Sierra Vista Farmers Markets Update for 4-18-19

Getting Dirty Makes You Happy! – –
I don’t know, if you’ve ever noticed the pleasant expression many gardeners have when they are working in their gardens, but recent research indicates there may be a scientific reason getting dirty, or more specifically breathing or eating dirt makes you happy.  I’m not kidding!

You see, recent studies have found that naturally occurring bacterium and fungus in our soil most likely plays a more important part in our overall health than we realize. In the world today where we radiate, chlorinate, fumigate, and do our darnedest to eradicate all vestiges of real dirt in our lives, we might just be doing more harm than good.

It seems our modern society is relearning that our body and its digestive system need healthy bacteria and fungus in order to properly digest our food, break down toxins, and fight more harmful germs. A case in point is Mycobacterium vaccae, a naturally occurring bacterium found in our soil, which recent studies with mammals have shown that it stimulates the growth of neurons in the brain and decreases anxiety by increasing the brain’s levels of serotonin.  Some scientists believe it is no coincidence that as our society becomes more sedentary and sequestered from nature, there has been an increase of physical and physiological disorders.

Another example of the harm we may be causing ourselves is the recently discovered “super bug” Candida auris. This nasty little fungus is really resistant to drugs and it’s showing up in hospitals worldwide, where just a few years ago it was unknown.  Worst of all, this fungus is incredibly difficult to eradicate once it has contaminated an area. While it’s not particularly dangerous to healthy people, it is often deadly to those with compromised immunities.

 Some blame its aggressive spread on the overuse of prescription antifungal drugs, while others blame its spread on the increased worldwide use of azole fungicides sprays used to control fungus on commercially raised crops.  One of the little known dark sides of modern farming is that our increase dependence upon fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides is likely killing the good bacteria and fungus in our soil and food.  The bottom line is that we are mucking up our food chain and it is having a detrimental effect on our health.

So go plant a garden and get your hands dirty, you’ll be healthier for it and it just might put a smile on your face.

For those of you who can’t plant a garden, but would still like clean, naturally grown produce we invite you to visit our farmers marker, where you can buy from local small farmers and backyard gardeners. You’ll find that the real farmers at our market take pride in growing their produce naturally without pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides. If you ask, most real farmers will also let you visit their farms so you can see firsthand how your food is being grown.

Farmers Market Smart Shopper Tip
If you are buying produce at a farmers market and it is out of season and perfectly uniform without any blemishes there is a good chance it’s not being grown by a local farmer. At the Sierra Vista Farmers Market make sure you look for the vendors with the Real Farmer signs. They only get one of these signs if we know for sure they are growing a majority of their produce.

This Week At the Market

The Simmons Honey Ranchito
The Simmons Honey Ranchito will have Peach Raspberry Jam, Strawberry Rhubarb Jam, Pickled Asparagus, garlic Stuffed Olives and Jalapeno Stuffed Olives. This week they will also have water melon jelly and orange marmalade along with their wide variety of honey products.

San Pedro River Valley Salsa will be at the market with their great variety of delicious salsa.

Hilltop Hydroponics
Tom Hanson will be back this week with lettuce heads.

Just a Pinch
Michael Burgess will delight us with fresh culinary herbs like: mint, basil, chives, thyme, and oregano. You can choose between small plants or freshly harvested right at the market.

Echoing Hope Ranch
New this week Echoing Hope Ranch will be bring a variety of produce. Stop by their booth and pick up some of their produce or just say hi.

Dolce Amore
Teresa’s with Dolce Amore will have more of her fine pastries this week. You might try her Puff pastries with Nuttella or jam. She also has marmalade cookies, apple crumb cake, and pear chocolate crumb cake. Yummy!

Celestial Breads
Fully stocked and ready to go, Celestial Breads will have all your favorites this week. Be sure to stock up because they’ll only have a limited supply the following week.

Desert Oasis Soap
New this week Greg will be bringing Pure Olive Oil and White Lily and Aloe Soaps.

Bakers and Food Vendor’s Spotlight

Wraps, Breads, and Stromboli
Zarpara Vineyard is coming for their monthly visit to our market. They grow seven different wine grapes and unlike table grapes, wine grapes are not that good for eating, they are like sugar, but with a tough skin, their small berry has lots of seeds which are essential for the flavor of the wine. Rhona and John use yeast from Spain for their winemaking. A good wine takes about 1 ½ years in a barrel and then at least 6 more months in a bottle to be ready for market, but as the saying goes – wine gets better with age!

Zarpara Vineyard will bring the following wines to the market this week:

Sauvignon Blanc – A crisp, fresh citrusy white.
Monastrell – Lighter style red, perfect for warmer days!
Sangiovese – A food friendly red with notes of cherry
Zinfandel – Robust red for those looking for a bolder wine.

Special Announcements and Events

April 25th
We will have an expanded market with lots of additional educational organizations like The Huachuca Astronomy Club, the Sierra Vista Area Garden Club, Gray Hawk Nature Center, the City of Sierra Vista, Oasis Rainwater Harvesting, and the US Forest Service, just to name a few.

May 4th – Keyhole Gardening 
The Sierra Vista Community Gardens with be giving a presentation by Ruth Lefever on Keyhole Gardening. It’s free and open to the public, so be sure to join them on May 4 at 8:00 AM at 300 Wilcox Drive as Ruth demonstrates this ingenious gardening method whose “time has come”.

Music at the market this week will be performed by The Simmons Family Band.

We hope to see you all at the Market this week!

This Week’s Weather Forecast

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