Home 
Features GO Magazine FRESH FROM THE FARM TO YOU
FRESH FROM THE FARM TO YOU
 LA GRANDE: The La Grande Farmers Market operates Saturdays at Tuesdays at Max Square (). Lisa Britton Staff Writer Gardens are bursting with produce these days as spring veggies fade away and the summer season sets in with bushels of beans, carrots, squash, cucumbers, beets, peppers, onions, corn ... The list is only limited by the seeds sown in Baker, Union and Wallowa counties. All sorts of tasty stuff is being grown locally and picked fresh we're talking 5 a.m. for one of the seven Farmers Markets held each week throughout Northeast Oregon. Baker City The Baker City Farmers Market is in full swing, and last week brought 15 vendors to Geiser Pollman Park, said market manager Tim Banister. The market is held from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays in the northeast corner of the park, at the intersection of Campbell and Grove streets. Offerings include a variety of produce, baked goods, sweet-hot mustard, local honey, crafts, jewelry and drought-resistant plants and shrubs. This Saturday is Kids Day, and Becca Notbohm of Baker City will teach youngsters how to make ice cream using ice, salt, a creamy concoction and a plastic bag. The Baker City market will continue on Saturdays through Sept. 30, with the exception of July 22 when the park will be full of Miners Jubilee events. La Grande Max Square is filled to capacity every Saturday with vendors peddling vegetables, fruit, perennial plants, baked goods, eggs and local beef and lamb at the La Grande Farmers Market. The market is run from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays (through October) and 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays (through early September) at Fourth Street and Adams Avenue. Upcoming markets will see the transition between spring and summer veggies, said Michael Bettis, who is in his fourth season as a produce vendor. Offerings will begin to include Walla Walla onions, greenhouse cucumbers, beets, carrots, local cherries and peaches from Milton-Freewater. Many markets also include tastings cherries on July 22 and tomatoes on Sept. 9 and live music. The Saturday market continues through October, which is Bettis' favorite time of year with all the apples, pears, potatoes and squash. "There's just a wonderful abundance," he said. Enterprise and Joseph The markets in Wallowa County move around a bit. The Saturday market is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Joseph at the corner of Main and Joseph streets, and a Wednesday market is from 4 to 6 p.m. in Enterprise on the courthouse lawn. Beth Gibans manages both markets. "We have three consistent vendors and we add some here and there," she said. "Most of the growers are fairly small." These two markets feature salad greens, beets, carrots, herbs, grass-fed beef, natural beef and lamb and additional produce from Imnaha and Hermiston. Special events include old-time fiddling July 22, a lesson on pairing food with wine Aug. 12, youth day Aug. 19, a cooking demonstration Aug. 26 and a Tai Chi demo Sept. 9. |
