It’s getting warmer, the sun is out longer and farmers all over Colorado are getting ready for market season.
On Saturday, area farmers gathered at the Boulder County Fairgrounds to sell fresh fruits and vegetables, plants, baked goods, meats, eggs and other assorted local items.
The Longmont Farmers’ Market runs every Saturday beginning the first week in April through November 23. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits are accepted by all vendors.
The market began in 1987 with a collection of small farm stands and has grown to become one of the largest in the state. Boulder County Farmers Market, or BCFM, estimates that the Longmont market receives upwards of 60,000 visitors each season.
Stocked entirely by Colorado producers, BCMF reports that the Longmont Market will host over 175 vendors this season, with 48 new merchants. Opening weekend saw a smaller number of retailers, both due to the early growing season and the weather forecast.
Saturday called for high winds and cooler temperatures, but that didn’t dissuade David Thomas of Rough and Ready Farm from setting up a table to sell his winter greens and vegetables.
“Most of what we have here like the spinach and the kale were grown outside, uncovered, and then we have covered tunnels for the other produce,” Thomas said.
Mary Vavrina and Kayla Kupilik were busy chatting with patrons and showing their products to curious passersby. Mary owns Left Hand Wool, which sells meat, sheepskins, hand-dyed yarn and dryer balls. Kupilik is her daughter.
“My mom grows her own rabbit brush and marigolds and indigo, and then uses those plants in the dyeing process. It’s pretty incredible,” she said.
Kupilik thought the weather had slowed traffic to the market. “It’s not as busy as what we usually see for the first one, but it’s been steady,” she said.
One of the benefits of buying from a farmers’ market is the opportunity to connect with people like Thomas, Vavrina and Kupilik. Getting to know your neighborhood farmers is one way to develop a deeper understanding of how your food is raised and where it comes from.
