Sierra Vista Farmers Market Update for 02-06-2020

Bee-aware the Cost of Honey – – –

We all take things for granted in life. Take honey for instance.  Honey is considered a healthier sweetener and it is better for you than eating cane sugar, corn syrup, or other “fake” sugars created in the laboratory.  Honey is also an antiseptic which in some cases produces better results on post operative infections than modern antiseptics and gauze. Some studies have even shown that honey heals partial thickness burns 4-5 days faster than other topical dressings. Honey has also long been used as a natural cough suppressant for children and adults.

But honey comes at a great cost – to the honey bee. Did you know that it can take one honey bee up to an hour and visits to 50-100 flowers to collect enough flower nectar to fill its proventriculus (honey stomach – crop)? Fully loaded that nectar makes up 50% of the bee’s weight. In other words, in one hour a honeybee collects its own body weight in sugary flower nectar and then flies that load back to the hive where it is then processed by other bees in the hive.

To give you a sense of how monumental this effort is by the amazing bee, one worker honey bee, whose job it is to gather nectar to be converted to honey, lives approximately six to seven weeks. Each day during its harvesting life, a honey bee makes up to 12 trips to the hive carrying its own body weight in nectar, nectar that came from more than 1000 flowers. In its lifetime, that single honey bee produces only 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey – just one drop of honey!

Think about that for a minute. When you add a single teaspoon of honey to your cup of tea it represents the life work of 12 honey bees making 12 trips a day to their hive carrying their own body weight in nectar.

 Here is another way to look at it. A bee can fly up to 5-6 miles from the hive to gather nectar. Bees fly at up to 15 miles a hour and their little bee wings beat 11,400 times per minute. That means that the single drop of honey each bee produces in its lifetime represents roughly 239 million beats of its wings!

If that isn’t amazing enough for you, the honey bee is also responsible for pollinating nearly 85% of all flowering plants and 90% of all fruit producing trees.

So next time you savor the sweet goodness of honey, I hope you’ll give a thought of appreciation for the amazing gift that the honeybee labored to provide. What an unfathomable world we live in!

Special Announcements and Events

Desert Oasis Soap
This week Greg will have Desert Creosote soap harvest from his very own plants. He’ll also have Mimosa made with orange essential oil and champagne fragrance oil in celebration of Valentine’s Day. Desert Oasis will also have Lily of the Valley and Dewy Green Cactus notes.

Master Gardeners and the Seed Library
This week the Master Gardeners and the Seed Library will be generating some synergy at the farmers market. They will be sharing a booth and their knowledge with visitors to the market.

Thunder Mountain Alpaca Ranch
Lisa will be back this week with her friendly menagerie.

Music This Week:
The Cowboy Poets will be performing for your enjoyment this week.

SNAP – Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program
The Sierra Vista Farmers Market accepts SNAP and Double Up benefits. Just visit our information booth near the center of the market to swipe your cards. Remember you can use them for all produce, dairy products, meats, spices, baked goods, and frozen ready-to eat meals (such as lasagna), plants that produce edibles like tomato plants and herbs. Double Up is only redeemable for Arizona grown fruits and vegetables, though.

This Week’s Vendors
To learn more about our vendors, if they will be attending the market this week, and the products they will be bringing, please visit their web or Facebook page in the links provided below.
(Vendors are Categorized and Alphabetized – attendance at Thursday’s market subject to change without notice)

– – Vendor Grown – –
Agricultural and Produce Vendors with the – – Vendor Grown – – seal are known to grow at least 85% of the products they sell.
– – Vendor Brokered – –
Agricultural and Produce Vendors with the – – Vendor Brokered – – seal do not grow a majority of the produce they sell and are known to purchase  a majority of their products from third parties.

Produce & Plant Vendors

Arevalos Farms – – Vendor Grown – –
Fresh Seasonal Vegetables, Melons, & Fruit
For more information please visit one of their links: Facebook

Backyard Gardening & Growing – – Vendor Grown – –
Fresh Seasonal Fruits & Vegetables
For more information please visit one of their links: Website

Beatty’s Orchard – – Vendor Grown – –
Edith will NOT be at the market.
Fresh Seasonal Fruit & Vegetables
For more information please visit one of their links: Website

Estrada Citrus
Oranges and Grapefruit from Mesa

Hilltop Hydroponics – – Vendor Grown – –
Fresh Year Round Hydroponically Grown Greens:
For more information please contact Tom Hanson at: 602-317-4607
Email: tomhanson3@aol.com

Just-A-Pinch – – Vendor Grown – –
Michael will Not be at the market.
Fresh Seasonal Herbs & Vegetables
Michael Burgess will be back in the spring of 2020.
For more information please visit one of their links: Facebook

Lettuce Man – – Vendor Grown – –
Fresh Seasonal Lettuce & Greens

Ruth’s Garden
Ruth will NOT be at the market.
Seasonal plants and Produce

SAS-Z Nuts – – Vendor Grown – –
Locally Grown Pistachios
For more information please visit one of their links: Facebook

Scarlet Gilia
Seasonal potted plants, herbs, and aloe. Contact Cindi thescarletgilia@hotmail.com.

Sivonn’s Garden  – – Vendor Grown – –
Fresh Seasonal Garden Produce

Super Natural Organics – – Vendor Brokered – –
Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables

Tawin’s Gardens and Crafts 
Seasonal Garden Plants

Meat, Milk, & Honey Vendors

Emu Enterprise – – Vendor Grown –
For more information please contact Roger at: 456-2715

Golden Rule Dairy – – Vendor Grown – –
Fresh Raw Milk, Cream, and Dairy Products
For more information please visit one of their links: Website, Facebook

Papa Mike‘s Jerky 
Locally Made Jerky
For more information please visit one of their links: Website Facebook

San Ysidro Farm – – Vendor Grown – -,
Locally Raised Meats
For more information please visit one of their links: Website, Facebook

Sky Island/47 Ranch – – Vendor Grown – –
Locally Raised Range Fed Beaf, Lamb, and other Meats
For more information please visit one of their links: Facebook

Simmons Honey Ranchito 
Local Honey, Canned Jams, Jellies, & Vegetables
For more information please visit one of their links:

White Cane Salmon
Frozen Filets of Alaskan Sockeye Salmon
For more information please visit one of their links: Facebook

Baked Goods & Snack Vendors

Big Skye Baker
Bodie will NOT be at the market.
Fresh Baked Pies
For more information please visit one of their links: Facebook

Celestial Breads
Fresh Baked Goods and Prepared Foods
For more information please visit one of their links: Facebook

Dolce Amore
Fresh Italian Deserts & Baked Goods
For more information please visit one of their links: Facebook

Ginny’s Eclectic Kitchen
Fresh Sourdough Bread & Baked Goods.
For more information please visit one of their links: Facebook

Gracewater Farm
Fresh Baked Goods and organic teas, fresh eggs.
For more information please visit one of their links: Facebook

Incredible Snacks
An Incredible Variety of Snacks
For more information please visit one of their links: Facebook

Ketoluscious Bakery
Janet will be back on Feb 13.
Fresh Made Keto Baked Goods
For more information please visit one of their links: Facebook

Katerina’s-It’s Original Greek
Fresh Made Greek Baked Goods and Prepared Food
For more information please visit one of their links:

McDonald Farm
Fresh Baked Goods
For more information please visit one of their links:

Sweet Arizona
Locally made Toffee, Brittle, & Fudge
For more information please visit one of their links: Website, Facebook

Sweets By Shelly
Cake pops in a wide variety of flavors, almost too pretty to eat, but oh so yummy.

Personal Health & Household Vendors

Ancestral Herbals
Hand made soap, lotion, balm, muscle rub, etc.
For more information please visit one of their links: Website, Facebook

Desert Oasis Soap
Home made Soaps
For more information please visit one of thier links:Website, Facebook

Lux Candles
Scented candles with all natural ingredients in various sizes

Prepared Foods & Beverage Vendors

Big Woody’s
Hot Dogs, Mac & Cheese, BBQ, and Pulled Pork
For more information & their menu please visit one of thier links: Facebook

Café Cultiva
Fresh Coffee and Hot Beverages
For more information please visit one of their links: Website, Facebook

Esperanza
Fresh made Tortillas, Gluten-free mesquite tortilla,burritos and chimis,Tamales, Baked Goods
For more information please visit one of their links: Website, Facebook

Krazy Koytote Kettle Corn & Smoothies
Kettle Corn and Smoothies
For more information please visit one of their links: Facebook

Lazy KJ Ranch
Locally Grown Organic Pork
For more information please visit one of their links: Facebook

Lasagna and More
Gourmet Lasagna, Sauces and More by Chef Scotty
For more information please visit one of their links: Website, Facebook

Queen Ceviche
Fresh Made Salsa, Ceviche, & organic Hibiscus lemonade
For more information please visit one of their links: Facebook

Toy’s Eggroll
Asian Cuisine
For more information please visit one of their links: Facebook

The Twins Market
Specialty Ice Tea Blends, Special Spice Blends, Custom made socks
For more information please visit one of their links: Website, Facebook, Instagram

Pet Food & Product Vendors

Maggie’s Dog Treats & Accessories
All Natural Pet Snacks and Treats
For more information please visit one of their links:

Services

Hone Ranger
Knife and Blade sharpening
For more information please visit one of their links:

 
Artisan Vendors (Weekly)

Designs by Copper Canyon
Customer Made Home Accents
For more information please visit one of their links: Facebook

Greenstone Pottery & Crafts
Hand Made Pottery, Jewelry, & Crafts
For more information please visit one of their links: Facebook

K-1 Kreations
Hand Made Aprons, Coasters, Pot Holders, Tote Bags Etc.
For more information please visit one of their links: Facebook

Thunder Mountain Alpaca Ranch
Alpaca boutique of Unique Hand Made Gifts
For more information please visit one of their links: Website, Facebook

Bernie & Bill Medley
Paintings, Custom Frames and Woodwork
Every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month.
For more information please visit one of their links:

Blue Oak Builders and Sierra Vista Gems
New batch of pens made with Mexican blue oak. Cheri has made more of her color changing beads and hand painted front license plates.

Suzanne Rogers children’s books

Artisan Vendors on the First Thursday of Each Month

Peter Fromm Photography

Rita Obenauf’s wind chimes

Lindsay’s Handbags

LaFlamme furniture and bird houses

Ray’s Leatherworks

Jim William Woodworks

Velvet Box Jewelry

Desert Owl Forge

Leatherworks and Things by Eileen

Sierra Scenes

Experience Ancient Sea Salts

This Week’s Weather Forecast