Dawn Troutner Toledo Market Master

Market Report for June 3, 2016

WOW, what a market. The Toledo Farmers’ Market had seventeen vendors, and growing. Vernon and Wilma started the south end of the market with eggs and more eggs. Kristi had her table full of delicious bakery, kolaches, rolicky, rolls, pies, crisps, cookies, bars, and breads. Caryn was there with plenty of caramel corn, kettle corn and snack mixes. Darold was in the shade with radishes, onions, turnips, and lettuce mix.

Shirley and Michael had noodles, rolicky, kolaches, buchty, kuchen, breads, and cookies. Chuck and Gingers table was full of pies, cookies, breads, kolaches, popcorn, nutmeats, lettuce, spinach, onions, gooseberries, radishes, kohlrabi, and eggs. Dawn had jams, jellies, breads, rosettes, energy bites, fresh and dried herbs, radishes, green onions, asparagus and bath bomb packets. Sheryl had plenty of ceramics, cute horses and hen and rooster ceramics, team theme football night lights, towel sets, scrubbies, soap sachets, oven mitts and barefoot sandals for babies. Janice was a new vendor with kohlrabi, rhubarb, bundt cakes, cookies, muffins, breads, instant oatmeal mixes, and a smile. Jim was under the pine tree with his homemade leather goods. Joe and Barb had yeast breads, granola, praline candy, turnips, lettuce, napa cabbage, kohlrabi, cabbage, and boc choy. The napa cabbage looked wonderful. June was back after taking a couple years off. She had spinach, lettuce, kale, onions, and radishes.

Kathy had a table full of kolaches, rolls, bars, snack mixes, nut coils, and breads Her new item this week was cantaloupe bread. It was very tasty. Kathy usual has a new item so watch her table. Tom and Nancy had frozen buffalo meat which included hot dogs, summer sausage, brats, breakfast patties, and ring bologna. Tassy was there this week she had popsicles, lemonade, tea, cookies, bars, breads, party mix, oatmeal cake and this week she had a hand scrub that was new. The girls from My Mothers Place were back with brownies, breads, rolicky, sugar cookies, peanut butter balls, kolaches, kuchen, cakes, and peanut butter cookies. And holding up the north end was Janet with eggs, muffins, apple bread and plenty of shade.

Once the gardens start producing I look for a few more vendors to be there. So be sure to mark those calendars and come on out to the Toledo Farmers’ Market and make you tasty purchases.

I am off to the garden still have much to plant. have weeded until I can’t pull another weed. But guess what, there is always another weed.

To control weeds, many are starting to garden in containers. I am experimenting with some of that myself this year.

I have planted some basil, cilantro, parsley, rosemary, thyme, and oregano in containers. I just have to remember to water them. Drainage is the key; this will allow you to water and feed the plant efficiently. Don’t line the bottom of the containers with gravel or small rocks. People believe this helps with drainage when in fact it impedes it.

An uninterrupted volume of potting mix is like a sponge. If you set a sponge on level soil, the water from it would gradually be transferred to the ground. However, if you place a layer of gravel between the sponge and the ground the water would cling to the sponge.

Compost is good food for plants, but too much in a container slows drainage. If you use compost in you containers, make a compost tea and use it to feed the plants. Most commercial potting mixes contain time released fertilizer. You’re better off using a mix that does not contain such a fertilizer. Your goal is to grow a container vegetable garden that has enough nutrients for a healthy plant, not to cause it to grow excessively. Don’t worry if you happen to purchase a potting mix with fertilizer in it, run an excessively amount of water through the mix to wash away the initial load of highly soluble material.

Make sure to catch the runoff and use to water your lawn. There you have it Judy some container gardening information for you. Happy gardening.