The calendar says April 30th but Mother Nature disagrees! What an unusually cold and snowy April we’ve had. But this is the opening week of the market! Wednesday May 2nd and Saturday May 5th are our first market days of the season. What does a cold spring mean for the market? What can you expect us to have for sale in May?
Many of our vendors have product that isn’t really affected by the weather. Braelea Acres and Russett Farms have had extra work on their plates at the farm this month, keeping their spring calves and lambs warm and dry, but they’ll still have lots of lamb, pork, and beef for sale. We’re also excited to welcome new vendor Healey Falls Bison Farms (starting on May 12th) who will have delicious, grass fed, bison meat products to try.
Cold weather doesn’t keep our home bakers out of the kitchen. They will have tables piled high with sweet treats! A2 Baking Creations will have all their old favourites (butter tarts, cookies, pies, mini pies, and chocolate cream cheese muffins) and they’re expanding to include some new offerings. I can’t wait to see what they bring! The Philosopher’s Scone will be back too. I love to see the different scone varieties that Val comes up with each week. Maple Bacon and Cranberry White Chocolate were two of my favourites last year! On Wednesdays we’re also happy to have Anita Barker of Anita’s Creations join us. Anita makes beautifully decorated cookies for all occasions.
Howson’s Pure Maple Syrup and Honey are just coming off a terrific spring for maple syrup making. They’ve got some great photos on their Facebook page of their first batch of syrup on February 25th, right up until their last batch on April 14th.
What about vegetables? Many of our produce vendors get a head start on the season with all manner of season extension techniques – indoor seed starting under lights, heated greenhouses, unheated tunnels, cold frames etc. 
They also know what plants grow well in the cold, which varieties come to maturity quickly, and what vegetables do well to be harvested young. So you’ll see baby salad mixes and radishes before you know it. And don’t forget about sprouts and microgreens from Glenlea Farm! I’ll have a big batch of Zesty Mixed Sprouts and another of