Homegrown made easier with later hours at farmers market

Jul. 19—WURTLAND — If rising early on a Saturday morning isn't in the cards, some local markets offer later hours.

The Greenup County Farmers Market calls its weekly Thursday hours That Thursday Thing. Vendors are on hand from 4 to 7 p.m. That's in addition to those early Saturday hours. The market is beside the McConnell House in Wurtland.

The Boyd County Farmers Market is open from 2 to 6 p.m. Thursday on Lot K at King's Daughters Medical Center. It's also open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the same location and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the KDMC Cedar Knoll Family Care.

Teresa Walters, president of the Greenup County Farmers Market, is also a vendor, selling products from The Goat Lady Farm. She said the farmers wanted another day added.

"A lot of the farmers, when product starts coming in, they have to harvest more than once a week and they want it to be fresh when they sell it, so they needed another day in the week," Walters said, adding this is not the first summer of evening sales, but some of those have been on Tuesdays.

There aren't as many vendors on Thursdays, she said, but it is a good sampling of what is available on other days of the market.

"We have Valley of Hope, which sells meat. Sweet Bee Gardens, which sells plants, produce and cookies. And Howard's Garden Patch, which sells lots of produce — green, yellow pink and red tomatoes and cabbage, peppers and cucumbers, potatoes. All of the produce you can imagine, they usually have," Walters said. There also is a jewelry vendor, a woodworker and Walters' soaps.

For those aiming to avoid crowds, she said Thursday is an ideal time.

"We have around 100 shoppers and on Saturdays, we have 300 to 400," she said. "I wold love to have more people on Thursdays, but I think a lot of people are busy with ballgames and people getting home from work and there's lot of stuff going on in the community. We have a lot of activities."

Demonstrations are a part of That Thursday Thing, too.

"I have demonstrated macrame and Valley of Hope did weaving," she said. "That just happens when they have time to do it."

Walters said local farmers acquiring high tunnels has expanding the growing season, providing shoppers with a wider variety of produce.

She said she hopes to sign up more vendors, including butter and cheeses, and backyard gardeners are welcome to sell their excess produce.

(606) 326-2661 — lward@dailyindependent.com