Fall 2009

“Just because tomatoes have stopped producing doesn’t mean there’s not an abundance of local produce,” says Tim Charles of Fork Mountain Farm in Big Pine. Tim and wife Margaret McGinnis  vend at both the Madison County Farmers and Artisans Market and the Weaverville Tailgate Market, and they want readers to know that farmers market season is not over.

Autumn brings the perfect weather for shopping outdoors. Add to that special events: A harvest festival on Saturday, October 17 at the Madison market and another on Wednesday, October 28 at the Weaverville market, featuring pumpkin painting, a visit from a clown, barbeque, and other activities. And rather than scaling back as the growing season winds down, the Weaverville Market has brought in new vendors including two bakers: Auntie M’s pies and Herban Bakery.

In addition to baked goods, sorghum molasses and many other preserves, beef, pork, chicken, lamb, and eggs are available into the colder months. Produce  including greens, peppers, turnips, beets, eggplants, hydroponic lettuce,  and winter squashes are still thriving.

Tim and Margaret are particularly enthusiastic about winter squash this time a year, talking about a blue-green pumpkin they entered in the county fair;  their biggest pumpkin, which weighs 70 pounds (or more, but their scale won’t go higher); long Italian heirloom squashes; and more familiar varieties such as Butternut and Delicata.  Buy winter squash now and store it until February. Bake squash, use it in soups and stews, and in fillings for gnocchi and ravioli Tim urges.

Margaret and Tim are saving winter squash from its reputation as a bland food. When they stuff Pattypan squash or curry Spaghetti squash and serve samples at tailgate markets, they sell out.  A child who had to be bribed to take his first taste of their zucchini bread ended up liking it so much he finished off the entire plate.  Their cooking works similar wonders for other misunderstood vegetables. “We told a customer how to cook turnips,” Margaret says. “She came back for turnips every week—her kids were demanding them.”
Because Margaret and Tim love gourmet food, they’re ideal growers for restaurants. They provide French and Italian heirloom specialties for Asheville dining establishments including Bouchon, Ophelia’s, and Tomato Jam. “We go and eat at restaurants before we sell to them—we want to know that they’ll appreciate our food,” Margaret says. A waitress at Ophelia’s recently noted the higher quality of locally grown food. “She told us our green beans were the best she had ever tasted, and it just made our day.”

Tim and Margaret moved to Madison County, and away from their previous jobs, so that they could work and spend more time together. They chose to farm so that they could produce something they love--food. ”Tim likes to cook. I like to eat. It works out well,” jokes Margaret.  “Everyone should have food that tastes good and is good for you,” they say, and their Certified Naturally Grown produce fits this description.

They’ve been pleasantly surprised by warm, open community  that’s welcomed and accepted them in Big Pine. Neighbors have given them heirloom seeds and “people are curious about what we’re doing on the farm—in  a nice way,” Margaret says. 

Margaret, who calls herself an “instigator” behind the opening of the new Weaverville Farmers Market this year, has enjoyed developing a sense of community there too.  “We’ve gotten to meet people, and help people learn about new foods and how to prepare them.” She adds, “If you haven’t been yet,  you still have a chance  to come buy the freshest food and meet the people who grow it at farmers market.”
The Weaverville Tailgate Market, located at 60 Lakeshore Drive by Lake Louise in Weaverville, is open on Wednesday afternoons from 2:30pm-6:30pm.  The market’s last day is October 28.

The Madison County Farmers and Artisans Market, located at the corner of Highway 213 and Park Street on the Mars Hill College Campus, will hold the last outdoor market on October 31. Select vendors will participate in a five week Holiday Market indoors at Fiddlesticks on Saturdays from November 21 to December 19, 10:00a.m.-3:00p.m.

Find information on these and other tailgate markets in Appalachian Sustianable Agriculture Project’s  (ASAP) Local Food Guide at www.buyappalachian.org. ASAP provides resources and services for tailgate markets and farmers as a part of its work to keep farmers farming and reconnect people with their food.