2011 Dot Survey Results!

Thank you to the customers that completed our Dot Survey on Saturday, August 27, 2011. We had a lot of great response and it's always wonderful to hear from you, our loyal customers.

Question 1. How many times per month do you shop at a farmers' market?

Total responses: 275

1-2 times: 38.5% (106 votes)

3-5 times: 55.6% (153 votes)

6-10 times: 4.4% (12 votes)

>10 times: 1.5% (4 votes)

Question 2. Was the Farmers' Market your primary reason for coming to Old Town this morning?

Total responses: 282

Yes: 91.8% (259 votes) *Thank you for making our market a destination!*

No: 8.2% (23 votes)

Question 3. How much have you, or will you, spend at market today?

Total responses: 277

<$10: 13.4% (37 votes)

$11-$20: 33.2% (92 votes)

$21-$50: 44.8 (124 votes)

>$50: 8.7% (24 votes)

Question 4. How did you travel to the market today?

Total responses: 281

Car: 58.7% (165 votes)

Bike: 28.5% (80 votes)

Walked: 12.1% (34 votes)

Other: 0.7% (2 votes)

Question 5. Do you buy produce in bulk from this market to preserve or freeze at home?

Total responses: 286

Yes: 40.6% (116 votes)

No: 59.4% (170 votes)

Vendor Profile: Rocky Mountain Salsa

By: Patrick Miller, Master Gardener

It is a hot summer day in Fort Collins. What would be nicer than a siesta with a cool beverage and some tortilla chips and salsa. OK, so now you have decided that nothing sounds better and are on a mission. No ice cream truck or gelato store can stand in your way! The first thing you do is go to the grocery store and find the chip aisle. You decide that most any brand or kind of chip will work, because everyone knows that the chip is simply the “carrier” for the goodies you have to scoop, spread, dip or dollop.

Next, you go to the salsa isle and what do you do? Drop your chin to the floor as you discover how many choices you have?! No, but trying to decide which kind to purchase can be a daunting task. But let me make this easy for you with a bit of advice: Rocky Mountain Salsa! Using fresh onions and cilantro, Amy Lasley has created a product with no added preservatives, sugar or vinegar. And besides being local and supporting of Colorado agriculture and the Larimer County Farmers' Market, this is darn-good stuff! But don’t let me decide for you, try it yourself! You won’t be disappointed.

Rocky Mountain Salsa is available at Jax® Outdoor Gear, Beavers, The Cupboard and several grocery stores across the front-range. For more information, visit Amy's website at http://www.rockymountainsalsa.com/

Vendor Profile: Good Seed Bakery

By: Alie Rich, Master Gardener

I am definitely not one of those people that could ever go on one of those low carb diets. I simply love bread way too much. I was even more assured of my affirmation to never give up bread after visiting Good Seed Bakery’s booth at the Larimer County Farmers' Market this past weekend. The spread of delicious hand-made breads, scones and pies was beautiful and mouthwatering.

Good Seed Bakery puts out over 250 loaves every week. Owner, Steve Ruhl, and his part-time assistant, Erin, are responsible for making all of them! Steve started Good Seed Bakery two years ago and funny enough he told me he just learned to bake bread shortly before starting his business. But after tasting his bread I would say bread baking was in his bones, just waiting to be discovered.

Steve jumped into bread making by experimenting with loaves in his own kitchen and then topped off his skills by taking a culinary bread baking class in San Francisco. He said the class helped him really dive into the science of bread making and helped him see how the dough should look and feel before going into the oven. After honing in his skills, he left his full time job and dove right into starting up his bakery whole-heartily.

Steve explained that it hasn’t been an easy road. It can be tough to get a small business up and running, but each year gets better and better. Steve has a good following and each bread type has a loyal fan base. His favorite part is connecting with his customers at the farmers' market where he enjoys hearing folks give him feedback on the loaf they brought from him last week.

Good Seed Bakery uses only the best ingredients, utilizing local and organic whenever possible. He makes a variety of wonderful breads: Great Plains Whole Wheat, Peasant Loaf, Spelt, Lizzie’s Seed Bread and Jalapeño…just to name a few. I bought a loaf of the whole wheat and jalapeno; both were fantastic and eaten very quickly in our house. And the scones! This past week they offered a Chocolate Cherry Crunch, Blueberry, Cranberry Pecan and (my favorite) Rhubarb Ginger Walnut. Yum! You can find Good Seed Bakery offerings at the LCFM, Food Coop and at the Momo Lolo Coffee House.

Summer is Sailing Away

By: Allison Level, Master Gardener

We are well into August, and before the summer gets away from you, go down to the Saturday morning market, sponsored by the Larimer County Master Gardeners. The vendors are early birds and most arrive at the Courthouse parking lot before 6:30am. The first volunteer shift starts even earlier--at 5:30am!

If you want to see efficiency in action, just watch the boxes and tubs being unloaded from cars and trucks and—magically—they turn into artful displays of produce, food, and other goodies. Most of the vendors are small business owners and there are only one or two people who unload and set up the booths. After the early morning set up, they are ready to meet the crowds who arrive from 8am until noon, and then in the words of Jackson Browne and Bryan Garofalo, they, “Pack it up and tear it down...They're the first to come and last to leave…You know you guys are the champs.”

They don’t lift the amps like the music show roadies, but they do lift and move hundreds of pounds of produce and flowers and coffee and mustard and BBQ sauce and oil and wine and cheese and jewelry and bread and….

Come on down to the market and, say “hello and thanks” to the vendors for making the Larimer County Saturday farmer’s market a 36 year tradition.

Vendor Profile: Harrier Hill Farm

By: Allison Level, Master Gardener

Harrier Hill Farm is a small family-run business located in Wellington, CO. It is named for the harrier hawks you can see hanging in the air just a few feet above the landscape. Owner Debbie Sheaffer says, “The produce we sell is the same food we put on our own table. Our goal is to have fresh, healthy produce, so we do not use sprays on our vegetables.” The farm has a great variety of fresh vegetables and some fruits. This year they have summer squash, snow peas, spinach, lettuces, carrots, tomatoes, corn, green beans, beets and much more. Depending on the season, they may have plums, grapes, apples, gooseberries and currents.

It didn’t take the social media of Facebook to get started as a vendor at the market; it took the social connection of friends. They knew someone who had a booth at the market and their friends encouraged Harrier Hill to join in on the fun. Debbie and her husband regularly visited the market so it was a logical next step to share their produce as a vendor. When asked what she likes about the market Sheaffer answered, “I have enjoyed getting to meet new people in the community, reacquainting with old friends, plus getting ideas from others on gardening, canning, and recipes. The other vendors have been very friendly and supportive of the newbie.”

Next time you are at the market, stop by and say that you heard it through the grapevine…about their grapevines. They started a vineyard a couple of years ago. Later in the summer they hope to bring a few varieties of fresh grapes to the market. Debbie’s favorite is a Niagra grape that makes a beautiful golden jelly. She remarked, “While the jelly is cooking, it smells like honeysuckle – wonderful!” If you need grapes, greens, beans, or more… Harrier Hill will fit the bill.