The conclusion is painful, but must be admitted: Hope Farms, on opening day of the Stanly County Farmers' Market, was the only farm present with actual fresh produce being offered. There was kale, collards, Swiss chard, lettuces, radishes, carrots, onions, freshly-cut herbs and more. I don't even recall all that I had on the table, but it was a pivotal moment. To have had all of that by just April 13 after the coldest March on record in who-knows-how-long? But I digress.
That in itself is not the painful part.
The punch-in-the-stomach is this: there isn't enough being produced, right now, to support the busiest and largest market that we attend.
Chalk it up to inexperience. Rain. Bugs. Voles. Rain. Oh, and did I mention rain? How about wind? Yeah, all of the above. Maybe throw in some poor planning. But that would suffice within inexperience, yes?
Here's what it comes down to:
I cannot come to the market on Saturdays anymore until my fall crops begin to come in.
The goal is to be back to Saturdays at the Stanly County market by the beginning of September.
Meanwhile, we will continue to attend Mondays market at Stanly Commons from 10 am to 2 pm as well as Thursdays market in downtown Troy from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm.
A great deal has been learned this year, folks, and one of the biggest and most important things I've come to know as priority is honesty.
So there it is. In all of its painful glorious honesty. Our small-timey farm is not big-time. And that's okay.
Those of you who cannot make it to those markets and would like to stop by the farm - please do not hesitate to call or e-mail (see tab above that says, "Contact Us.") We're more than happy to let you know what we've got available and make arrangements for you to pick it up.
There are many thanks to all of those who have supported us, no matter which market, through this season so far. We're very grateful for you!
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