Theresa Curry
AGratefulSeason.com
That’s what Amy Childs said about the Waynesboro Farmers Market, reappearing at the Downtown Waynesboro Pavilion after several years’ absence. She was right.
It was easy to envision a meal made entirely from the homegrown products on display at the market’s rebirth: farm-raised chickens and pork, homemade breads, homegrown grains, asparagus and watercress from Heartland Harvest in Mount Solon; bedding plants, greens and vegetable plants from Singing Earth in Hermitage; honey and candles from Hungry Hill in Shipman, and wine from Flying Fox Vineyard in Afton. Barbecue, hot dogs and sides were dispensed from Still Pork’n of Crimora, adding to the festive atmosphere.
Amy Childs is the market master for the Nelson County market, and she was in Waynesboro Wednesday as a vendor, selling mint, ajuga, vinca and sedum — all plants unloved and untouched by deer, she said, an important feature for rural gardeners. In the next few weeks she’ll have annual vines, fast growing landscape elements also eschewed by deer.
There’s a reason why the success of the Waynesboro Market is terribly important to farmers in Nelson and Augusta County as well as to the people of Waynesboro, she said. Those who sell on Saturdays in Nellysford, like Hungry Hill Honey and Childs;or in Staunton, like Heartland Harvest and Singing Earth, need a second selling day to make a full-time go of market farming. The biggest benefit, though, is for you, the consumer. No food safety or marketing program is as powerful as meeting your producer and inspecting your food before you buy it.
The Waynesboro Farmers Market will be at the Pavilion every Wednesday from 3-7 p.m.
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