By Katherine Jones
For The Salisbury Post
Fall has arrived and with it the smells and tastes of the season. The aromas of pumpkin pie, baked apples, simmering greens and cornbread are among the many delights of the season that are now available to you at the Salisbury Farmers Market.
Unfortunately, fall also means that the activities at the Farmers Market will be winding down. The last day of operation will be Oct. 31. Meanwhile, there will still be a large selection of fresh produce, plants and handmade baked goods and crafts, so take advantage of these last few weeks and satisfy your appetite for the delights of fall.
Fruits and vegetables
Mixed greens are plentiful and available from Cress Farm, Eagle Farm, Oxendine Farm and Jack Gill. Mr. Cress also has collards. Sweet potatoes, peas of all types, many varieties of apples, local grapes and October beans can be found from Cress, Eagle and Oxendine Farms. In addition to the fall fruits and vegetables, there is still plenty of squash, tomatoes, cabbage, okra, onions, green beans, peppers and potatoes. Jeff Eagle thinks he will have cucumbers for about two more weeks. Bobby Oxendine will have mountain corn and some pretty ornamental gourds. Eagle also has a new crop of dry pinto beans. B.W. Corriher has some beautiful chemical-free pumpkins.
Plants and flowers
Joyce’s Flowers will have plenty of potted mums in different sizes and some beautiful pansy plants. Dawn’s Greenhouse has herb plants as well as fresh-cut herbs and a flat leaf parsley that is suitable for winter houseplants, in addition to being edible. Zeng Leng is still on hand with her beautiful cut flower arrangements.
Crafts
Dorothy Allen of Frogholler Farm 16 has an interesting variety of handmade crafts. Look at her Trick or Treat bags, lavender dryer bags and embroidered antibacterial bamboo towels. She grows the herbs she uses in her creations which include catnip toys for your favorite feline, night masks with lavender and teabags with rosemary and lavender. The lavender is harvested only three days a year in July and is dried in an environment free of moisture for about three weeks. Lavenders are shrubby plants indigenous to mountain regions of both Eastern and Western Europe where they are cultivated as commercial crops for the distillation of their fragrant oil. The flowers and flower stalks are the only part of the lavender plant used for this purpose. Lavenders are used for potpourris, sachets, oils and cooking. Dawn’s Greenhouse has many herbal crafts including herb balls, bath herbs, sachets and herbal therapy packs.
Baked goods
Kris Turco at How Sweet It Is has a new lemon raspberry muffin that sold out very early last Saturday. Emma of The Bread Basket has a Candy Apple Pie which has a pecan praline topping. She also has a new sandwich cookie which is pumpkin with a cream cheese filling. Posh Pasta and Cakes, How Sweet It Is and The Bread Basket have many varieties of breads, cakes, pies and pastries that are available on hand or by special order.
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Katherine Jones is a Master Gardener Volunteer for the Cooperative Extension Service in Rowan County.
The Farmers Market is located in downtown Salisbury at the corner of South Main and Bank streets. It is open from 7 a.m. to noon each week on Wednesday and Saturday.