Dawn Troutner Toledo Market Master

Market Report for August 26, 2016

It was a little rainy at the start of the Toledo Farmers’ Market. Market started a little early with the blow of the whistle.

Kristi was ready to sell the delicious rolls, rolilcky, kolaches, pies, breads, cookies, bars, and some little gold tomatoes.

Cindy and Rod showed up with a trailer full of flats of tomatoes. They also had watermelons, taters, cantaloupe, and baskets of green peppers. Vernon and Wilma brought eggs.

Jim and Penny had their Busy Bee Acres products. Assortment of various sizes of honey, honey comb, lotion bars, lip balm, and honey stixs. Darold still had those beautiful gladiolious, along with red tomatoes, green tomatoes, and peppers hot and sweet.

Shirley and Michael came to market with rolicky, kolaches, breads, and buchty. Chuck and Ginger had pies, breads, summer squash, winter squash, hot peppers, onions, okra, cucumbers, taters, egg plant, eggs, and pumpkins. Tom and Nancy brought an assortment of buffalo meat, tomatoes, watermelons, acorn winter squash, hot and sweet peppers. Dawn had fresh and dried herbs, dried beans, cucumbers, red cabbage, garlic, leeks, onions, tomatoes, okra, hot and sweet peppers, taters, winter squash, green beans, and French long beans. Sheryl brought scrubbies, towel sets, bibs, assortment of ceramics’, bowl holders, bottle, or jar scrubbies on a stick, and her smile.

Lois, Marie, Brenda, and Ethan had plenty of cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, cabbage, egg plant, and bell peppers. This was Janice’s’ last market. She brought instant oatmeal mixes, Bobs honey, muffins, and small pies. Joe and Barb had jams, breads, granola, small pies, green peppers, egg plant, okra, hot peppers, leeks, and onions.

Jim was under the pine tree with hand made leather items, wallets, belts, holsters, and coin purses. Janet had breads, bars, and eggs. Karen had her soy candles. Vicki was back with jams, snickerdoodle poppers, brownies, and cookies. Red Earth Gardens brought cherry tomatoes, ground cherries, okra, sweet and hot peppers, cucumbers, garlic, canning tomatoes and sauce tomatoes. There is such a large variety at the Toledo Farmers’ Market, come on out and make your market purchases before it’s too late.

Squash

Do you know what summer squash is, or winter squash?

Winter is starting to show up, and summer is still going strong. The main differences between summer and winter squash are that summer squash bears fruit best eaten when it’s immature and the skin is tender.

Winter squash takes longer to mature with the skin being more rigid and tough, making winter squash the ideal baking or stuffing squash.

Winter squash such as Hubbard, acorn, buttercup, delicate, spaghetti, sweet dumpling, turban, or butternut requires a longer growing season, typically between 80-120 days, while summer squash, such as yellow crook neck, zucchini, or patty pan requires one third to one half of the time. Summer squash must be eaten or processed fairly quickly.

Winter squash on the other hand can often be stored for months in the right conditions.

The experts recommend storing winter squash in warm household temperatures for about 10 days and then moving to a cook, dim place like a garage or basement, where the temperature ranges between 40 and 50 degrees. If you’re interested in some winter or summer squash come on out and make your purchases. There is many varieties there, see you at market.