Farmers’ markets have never been more popular. There are nearly a hundred of them throughout the province with 20 located in the metropolitan Edmonton region. In a way, they’re like mushrooms or dandelions: sometimes it seems that a new one pops up every time you turn your head.
While St. Albert’s market is still a solid month from opening day, there is no shortage of other markets with locally grown fare and locally made crafts to choose from and on almost any day of the week. Did you think that market day was always a Saturday? Think again. If you drive around, you can find one open unless it’s a Monday. Hey, even farmers need to rest.
From the county straight to downtown
It’s a 45-km drive from SunDog Organic Farm in Sturgeon County to Edmonton’s City Market Downtown on 104 Street, but Jennifer Berkenbosch and James Vriend don’t mind. They have a strong base of reliable customers for their farm-fresh produce. That itself is reason enough to keep coming back.That, and the fact that they’re avid patrons of the market too. That’s how they decided on this location out of the field of all of the other markets, so to speak.
“When I was a customer, I liked the vibe there a lot. I really liked the street that it’s on and I noticed that there was room for it to grow. I started going there when it wasn’t filled out yet. It was a fledgling outdoor market. There was a lot of space for growth because of the way that it was set up,” Berkenbosch began.
“I felt like it was a good place for us to try out. We were on a trial basis for the first year or two and we just developed a really great customer base off the get-go. We just stuck with it because it’s been a really great experience for us in terms of meeting the right people. Customers … they want what we have. We have had loyal customers from the very first year and our customer base grows every year.”
This will be their ninth season at Edmonton’s oldest market that has been a Saturday fixture for more than a century. The year-round market emerges from its winter venue (indoors at Edmonton City Hall) to its outdoor space (on 104 Street north of Jasper Avenue) on the long weekend though SunDog will make its first appearance of the year two weeks later on June 2.
By that time, they will have a bounty of vegetables and herbs – all organic – including spring herbs like chives and lovage, rhubarb, scallions, pea shoots, and more including spinach too, after it sprouted up from its hibernation under the white stuff.
“That’s always a bit of a crap-shoot depending on how much snow cover we’ve had over the winter. If we’ve had not enough snow cover then that spinach doesn’t survive. But this year, we had pretty good snow cover so it’s looking like we’ll have overwintered spinach.”
Plus, early shoppers can look forward to a special treat. Berkenbosch said that she always makes preserves for the first few weeks of market. She’ll have a medley of homemade jams and pickles but people will have to wait until the spring carrots and potatoes are ready, she said. In the past, they have often had storage vegetables still available from the fall crop but not this time around. They sold all of theirs during the winter market.
There’s only the minor snag of the resilient winter that has only relented its frosty grip in the last few weeks, turning the field into a fresh, muddy canvas ready for the painter’s verdant brush. Thank goodness that they have a greenhouse to give the plants a kick-start. They’ve only just gotten into putting their crop in the ground.
“Two weeks ago, the fields were completely white and covered in snow. It’s been a really dramatic two weeks of melting and change and greening up. A dramatic spring. It’s been crazy,” Berkenbosch said late last week. “The greenhouse is looking superb. We’re just really (wanting) to get into the field. We’ve just started tilling and getting the soil ready for planting and we’ll get out there as soon as we can get all that done.”
Inside their greenhouse, things are indeed flourishing and so is SunDog’s business. They intend to stick with the City Market Downtown rather than try to sell to grocery stores. That’s an entirely different ball game. It’s just not their style.
“For the kind of farm that we are, direct marketing is the most effective way to make a living.”
A touch of town life
The Morinville Farmers’ Market is a fine place to visit for a late Friday afternoon or early evening. It’s also a year-round market and always at the Ray McDonald Sports Centre, either inside during the winter or outside in the parking lot starting June 1.Market manager Korien Sampson said that many townsfolk simply cannot start their weekends without stopping by to shop first.
“We do have our regular customers that do come every single week. They’re amazing loyal customers,” she said.
It’s a smaller market, naturally, but is just as hearty as any other, having celebrated its 30th anniversary within the last few years. Inside, there are usually as many as 10 vendors purveying their produce and prepared food including baked goods and Ukrainian food, jewelry, birdhouses, and other crafts like silk flowers and mermaid pillows.
Right now, this is their slow season so they only see up to 100 customers every Friday. Once they move outdoors, however, that figure multiplies by five just as the number of vendors increases by at least double.
“Our indoor market is slightly slower than our outdoor market but all markets straight across the province pick up when markets go outside. We’re on par with all the other markets. It’s a little on the slow side now though some weeks are busier than others. Once we go outside, our average customer count is 500,” Sampson said.
That’s excellent business for a town with a population of 10,000.
For that and many other reasons, Sampson is excited for the summer season. She gets to tend her own garden to grow some of her own vegetables and pick up market produce for the rest.
“These are the weeks when the planters come out and the gardening stuff comes out, the hanging baskets come out. This is the preface: you want to do your own garden, come down to the market,” Sampson said.
EDMONTON AND SURROUNDING AREA FARMERS' MARKETS
Courtesy of the Alberta Farmers’ Market Association, found at www.albertafarmersmarket.com
124 Grand Market
108 Ave. & 124 Street in Edmonton
Thursdays 4 to 8 p.m. and Sundays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. from May 10 to October 4
Carvel Station Farmers’ Market
Carvel Hall, Lot 34, 52511 SH 770
780-499-1112
Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m. from May 11 to August 31
Edmonton Beverly Towne Farmers’ Market
4002 117 Ave. in Edmonton
780-413-6278 & www.beverlyfarmersmarket.ca
Tuesdays 4 to 8 p.m. from May 15 to Oct. 2
Edmonton Callingwood Farmers’ Market
66 Ave. & 178 St. in Edmonton
780-487-8649 & www.callingwoodmarketplace.com/farmers-market
Sundays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Wednesdays noon to 5 p.m. from May 6 to Oct. 7
Edmonton City Market Downtown
104 Street from Jasper Ave. to 103 Ave.
780-429-5713 & www.city-market.ca
Saturdays 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. from May 19 to October 6 (indoor at Edmonton City Hall during rest of year)
Edmonton Millwoods Farmers’ Market
Millwoods Recreation Centre parking lot, 7207 28 Ave. in Edmonton
780-461-0619 & www.millwoodsfarmersmarket.com
Thursdays 5 to 8 p.m. from June 7 to September 27
Edmonton Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market
Old Bus Barn, 10310 83 Avenue in Edmonton
780-439-1844 & www.osfm.ca
Saturdays 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. from January 6 to December 20
Edmonton Southeast Farmers Market (Capilano)
Capilano Mall at 5004 98 Ave. in Edmonton
780-220-9681 & www.facebook.com/pg/capilanofarmersmarket
Saturdays 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. from January 6 to December 22
Leduc Farmers’ Market
Leduc Recreation Centre (in the parking lot) 4330 Black Gold Drive in Leduc
780-887-1974 & www.leducfarmersmarket.ca
Thursdays and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. from May 17 to October 6
Miller Crossing Farmers’ Market
Royal Canadian Legion, 14339 50 St. in Edmonton
780-855-1374 & www.mcfarmersmarket.ca
Sundays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. from June 3 to December 16
Morinville Farmers’ Market
Ray McDonald Sports Arena parking lot at 9908 104 Street in Morinville
780-934-2379 & www.morinvillefarmersmarket.com
Fridays 3 to 7 p.m. from June 1 to September 28 (inside the lobby during rest of year)
Salisbury Farmers’ Market
Salisbury Greenhouse, Township Rd. 52337, Range Rd. 232 (1 mile south of Wye Rd.)
780-904-7914 & www.salisburyfarmersmarket.ca
Thursdays 4 to 7:30 p.m. from January 4 to December 20
Sherwood Park Farmers’ Market
Community Centre, 401 Festival Lane in Sherwood Park
780-464-3354 & www.sherwoodparkfarmersmarket.ca
Wednesdays 4 to 8 p.m. from January 10 to December 19
Southwest Edmonton Farmers’ Market
South parking lot of the Terwillegar Recreation Centre, 2051 Leger Rd. in Edmonton
780-868-9210 & www.swefm.ca
Wednesdays 4 to 7:30 p.m. from May 16 to October 3
Spruce Grove Farmers’ Market
Elevator Site, 120 Railway Ave. in Spruce Grove
780-240-5821 & www.sprucegrovefarmersmarket.weebly.com
Saturdays 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. from April 7 to December 22
St. Albert Outdoor Farmers’ Market
St. Anne and St. Thomas Streets and the St. Anne Promenade
780-458-3660 & www.stalbertfarmersmarket.com
Saturdays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. from June 9 to October 6
Stony Plain Farmers’ Market
5008 51 Ave. at the Stony Plain Community Centre
780-962-3993 & www.stonyplainfarmersmarket.ca
Saturdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. from March 3 to December 22
The Orchards Farmers’ Market
The Orchards Residents Association, Ellerslie South Edmonton
780-733-2919 & www.orchards-connect.com/main/farmers-market
Saturdays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. from June 2 to September 15
