Kaelin Vernon of Peacefield Farm in Plano talks with a customer on the opening day of the Southern Kentucky Regional Farmers Market April 10 in Bowling Green. Vernon sells compost made from manure, dirt and hay. "It's as pure as you can get," he said of his compost. (Sam Oldenburg/Farm to Fork)
By Drew Mitchell/Farm to Fork
Shoppers eagerly flocked to buy produce, herbs, cut flowers, cheeses, crafts, organic pasta sauce, and even composted manure early Saturday morning as the Southern Kentucky Regional Farmers Market opened for the season.
The warming sun beamed through the nippy air as market manager Laura Goodwin checked up on each of the vendors.
“We’ve had a great turnout, people and vendors,” Goodwin said.
Goodwin said that the market, located in front of The Medical Center, has 45 vendors signed up for this season. The farms at the market can vary each week. In addition to local produce, the market sells products such as gourmet dog bones, candles, cheeses, pottery, and organic food from the market’s only certified grower, Jake Schmitz.
Sonja Byrd leads her children, Hattie, 9; Thorin, 6; and Sophie, 3, through the Southern Kentucky Regional Farmers Market April 10 in Bowling Green. Byrd said that she and her children come to the market often. (Sam Oldenburg/Farm to Fork)
Sonja Byrd of Bowling Green attended the market with her three children, Hattie, 9, Thorin, 6, and Sophie, 3. She said the kids couldn’t wait to see their favorite vendors, whom the children have given special names. “They’ve been excited for cheese man, dog biscuit man, and giant cookie man,” she said.
Byrd tries to ensure that her family eats local, healthy food whenever it is available. “We try to get everything locally. We order local meat, eggs, and produce,” she said.
While searching through produce, Byrd said the she prefers organic food to traditional produce and meat. “I do this for two reasons,” she said. “Number one, to have the best stuff possible going into our bodies, and number two, to support the local market farmers because of all that they do for the environment.”
Goodwin said that the SKy Market is different than other farmers markets.
Thorin Byrd, 6, holds a Heuchera plant while waiting for his mom, Sonja Byrd, to pay for the plant at the Southern Kentucky Regional Farmers Market April 10 in Bowling Green. (Sam Oldenburg/Farm to Fork)
The actual farmers themselves must sell the products, and only produce and products from the county and surrounding area can be sold. Goodwin inspects all growers’ farms and artisans’ workshops before they can come to the market.
“It’s something that we do for integrity,” Goodwin said. “Keeps everybody honest.”
This year, Goodwin had to inspect nine new locations before the market could open.
Kaelin Vernon of Peacefield Farms was one of the new vendors at the 2010 market. Vernon was armed with dozens of compost bags for visitors to purchase and use on their gardens. Vernon said the compost is made from the manure at the farm and has been aging for nearly a year.
Vernon said that the process to create the compost was very simple. The cow manure is pushed together, mixed with hay and dirt, aired out, and tilled either with hand-held tools or machinery.
Using compost on gardens and plants is very effective and increases the growth rate of the plants, he said.
One of the founding members of the SKy Market, Schmitz, returned for the seventh year with a few new products. Schmitz is the only member of the market who grows organically.
After going through the process of organic certification last year, Schmitz can now proudly display the United States Department of Agriculture’s organic certification seal on his homemade pasta sauce.
“It was extremely easy for me to do,” said Schmitz, who works as an organic quality field coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. “We hope to have more organic products by July.”
Herb plants were another one of the market’s popular products and were sold by many vendors, including Alison and Paul Wiedeger of Au Naturel Farms.
Bowling Green resident Kellie Mysinger bought basil and chives to plant in her garden. She said that in addition to growing herbs, she wanted to grow produce. Now that the market is open, Mysinger plans to go every weekend and continue to add more herbs to her garden.
“I tried growing tomatoes for the first time and it was fun,” Mysinger said. “It was nice to make a salad, pop tomatoes off of the plant and put them into the bowl.”
- The SKy Farmers Market is located at The Medical Center on 31-W Bypass. The market is open Saturdays from 7:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and Tuesdays from 7:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., rain or shine.
Sonja Byrd picks out a plant with help from her children, Hattie, 9; Thorin, 6; and Sophie, 3, at the Crescent Acres stand at the Southern Kentucky Regional Farmers Market April 10 in Bowling Green. Byrd decided on a Heuchera plant. (Sam Oldenburg/Farm to Fork)
Drew Mitchell
Drew Mitchell, a freshman at WKU, is majoring in news/editorial journalism and political science.