By:  Eddie Ayers, County Extension Agent

The Gilmer County Farmer’s Market celebrated its 12^th anniversary this spring on Broad Street in Ellijay. Since the beginning, it’s made several changes over the years and this one is no different.

The Farmer’s Market is sponsored by the Master Gardener Cooperative Extension volunteers of Gilmer County and the University of Georgia and according to the market managers, Bonnie Waldron and Paula Lineback, it has been a very good year.  There have been almost 40 different vendors utilizing the market and as a result of suggestions from vendors, the managers have added two new activities this year.

As a way of saying “thank you” for coming to the market, the vendors are providing produce for a drawing and everyone that attends the market can enter the free drawing and win a basket of fresh produce.  If you just attend the market, you are eligible to win. The next two drawings will be on August the 8^th and August the 15^th.

Another new event that the Master Gardeners (MG) are planning is a small plant sale that will start in September.  MG Volunteers will bring plants from their local gardens to sell at the market.  The proceeds will help them defray the costs of running the market.  It will be a different selection each week and will only feature a few plants.  If you would like to get plants that are known to grow in this area, make sure you attend the market in September.

Saturday, October 4^th will be the last day of the market for this year.  The hours are Saturday mornings from 8:00 am until 12 noon.  If you’re planning to visit the market, remember that produce vendors can leave as soon as they sell out, so make sure you arrive early to select from all the choices available.

It’s also not too late to become a vendor so if your garden did well and you have extra produce, the Farmer’s Market is an excellent venue to sell your produce and help cover the cost of your garden.  Vendors register at the market on the first morning they arrive for the season, fill out their registration card and pay the $10.00 fee which is good for the remainder of this year’s program. Vendors should arrive no later than 7:30 am to set up and can leave at 12:00 noon or as soon as they are sold out.

And once again this year, the MG Volunteers have their “Ask a Master Gardener” table set up that has information about flowers, vegetables, and general gardening. There are a lot of exciting events happening at the market this year, so make sure you stop by and take advantage of local offerings.

For more information about the Farmers Market, contact me at the Gilmer UGA Extension office.

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(Photo courtesy of the Gilmer County Chamber of Commerce)