Farmer's markets provide fresh, local option for summer produce

Squash, cucumbers, okra, potatoes, peppers, corn, beans, cabbage, tomatoes. In a couple of weeks, there should be field peas and watermelons.

Farmer’s markets have set up shop around the Wiregrass with local farmers selling their wares in the hot sun under the shade of portable gazebos and umbrellas. They’ll be out there selling through June and July with most markets closing in early August, and customers are making the rounds.

David Lee Bell and his family have been a fixture at the Houston County Farmer’s Market for nearly eight years. They share cooking tips with customers and get some ideas in return. Along with fresh produce, they make homemade pepper sauce, jams and jelly.

Along with good produce, David Lee Bell said customers are doing their part to be more environmentally efficient.

“The closer you can buy to where it’s produced, the more energy you can save,” he said.

Elaine Bell, David Lee’s wife, said local produce is a good option if you’re conscious about where your produce comes from, who grew it and what they sprayed on it. And produce at a farmer’s market is typically cheaper. There’s also no sales tax.

“We have repeat customers year after year,” Elaine Bell said.

The Houston County Farmer’s Market opens Tuesday, Friday and Saturday at the Houston County Farm Center.

Many of the farmers who work the Houston County market will also work a new 84 West Farmer’s Market, which will be open Thursday afternoons beginning June 5 at the First Assembly of God Church on U.S. 84 West in Dothan.
Barbara Aplin of Aplin Farms said participants are excited about the afternoon market on the west side of town.

They’re hoping to tap into people who get off work in the afternoons, Flowers Hospital staff and customers who don’t travel to the southeast side of town where the farm center is located.

“A lot of people live on that side of town, and they just don’t come over here,” she said.

Bo Sanders of Bo-Jean Farms drives up from Southern Junction to sell his produce at the Houston County Farmer’s Market. He’s got sweet corn, and he may have some fresh blackberries and blueberries later in the season — that is if his pre-order customers don’t buy him out first.

“You get to know your customers after a while,” Sanders said. “That’s when it gets to be fun.”
For farmers and customers that’s kind of the point.

Cherin Shaw’s table at the Enterprise-Coffee County Farmer’s Market was covered recently in onions, tomatoes, zucchini and new potatoes dug out of the ground the day before. Her green beans were picked the previous evening.

“You know your farmer, you know where the stuff comes from,” Shaw said.

What Shaw doesn’t grow, she gets from other markets in the region. She doesn’t hesitate to tell her customers where the produce on her table originated.

“If it’s a Slocomb tomato, it’s a Slocomb tomato,” Shaw said. “If it’s not mine, it’s not mine. You live by your reputation down here.”

Felicia Metcalf makes her stop at the Enterprise farmer’s market a regular part of her week. Very seldom does she miss a day when the market is open.

“It’s fresh, homegrown, and it’s supporting the farmers in the area,” Metcalf said.

Farmer’s markets

Houston County Farmer’s Market

When: Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 7 a.m. to noon

Where: Houston County Farm Center, intersection of Cottonwood Road and Ross Clark Circle in Dothan

84 West Farmer’s Market

When: Thursdays, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Where: First Assembly of God Church, U.S. 84 West in Dothan

Enterprise-Coffee County Farmer’s Market

When: Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Where: Corner of North Main Street and Highway 134 in Enterprise