F
or three Saturdays now, folks have been pulling up at the BICS parking lot to sell their freshly picked produce, plants, and eggs to eager buyers. These Tailgate Markets were a lead-up to the first Farmers’ Market of the season (June 27), a bigger event where locals will also be selling homemade jams, baked goods, pies, preserves, coffee, tea, garden crafts, seedlings, herbs, and more.
This new food sustainability initiative allows growers to arrive with whatever is fresh and ready to sell and to leave when they are sold out. It’s a fast and fun way for the community to connect every non-farmers-market Saturday, from 10am until sell-out through to October 26.
Some of the produce seen so far at the tailgate sales are: Easter egg radishes, large heads of lettuce, a variety of greens and herbs, squash starts, eggs, garlic scapes from the youth garden, fig trees and the first Bowen-grown raspberries of the season. Besides being a venue for filling up on seedlings, greens and treats, the markets are a chance to meet food growers on Bowen and ask a few questions—the farmers have been happy to trade tips, and to share their stories of growing on Bowen.
Vivian Pearce of Shady Acres says the Tailgate Markets, which are a new initiative of Bowen Agriculture Alliance, made possible thanks to support from the Knick Knack Nook, let her share the extra greens and herbs from her garden.
The larger Farmers’ Market will run June 27, July 25, August 15, September 12, and October 3, from 10am-12pm in the BICS undercover area. It will have tents, tables, kids activities and buskers and be a lively market with a larger spectrum of farm and garden produce and related local items.
At the Farmers’ Markets, Daphne Fargher of Foxglove Ranch will be selling fresh fruits, produce and her limited edition homemade raspberry and rose-petal jams, as well as her grandmother’s recipe marmalades. Daphne’s daughter Kamile Fargher will be selling her famous homemade fudge. Farming is Daphne’s “lifetime dream and job,” and she’s happy Kamile is interested in it as well.
Corinna Headley of Home Farm Gardens says, “For me, I really wanted my children to know where their food was coming from. We started with just a small family vegetable garden, and raising chickens, meat chickens and eggs, and it progressed from there. For the past three years, we’ve grown enough food for about five families in our own garden, and that’s where a lot of the inspiration came from, to go bigger.”
Home Farm Gardens is a regular produce seller at the Tailgate Markets, and will also bring their fleeces, wool socks, lavender, and soap to the Farmers’ Market.
Rosie Montgomery, also of Home Farm Gardens, adds, “We’re having a ball, and we’re doing well, and it’s fun for us. We’re excited to sell wherever we can because this is the first year of our market garden. We’re looking forward to the big market this weekend. We’re just so grateful people are supporting us.”
Support for the Tailgate sales, the Farmers’ Markets and connected programs such as the Young Farmers of Bowen comes from BAA, the Knick Knack Nook, BICR, BICS, the CSA’s Bowen Grows Project, the Young Farmers of Bowen Program and the BICS student garden club. Thanks also to the many volunteers and local growers and artisans who make the market wonderful and to the community for supporting locally grown food and food sustainability on Bowen Island by participating in the markets.
All ages are invited to the markets!
To busk or book a table please contact Marysia McGilvray, Famers’ Market lead, at [email protected]. If you have some fresh produce from your garden you have too much of, but not enough to have a table, the Young Farmers will sell it for you at the Farmers’ Markets!
