Looking for straight from the farm produce? Check out the local Fernandina farmers market.
If you are looking for straight from the farm produce, check out the Fernandina Beach Market Place farmers market on July 6, 2019. Open every Saturday, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., rain or shine, your are invited to meet the farmers who grow fruits, vegetables, nuts, and other plants and vegetation. Their tasty harvests promote a safer food source. They are never gassed, or waxed, imported, or driven across the country. These important elements are good for the environment and good for your family’s health, too. By meeting the farmers you can ask how they grow and harvest the crops.
Al and Anna Boatright have a farm in Bristol, Georgia, and they grow squash, onions, corn, beans, peas and other seasonal vegetables throughout the year. They drive nearly 100 miles, one way, to bring your family fresh food from their gardens.
Another farming family is Ava and Nokoa. Their Nassau County farm, Cabbage Creek Farm, employs organic farming practices such as cover crops. These non-edible crops help prevent erosion, control weeds, and enrich the soil. Most of their vegetables are grown in the cooler months of the year, but during the summer they grow and sell beautiful bouquets of cut flowers including zinnias and sunflowers. They also have fresh herbs like dill, basil, mint and garlic. This friendly couple has extensive farm backgrounds and they are raising their two young children to also care for the land.
Bacon’s Select Produce is also a family farm that grows butter-head and Romain lettuce, kale, and European seedless cucumbers in greenhouses located in Oceanway, Florida. Theirs is a hydroponic farm, growing delicious produce not in the soil, but in a series of tubes nourished by water. When they sell the lettuce, with the roots still intact, you will be astonished at how much longer this lettuce will stay crisp in the refrigerator.
Gypsy Greens Microgreens is a local organic, boutique microgreen farm. Microgreens are tiny little plants, the seedlings of herbs and vegetables, that pack quite a wallop in nutrients and flavor. Unlike sprouts that are grown in water, microgreens are grown in the soil. A study published by the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found these edible greens contain up to 40 times more nutrition than their fully mature versions.
Since 1936, Ganas Pecan Farms from Waycross, Georgia, has been managing their pecans from planting to processing. Kevin endures the two hour drive, one way, twice a month to set up his booth in the Fernandina Beach Market Place. You’ll find candied pecans, chocolate covered pecans, glazed pecans, tiger paws, praline pecans, roasted and salted, and of course raw pecans in shells, cracked and blown, in halves, or in pieces. Kevin also stirs up traditional boiled peanuts at the farmers market, too.
Every Saturday of the year, it takes about two hours for Kings Kountry Produce to make the drive from Starke, Florida, to Fernandina Beach. Tommy King and Jane Honn set up two booths packed full of seasonal produce grown by the King family like strawberries, squash, broccoli, and greens, as well as the pickled beets, pickles, traditional jellies and more that Jane creates. Their farm also offers a road side stand in Starke on Hwy 301. You can’t miss it, just look for the giant orange!
The Fernandina Beach Market Place is proud to have these farmers in our market. There is nothing better than meeting and talking to the fine folks that are growing your food. These folks take on back-breaking work with calloused hands to carve out an honest living and bring you the freshest possible choices in what you are feeding your families.
Bringing a weekly farmers market to Fernandina Beach is quite a production and there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes during the week and we couldn’t do it without our Market Place sponsors. We really appreciate our local sponsor, Jack and Diane’s Cafe, located on Centre Street. Their assistance to the market is priceless, and they keep their hours convenient for market attendees and vendors. This little diner is open for breakfast and lunch on Saturdays and Sundays, and offers many gluten-free and vegan options on their menu.
All American Gutter Protection is our in-market sponsor. They offer micro mesh gutter guards at highly competitive pricing. Stop by their booth and ask them how to get a leaf and clog free gutter for the life of your home that includes a lifetime performance guarantee.
Our Booth With a Cause July 6th is Community Hospice, and the One Blood Bus will be on-site so you can walk in and save lives by donating blood. Sponsored by American Legion Post 54, One Blood has a particular need for platelets. Chemotherapy has harsh side effects and platelets are often used for treatment, but they only have a five day shelf life, so platelets are always in high demand. Most appointments between 9:00 and noon are still available. Call 888-9-DONATE (888-936-6283) for more information or stop by the Big Red Bus to learn more.
Music this Saturday morning is being provided by amazing Saxophonist Gabriel Arnold.
To learn more about our vendors or to become a sponsor of the farmers market, please visit our web page at FernandinaBeachMarketPlace.com.
