Market Week

When I was growing up in Mississippi, we always had a vegetable garden during the summer-so did many of our neighbors. We were never short on tomatoes, corn, bell peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, or any of the other wonderful standards of summertime. When I moved out on my own, and my parents moved themselves and their garden back to Georgia, however, I was stuck with grocery store produce. I lived in apartments or in rental houses where the landlord was not too excited about the thought of my ripping up the lawn to put in more practical and functional plants. I would have gone to a farmer's market, if I had known what that meant or where to find one, but I didn't.Now I am a semi-grown up with a house and a yard that I can transform any way I like (as long as it doesn't violate the neighborhood covenant). I travel a lot, though, especially in the summer-not the best strategy for successful garden maintenance. The sweet peas that I planted at the end of winter were coming along nicely when I went to Mexico for two weeks in June (a short trip for me). When I returned, the poor little peas had been completely strangled by weeds. If I had been gone much longer, I might not have been able to find the garden at all.

This sort of thing happens a lot in my yard and has forcefully reduced my gardening efforts to staking the volunteer tomato plants that come back each year, and watering the lone Japanese eggplant that I grow in a pot on the back porch. The tomatoes and eggplants are delicious and wonderful, but if I want other fresh veggies, I am out of luck. Fortunately, I have finally discovered farmer's markets and there are several not too far from my virtually gardenless yard.

Market at the Square in Urbana is the best known farmer's market in the C-U area. Located in the Lincoln Square Mall parking lot (at the corner of Illinois and Vine) it is open from 7:30 a.m.-noon on Saturdays from the second week in May through the first week in November. This market is a beautiful thing, with numerous vendors from around the state selling fresh produce, baked goods, hand-made crafts, and even ice cream, but Saturday mornings may not be the most convenient time for produce-shopping. Last year I was working on Saturday mornings for most of the market season. No Market for me. I no longer work on Saturday mornings, but even when I can make it to the Market before noon on a Saturday, I never manage to buy everything I need for the week. Sometimes I need a zucchini on Wednesday, but my veggie bin is already bare. I could always run to the grocery store, but luckily, I don't have to. Market at the Square may be the biggest and longest-running, but they are not the only market in town.

You may have noticed another market right at Parkland's front door. On Wednesday mornings from 7-1 p.m., vendors are set up on the Mattis Avenue side of the County Fair parking lot (located at the NW corner of Mattis and Springfield). This market runs from June through the end of October. On Thursdays there are three other markets around town. All the way out in the far distant region of South Neil Street in the Shoppes at Knollwood parking lot (2131 S. Neil St.), there is a small market from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. on Thursdays, which will run until mid-November. During the same hours there is also a market in the parking lot of the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District at 201 West Kenyon Road in Champaign. It will be around until the end of October. For people who have difficulty getting up before noon on any morning, much less on Saturdays, there is market in downtown Champaign on Thursday afternoons from 3-7. The market is set up in the Champaign Police Department parking lot on North First Street (between University and Washington). This one only lasts until August 27, however, so this week is your last chance to check it out. If you already frequent the Market at the Square, you will find familiar faces at these smaller markets. Many vendors sell their produce at multiple different markets throughout the week.

I miss being able to walk out into my yard and grab a fresh ear of corn to drop into a pot of boiling water waiting on the stove, but a quick trip to one of these weekly markets is not a bad substitute.