Farmers Market update

Erica Miller helps a customer with corn at the Farmers Market. Photo by Darrell Blackwelder, for the Salisbury Post.

By Sue Davis

For The Salisbury Post

The Salisbury Farmers Market has all of the summer favorites this week.

A bounty of blueberries, blackberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and corn fill the market. The Bread Basket has tomato basil bread that is seasoned just right for a tomato sandwich. You will find fruit pies made with local fruit from How Sweet It Is! and The Bread Basket. Lee Ly is back at the market with a large selection of flowers for custom made bouquets. Both Ly and Cathy Reynolds at Bluebird Acre Farms have a nice selection of zinnias and sunflowers.

Correll Farm has tomatillos and recipe cards for red or green salsa. All the fresh ingredients you need to create this summer favorite are available at the market. The displays of tomatoes the growers create are colorful, but to some of us, very confusing. Ask for help if you are not sure what variety is for a sandwich, a salsa, a sauce, a salad or whatever you are thinking of serving. Unlike the many summer squash varieties, each tomato is unique in flavor.

Green Zebra is a colorful green striped tomato. Cherokee Purple is a local favorite. German Johnson, Better Boy and Sun Gold are locally grown and very good for a number of different uses.

The Cooperative Extension and Master Gardener volunteers will be conducting a Tomato Tasting Saturday, at 9 a.m. at the market. If you’re in a quandary at a table full of tomatoes and wonder what each variety tastes like, this is your chance to taste and vote on the one you like best. Tomatoes will be chosen at random from vendors at the market.

The results will be published in next week’s market update.

Meet Erica Miller

At 9 a.m. when the corn wagon at Miller Produce is nearly empty and Mike is on his way with another load, Erica’s smile never fades. She admits at the end of market season she is ready for a break, but she misses the people and the fast pace of getting ready for five markets a week. In spring, she is eager to get back to the market.

This mother of four spreads her time between the farm, her family and her responsibilities in the classroom teaching and working with children with special needs. Walking with friends as often as possible is how Erica keeps the stress of this busy life in control. She recently participated in the 5K race at China Grove, completing the event in 40 minutes. At an upcoming 5K event in Salisbury, Erica hopes to meet her current personal goal of 30 minutes. For Erica, this is not out of reach.

Erica was raised in Spencer and was a city girl until she married Mike. Today she is an

advocate for raising children in a farming environment where chores, responsibilities and working together are what make life interesting and successful. The whole family is responsible for picking and preparing for the market. Frequently, one of the three daughters will come to help out at the market.

Miller Farm is a dairy farm, but providing corn and other produce to the community is important to them. Her son has started raising chickens and sends eggs to the market for sale. She will tell you the chickens can be a handful, but you can see she is very proud of another family accomplishment.

The Salisbury Farmers Market is open Wednesday 7 a.m. - 1 p.m. and Saturday from 7 a.m. until noon at the corner of Bank and South Main streets in downtown Salisbury.