shoes and prepare to enjoy yourself!

Warmer weather for the past couple weeks has helped turn out a lot of produce we have been waiting for, such as potatoes, broccoli, onions, beets and carrots. In another couple weeks we will start to see the first tomatoes and peppers and the full bounty will be upon us in cauliflower, berries, peas, green beans, cucumbers and zuchini.

Now is the time to start stocking up on fresh produce for canning or freezing for the leaner months! It’s not official, but at least 95% of produce at the Chimacum Farmers’ Market is certified organic or grown organically. If price is a concern, click here to learn about the cost of local food, why it can be more expensive (but not always) and the impact of buying from farmers in your area. Buying your food at the farmers’ market is an investment in the future of our food on the peninsula and worth every cent.

This week we were joined by Big Quil Enterprises, Quilcene’s incredible 4H club and student-run oyster business, grilling shrimp and pan frying oysters.

The market will be open July 6th for the holiday weekend. Be sure to stop by the market during Hadlock Days on July 13th as we will have new vendors and your old favorites.

What a difference a week (and many hours of sun) will make! This week the market had 5 new vendors. Compass Rose Farm brought Icelandic wool in several natural tones, along with their herb and flower starts, Gogi berry bushes and Nicotiana plants. Wildwood Farm pleased the crowd with a bounty of heavenly fragrant peonies, perhaps 10 different jams, salad mix and red scallions. Tuna Dan brought whole salmon and fillets, all of which were “swimming yesterday”, as his sign states. Clint the Tarboo Valley Bee man showed off a beehive set up and took information from people interested in ordering colonies in Spring. Rosa’s Deli-Mex kept everyone in a good mood with her delicious tacos and tamales.

Next week the Quilcene 4H kids may be on hand, grilling local oysters and shrimp. We may also see a local man who makes rustic cedar furniture with wood from his property. Word has it that broccoli will be available, and hopefully our goat cheese, seafood and baked good vendors will bring more stock so late coming customers won’t go home empty handed. They all sold out or came very close this week. Ask your vendors about pre-orders for the upcoming week!

The glorious sunshine today came many days too late for several of our producers who sat this Sunday out due to lack of growth over the past week. Our cooler-than-usual Spring has remained a challenge for local growers and consumers. The market had fewer vendors today but the steady stream of customers kept the day worthwhile for most vendors. We are all hoping that the clouds stay away for a few days so that the long anticipated peas and carrots will spring forth and grow with gusto.

This week’s new vendors were Olympic Pastured Poultry with local, organic pastured chicken and Whiskey Hill Farm who brought raw goat’s milk and goat’s milk soaps, and plans to offer raw milk aged cheese in the future. Next week we will be graced by an appearance from Rosa and her famous taco truck, Tuna Dan the Fish Man from Forks with salmon and halibut, and hopefully our full roster of producers will return with their beautiful produce.

This week’s market was lighter in vendors and customers, due to somewhat foul weather preventing much crop growth from the previous week, and keeping customers inside on another “Junuary” afternoon. We were joined by a new vendor, Elwha Apiary, who brought their assortment of honeys and beeswax products. Next week we will be joined by Olympic Pastured Poultry and a native plants vendor. G&R Quality Seafood plans to serve fresh clam chowder, and Grange members will be flipping burgers. Rosa and her fabulous taco wagon have committed to being on hand in the near future. Soon enough the Chimacum Farmers’ Market will be a full fledged happening!

The first ever Chimacum Farmers’ Market was a raging success! Customers and vendors alike were amazed with the turn out and everyone plans to return next week. Vendors on June 1st included Old Tarboo Farm, Dharma Ridge Farm, The Farm Stand, BarDan Mountain Grown Produce, Red Dog Farm and Colinwood offering a variety of greens, herbs, flowers, radishes, potatoes and rhubarb. Plum Wild Farm, Leslie Richards, Tordoff Farm, Ferry Farm and Elk Meadows brought vegetable and herb plant starts and well established azaleas, dahlia tubers and flower baskets. G&R Quality Seafood had fresh oysters and clams, Princess Valiant was on hand vending coffee and chocolates, Mountain Spirit Herbal Co. brought a wide variety of tinctures and salves, and Sequim Lavender Co. kept the market smelling fragrant with their plants and sachets.

The Fruit Club was in attendance, as was Diane Johnson of Community Methodist Church with her weekly seed planting activity for children. Hadlock Building Supply has donated the seeds for the season and Roger Short has provided his magical dirt.

One of the highlights for everyone was Andy Mackie and his fellow musicians, including his students and children from the Chimacum Pi Program, playing a variety of stringed instruments in the round. Their music was like the icing on the cake, adding a pleasant down home air to the market.

Spring has not been kind to peninsula farmers.  As the season warms up we will see an even greater abundance of available products.  Feel free to ask farmers what they have coming in the next few weeks.  Eating local, in season food is one of the simplest joys and loaded with positive consequences.

When you come to the Chimacum Farmers’ Market please consider parking at the high school and using the crosswalk. Parking is very limited at the Grange and we try to save it for those who need to park more closely. Road parking can be dangerous with pedestrians crossing the highway. Parking in the road and jaywalking are both ticketable offenses so be wise and park in a safe area.