Andrews – Downtown experienced a new weekly Farmers Market on Saturday at Hall Memorial Park.
Begun by Carol McElroy of Fairfarren Farm and Pam Smith of Feisty Ranch Farm, the market is looking forward to expanding as the season ramps up.
“We’ll have more vendors and farmers in the coming weeks as early plants and crops begin to produce,” Smith said.
With a small but mighty presence of four vendors in the early chill of blackberry winter, the market attracted periodic crowds from 8 a.m. until noon.
In attendance were John Drude of JC Farms in Murphy with a variety of the farm’s offerings. He was excited to have another outlet for a market.
“We’re expanding this year, trying to offer more crops and even broiler chickens at some point. We also attend the Murphy market, but we’re glad to be able to come into Andrews as well to meet more of our customers who won’t have so far to drive now,” Drude said.
“We don’t really offer farm tours, so we like to get out and meet our customers where they are.”
Drude has greenhouse-grown micro-greens from flowers and vegetables, plant starts and herbs, along with dried herbal and seasoning combinations, all made locally.
New to both the area since 2019 and the market are Lori and Tim Seaborg of Smoky Blue Appalachia, who offer native and beneficial plants and salves made from comfrey while educating people about their forest farm approach to local agriculture. They had wide-ranging plants as pepper starts to native ferns at their booth.
Their “FloriBama” roots began their farm adventure before their move here “where there are mountains and seasons.” According to Lori, this has given them the chance to explore aspects of native species in western North Carolina along with permaculture practices that let the forest grow and provide the needs for the community.
Megan Lambert of Valley River Yarn was also on hand spinning local wools. The shop offers both classes and community project times at their Main Street location in downtown Andrews while supporting the market on weekends with raw and skeined yarns sourced locally and regionally from the coats of alpaca, rabbit and sheep for a variety of potential projects.
Rounding out Saturday’s vendors was Fiesty Ranch Farm, also known as Pam and Duron Smith of Cups & Cones Café.
With fresh eggs and sweet muffin treats in both sugarless and gluten-free varieties, Smith exuded both enthusiasm and glee for both the opening day and the future of the market along with her cohort Carol McElroy of Fairfarren Farms.
“We’re excited to offer heritage poultry including turkeys and quail later this season along with heirloom varieties of vegetables including pumpkins,” McElroy said.
“We’re also looking for those backyard gardeners with an abundance of produce during the season who want to come meet new friends and make community connections,” Smith added.
The market offers 16 seasonal slots positioned around Hall Park with First Street remaining open for customers. These spaces are being offered for a one-time fee of $45 for the season through October and are first-come, first-served for set-ups. Vendors must supply all their own set-up equipment, including tents and tables.
The market is scheduled to run from 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday morning. Vendors may apply by contacting either McElroy or Smith online via their Facebook pages.
Details: Visit facebook.com/fairfarrenfarms and facebook.com/feistyranchfarm.