stlbites.com – st. louis food blog of bill burge

Last Week at the Market

May 14, 2008 St. Louis, farmers' markets, missouri

As expected the Farmers’ Markets last week were meat and plant heavy and vegetable light.

At the Maplewood Farmers’ Market (thankfully under the patio tent because of the rain) it was the relatively slim pickings you would expect on opening day. The Root Cellar from Columbia had the most produce including a bit of asparagus that went really quick. Mostly, however, they had various herbs and greens including what I can only assume is the weed of leafy greens: chard. Someone with a better green thumb than I can chime in but it seems like chard is available pretty much the entire growing season.

Also at Maplewood last week, and probably a sign of what’s to come tonight I remember seeing:

• Centennial Farms there with their jams, jellies, butters.
• Karlios from Hinkebein Hills Farm with his pork and beef. This year he’s selling pork tenderloins which he had not previously done as there has been an increase in demand from restaurants wanting boneless loins.
• Prairie Grass Farms had lamb and eggs.
• Brett from Biver was selling a bunch of plants.
• Esther had her honey
• Our Garden had their goat, goat cheese, and cow butter
• Ken from Goatsbeard was slinging his cheese (buy walloon)
• and one other woman was there with plants, eggs, and granola but I have no idea who she was and forgot to ask.

The more astonishing market of the week, however, was Tower Grove. It’s big now. Really big!

They now have a whole slew of vendors selling crafts that stretches around the winding sidewalk on the North side of the market and pretty much every farmer that will be there at the height of the season was already in attendance in some capacity.

The hit, of course, was the terrific looking asparagus from Live Springs Farm. I’m not sure if they came to market last year but, if their asparagus is any indication as to what their berries will be looking like, I’m excited.

Other highlights were Ozark Forest Mushrooms who were there selling foraged morels, and Greenwood Farms who has switched from the Clayton Farmers’ Market to Tower Grove this year. They’re one of the people doing raw milk in our area and they also have grass fed beef, lamb, chickens and whey-fed Berkshire hogs.

Other than that it’s still a few weeks till the vegetables really start flowing but the strawberries should be happening, if not this week, in the next couple.

Tags: biver farms, Centennial Farms, goatsbeard farms, greenwood farms, Hinkebein Hills Farm, Maplewood Farmers Market, prairie grass farms, Tower Grove Farmers' Market