T.J. ROYAL
The Tarboro Edgecombe Farmers Market opened this morning, and J.R. and Charlotte Deans want buyers and vendors to come to it like they have for 27 years.
And County Extension Service Agent Bob Filbrun encourages area residents to check out, and possibly become food vendors at, the market on Albemarle Avenue on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Charlotte Deans, 61, said that her husband and she “love” coming to the farmers market each year since 1983, to see their committed customers in Tarboro.
The Deans live near Falkland in Pitt County, just a mile from the Edgecombe line, and took potatoes, beets, cabbage, onions “and a few collard greens” to the market this morning, Charlotte said.
While they were the only produce vendors at the market today, Filbrun said that he has commitments from three other “core” vendors who plan to show regularly at the market over the summer.
A Conetoe grower plans to bring blueberries, as well as peaches and pecans, in the coming weeks, Filbrun said. The Extension Service agent also said that Rocky Mount resident Nelson Turner plans to bring fresh eggs regularly to the Tarboro market, and that another Pitt County resident would bring various baked goods, including cinnamon rolls and other fresh bread.
With the market closing early last year, partially due to a lack of vendors because of the dry weather, Filbrun said of his four committed growers so far this year that he’s “thrilled to have some people that’ll come and come regular.
He added that, if a customer comes to the market and doesn’t find something they are interested in, “they just won’t come back.”
The Deans said they hope to be at the market on both days “if the Lord lets us” have abundant enough produce for it, Charlotte added.
Last year, the hot, parched weather only left them with enough produce to bring it to markets on Fridays, she said.
As the Deans picked through their five-acre garden patch Thursday, Charlotte said that her husband and she bring only fresh vegetables and produce they picked that week to the market.
“We get people saying, ‘We know your stuff is fresh’” when they come to see them at the market, Charlotte said. Later on in the year, the Deans said they would have cucumber, squash, peanuts,
Although they have dedicated customers year-in and year-out, she added that they have to really tailor their growing for their customers, or they won’t sell. If they don’t sell, they eat the produce themselves, Charlotte said.
She said that typically, customers want collard green leaves to be less than six inches wide, and their new potatoes to be the size of a fifty-cent coin or smaller.
Charlotte also said the crowd at the market is usually older, without many younger patrons coming as well.
“Everybody in Tarboro, come to the farmers market and give us a try,” she said. Charlotte added that if people are not satisfied with their produce, they could bring it back for a full refund.
Near the fall season, Filbrun said there would likely be vendors with gourds, pumpkins and other season vegetables too.
But he also said he’s looking for vendors with dried goods, or other quality artisan products, to “bridge” the market over from the summer to the fall when the growing season has ended. And to help fill out the summer lineup, he’s also interested in residents who keep a small garden and would be interested in showing off their produce on Albemarle Avenue.
Gardeners and artisans are encouraged to contact Filbrun at 641-7815 if they want to participate in the Tarboro Edgecombe Farmers Market.
The market opens at 7 a.m. and usually lasts until 10-11 a.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays.
