Solstice Week

Fresh strawberries from Flyte Family Farms

Solstice Week

It feels and looks like late summer out there in the midst of this drought, but summer officially just kicked off the week as we passed the summer solstice.

Despite the brown grass, the views of the market tables look much more like the beginning of summer with sights of fresh strawberries and the first sugar snap peas of the season in at Live Jewelry Farm (pictured).

Flashy divas like strawberries, may catch the eye, but we were excited to see more produce arrivals this past weekend, like the first zucchini, summer squash and giant kohlrabi in at Emerald Meadows Family Farm (pictured).

These are good omens of the many wonders to come as we move into our summer session of market season, lasting through August. It's a time where we start counting down the weeks until sweet corn arrives in mid to late July, or melons start filling up the tables just before the early season apples pop in.

We'll be patient until that time comes, but for now we'll enjoy the harvest as it rolls in. One seasonal classic to enjoy are garlic scapes, the flowering tops of hard-neck garlic plants, coming in at vendors like Shoua Vang. Enjoy these flavor-packed wonders in a stir-fry, finely chopped in salads or indulge in some homemade garlic scape pesto.

If the heat has taken a toll on your gardening ambitions, it's not too late to grab some starts from our plant vendors before seedling season wraps up. Kopke's Greenhouse (pictured) still has a nice selection, including some stunning hanging baskets.

For those prickly in nature, we say lean into it and grab up a beautiful cactus from Phil Friedl (The Cactus Guy) as he returns to market this weekend with a great selection of cacti and succulents.

Keep your head up as we make it through the rest of this week's heat, hopefully peaking on Saturday. We don't want to jinx it, but there's talk of rain and relief coming our way soon. Fingers crossed!

See you at the market!

Ben Zimmerman

Market Manager

manager.wcm@gmail.com

As a reminder to everyone, dogs are prohibited within the market area, though we welcome service animals at all times.

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Market Science Returns this Weekend!

The great folks from Allen Centennial Garden return to market this weekend for another Market Science day. They'll be focusing on bees again this weekend. Read more below for the programming description for Saturday:

Learn about bees with manipulatable puzzle shapes that demonstrate how the same perimeter has different areas depending on the number of sides a given shape has. There are cut outs of different shapes, so participants can examine how some shapes fit together seamlessly, like triangles, squares, and hexagons, or how not like pentagons or decagons, which leave gaps. These shapes help participants puzzle through the fact that hexagons have a small perimeter but a larger area than other shapes and that hexagons fit together neatly without any wasted beeswax. In addition to this hands on lesson we have lots of replica bees, a hive with slides/pictures of bees in the comb and real bee's wax to feel.

Double Dollars Returns this Weekend!

The fan-favorite Double Dollars program returns Saturday, June 17th and will run through mid-October this season. FoodShare shoppers can match up to $20 each market to spend on approved food items throughout the market. All the money goes directly to our vendors!

Stop by the Info Tent (located in the middle aisle) to use your card and find out more information. Our many thanks to the Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin for facilitating the program. Visit their website for more information, including a full list of all participating markets.

Vendor Notices - June 24

Rude Brew Kombucha will be absent from the market this Saturday, June 24th. They will return the following week.

Daily Vendors:

Alice Good Coffee

Country Bloomer's Greenhouse

Don's Produce

Kerch Apiary

Phil Friedl (The Cactus Guy)

Steppin' Out Foods

Blue Moon Community Farm are currently on their early-summer market hiatus. They will return to vend with their tasty certified organic produce in August.