Spring has arrived in the mountains! We’re welcoming spring back with outdoor farmers tailgate markets opening across the region!
This past weekend saw plenty of activity at markets. Shoppers found local farm products such as greens, cheeses, local meats, roots, and eggs as well as vendors selling jams, bread, savory and sweet treats, and handcrafted artisan items. North Asheville Tailgate Market opened this past Saturday with lots of farmers back to the tailgate scene after a long winter. Mountain Harvest Organics had salad greens and plant starts for sale. Plant starts, as well as beautiful radishes, were available from Full Sun Farm. Gaining Ground Farm was selling sweet potatoes, parsnips, and eggs. Spinach, braising mix, mushrooms, arugula, and lettuce mix were featured at Ivy Creek Family Farm. Not to be outdone in the greens department, Roaming in the Raw was selling juice and smoothies using fresh wheatgrass and sunflower sprouts.
Asheville City Market also had their first outdoor market of the year after being inside for the winter season. One vendor returning to Asheville City Market after the winter is Sweetheart Bakery. They sell a variety of sweet and savory pastries utilizing local, seasonal, and organic ingredients whenever possible. This past Saturday, customers discovered local cornmeal cheddar and ramps scones. Bee Tree Farm is providing the cornmeal, which is “a really beautiful mix of five different types of heirloom corn,” according to Sweetheart’s owner and baker Aimee Mostwill. Aimee promises that they will be soon offering doughnuts in lots of different flavors such as sweet potato doughnuts with sweet potatoes from Flying Cloud Farm.
Three Graces Dairy sells at a number of markets in the region (Asheville City Market, North Asheville Tailgate Market, Madison County Farmers & Artisans Market, West Asheville Tailgate Market, Weaverville Tailgate Market, and more). The “three graces” that the dairy’s name celebrates are goats, cows, and sheep. This past weekend, Three Graces were selling a delicious hard sheep cheese, which has a smooth milky flavor, as well as an herb-encrusted blooming rind sheep cheese.
One more tailgate market is opening this week; the Weaverville Tailgate Market returns on Wednesday, April 9. For a list of tailgate markets, visit the farmers market section of appalachiangrown.org or ASAP’s online farmers market calendar.
Fresh at Farmers Markets This Week
