Farmers' Market offers season's best
Tyler's market, sustainable ag program provides revenue avenues

By LORI COPE | East Texas Edition

June 28, 2001 -- Homegrown tomatoes, squash, peas, potatoes, peppers, onions, ... just about any kind of vegetable that can be grown in East Texas can be found under the Farmers' Market shed in Tyler.

Open each Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at the East Texas Fairgrounds, the market provides an ideal place for area growers to bring their produce.

"Any grower in Smith County, or in the adjoining counties, can come to sell here," said Brian Triplett, county Extension agent.

The covered, open pavilion is lined with growers who have brought their home-grown vegetables, fruits, and even some value-added products such as jellies and salsa.

"All the produce is homegrown here in the East Texas area," reassured David Claiborne, who is currently serving his second year as president of the Tyler Area Growers Association. "There's no produce here from out of state or out of the East Texas area. So unless it's harvest time here in this area for a certain vegetable or fruit, you won't find it."

This year's growing season has been good for the growers and the produce is plentiful.

"Some years are better than others, of course," said Claiborne. "This market usually generates about a quarter million dollars, or more, for our area farmers."

Currently, there are 38 members of the association. These members draw for a stall slot on the opening day of the Farmers' Market. This ensures the farmer will have a place to sell, as well as make it easier on return customers' memories.

Other vendors are also present at the market, including some re-sellers and those not a member of the growers' association. They are located near the covered pavilion.

Since the market's inception in 1983, the number of customers, and the number of farmers, has steadily grown.

Billie Buckley is one grower who has been involved with the farmers' market from the beginning. She has seen the market grow a great deal over the 18 years.

"We have many repeat customers, but some are no longer here -- they've died; but we have many new customers too," Buckley said.

Buckley, whose table of farm-fresh vegetables includes tomatoes, peppers, peas, and even a few bags of last fall's shelled pecans, has served on the board for many years, including this year.

Some of the growers not only sell at the farmers' market, they are also a part of the Community Supported Sustainable Agriculture program. Through this program the growers have a market with Brookshires Grocery Company, plus some of their production goes to area food banks and gleaning programs.

"We've already had some fields gleaned this year," said Joe Radford, Smith County Extension Agent - Cooperative Extension Program (CEP). "We have growers of watermelon, squash, peas, pinto beans ... in the program."

One Smith County grower, Don Broyles, puts his homegrown squash, watermelon, and peas through the program to be sold at Brookshires. At his farm, he has about one-third acre in squash; plus four acres of watermelons and peas.

A squash patch usually gets about 12,000 pounds per acre. So on Broyles one-third acre, that's about 4,000 pounds of squash over the season.

Keith Hansen, Smith County's Extension agent for horticulture, detailed that squash plants will have male (for pollination) and female (fruit-bearing) flowers.

"At the first of the season I get a lot of calls from people saying they have a lot of flowers but no squash coming on," Hansen said. "I tell them to wait a couple of weeks because it takes a little while for the female flowers to start putting out the squash."

Right now Broyles' squash (SuperSet variety) is providing him some good supplemental income. "He comes out here in the morning and hand picks five or 10 boxes. He gets $8 or $10 a box, so that's about $80 or $100 a day," Radford said.

A pea patch can produce 800 to 1,000 pounds per acre, or 33 to 58 bushels, Radford details. The peas usually sell for $12 to $15 per bushel.

"Having a good market and maintaining a quality product is the key to success for the small acreage producer," Radford said.

Triplett added that overall, Smith County's vegetable and fruit growers generate about $10 million a year to the county's total $110 million yearly agricultural income.

(Details about the Community Supported Sustainable Ag Program, or the Farmers' Market in Tyler, contact the Extension office at 903-535-0885.)