Dawn Troutner Market Master

Market Report for June 20, 2014

Fifteen vendors and a large crowd started this Friday night farmers market. Kristi had lots of delicious Czech bakery. Devin and Mason had jam, green onions, radishes, and perennial plants. Darold brought onions, red potatoes, peas, turnips, lettuce, and kale. Keller Berry Patch brought fresh strawberries, cherries and some Danish pastries made out of the berries. Dale had a table full of honey and honey products, along with a new Bug off repellent made with bee’s wax. Chuck and Ginger brought fresh dug potatoes, broccoli, peas, gooseberries, beets, spinach, eggs, popcorn, and some bakery. Dawn had jams, herbs, green onions, rhubarb, turnips, rosettes, and some snack mixes. Sheryl had ceramics, dish cloths, potholders, dish scrubbies, and new this week was body scrubbies. Ty N Cae Produce brought tomatoes and cucumbers out of their greenhouse, along with asparagus, and some bakery. Jim and Barb had kale, broccoli, radishes, zucchini, peas, onions, beets, boy choy, kohlrabi, romaine lettuce, jams, and some bakery. Karen had her soy candles and soy candle products. Kathy and her granddaughter had a table full of delicious bakery. Nina had pies and breads. The Lester’s had their aromathea candles, beautiful patriotic wreaths, hair bows, and some ducky soap. Red Earth Gardens had cauliflower, peas, radishes, red leaf lettuce, kohlrabi, kale, turnip greens, and mustard greens. I am sure I missed something so be sure to come to the Toledo Farmers Market every Friday night from 5-7 p.m. on the east side of the courthouse square.

The butcher, the bakery, the candle stick maker. Well the Toledo farmers market has bakers, not sure about butchers. But we do have two candle makers. Will and Thea Lester make soy candles, the name of their business is Aromathea Candles. They just started selling at market this year.

Karen Kline makes soy candles. The name of her business is Center Point Farm Soy Candles. Center Point Farm was named by her husband’s Great Grandparents for the fact that it is 11 miles from 4 different towns. Karen has been making soy candles for about 12 years. She makes about 60 different scents. The product line has expanded to include 3 sizes of candles, melting tarts, sachets to hang in cars, closets or lockers and an odor eliminating spray that really works and is safe to use as a body spray or on pets and their bedding. However, Karen wants you to know that not all of her fragrances are suitable for use in the odor eliminating spray.

Besides being at the Toledo Farmers market you can find Center Point Farm Soy Candles at Grinnell’s Saturday farmers market, the Shoestring Garden in Toledo, Loralie’s Gift Shoppe in Grinnell and the Community of Flags Store in Brooklyn. Karen also works with groups for fund raising events. The wax that is used is 85% soy blended with 15% other vegetable waxes for the best burning, best smelling candles available. Karen uses soy wax for several reasons. They bun 95 percent cleaner than regular paraffin candles, soy wax also burns at a much lower temperature than paraffin. This means a very low hazard of flashover if too much fragrance oil is used. The temperature stays low enough that the flashpoint of the fragrance oil is never reached. The best part is all of their products are hand made in Poweshiek County from made in the USA components whenever possible.

Be sure to come out to the Toledo Farmers Markets every Friday to not only smell the delicious bakery, fruits and vegetables, but to smell some of the best smelling candles around. See you at market.