The Farmer's Market on Orcas Island

September saw the end of the Farmer's Market in the Park for this year. We have this beautiful green in the center of Eastsound, where we have the Farmer's Market, the Library Fair, the Bite of Orcas the Fourth of July celebration. It is the heart of Eastsound. Sunday nights we have Music in the Park. Now that fall has come, you'll have to wander over the Oddfellows Hall on Saturday's for your fresh greens, squash and tomatoes. Oh and flowers! Don't forget your flowers. This was a great year for squash..I grew about 150 lbs of Blue Hubbard..and the tomatoes thrived in the unusually warm and very long summer. Here is Rhonda, she runs a farm called The Campesina Project. I heard her speak at the Orcas Island Garden Club and thought she could be running the country.

Not everyone knows this, but I had a jam company when I first came to Orcas. First of all I am a Capricorn..so that means I like to work, I hate waste and I need to earn money. Twenty some odd years ago, work was pretty scarce, and as my work as a kayak guide slowed down in the fall, I began picking blackberries. Did you know they grow everywhere here? They are thick, lush and prolific. So, I picked them- two handed- five gallon buckets at a time. OK..so it was a bit extreme..Then I made jam.

Soon we were overflowing with jam. Ken says: "Honey, what are we going to do with all that jam?' Lord knows I didn't need that much jam..so I sighed.."well, I guess we'll have to take it to the farmer's market!" That was the birth of The Orcas Island Jam Company. We spent Saturdays at the Farmer's Market. Ken and I would set up our table, send one of the girls over to Rose's to get fresh baguettes and offer free samples of bread and jam. It was a blast! All the little kids loved us. and every cat sitter on the west coast got some of our jam. I expanded to apple butter, pear butter, plum jam.. almost all the fruit was wild crafted or would have gone to waste. I used a receipt with low sugar and it tasted like pure fruit. So..I have connections with the Farmer's Market.

Our market is not just veggies..no, we have Flo's Tie Dye! We also have jewlery and pottery, in fact here is Bob. He used to be a kayak guide too, now he does pottery with his wife Ginny.

Mostly the Farmer's Market is fun. Everyone gathers on Saturdays, eats oysters or fresh pizza, sausage or sushi, and visits, listens to music, watch the kids play. It is festive and friendly. Sometimes while wandering through the market, or in town people confuse me with Brenda, who has Black Dog Farm. Here we are .. as you can see Brenda is thiner, but my braid is longer!


That's me with my OrcasDreams hat on!