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Weekly Market Notes Library

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Weekly Market Notes for May 3, 2007

Hello Market Friends:

This is a "good-news bad-news" kind of week. I'll get the bad news over with first, since there's a great market to look forward to.

Last week, for the second time, someone slashed the tires of a vendor's vehicle at the market. This happened right at setup time on the very day that Alli (treasured bread baker) told us her mechanic had confirmed that on his first visit the tire slasher also put sugar in her van's gas tank, thereby ruining the engine. Needless to say, we're pretty shocked and concerned. A vendor saw the man in action as she pulled in, but after she questioned him he ran to the mall. The police are fully informed, we'll be taking special measures around unloading and parking for vendors, and we'll have a staff person on watch.

There has been some angry--and understandable--frustration about the congestion that occurs on the street on busy market and skating days, and we suspect that these actions, however unreasonable, may be related to that. We've tried to improve the parking issues, and thank you for your assistance with this. Whether or not these incidents turn out to be related to parking, I'd like to say again:

Please, if you have to drive to the market, use only legal parking spots. Don't park for even a short time on the north side and do not enter the apartment parking lot, even to turn around.

It's just a short walk to the legal parking on the north side of the park across from the high school.

We need your help to be watchful for any suspicious activity around vehicles also.

Now I'd like to return to our previously scheduled good news!

Welcome back to Fun Guy Farms' Paula Vopni: "We will have our own organic shiitake mushrooms – outdoor log-grown. This month the Shiitake are of the “Donko” form. White, very dense, and dry. The highest quality according to the Japanese system of rating. We'll also have Kombucha culture kits and Tradition Miso (organic and local)."

We'll be happy to see Lindsay of Firestoker Foods returning with delicious roti, as well as Beata of Whole World Trading with a great assortment of teas and spices.

From Alvaro of Plan B:

"We have the first of the fresh picked salad greens, grown in soil in our greenhouses for this week. We’ll also have our own fresh spinach and separate bags of romaine lettuce! Lots of local garlic this week as well. We’ll bring a healthy amount of local apples and lots of variety with the Slegers' basil and cilantro, watercress and arugula. Local root crops are still in effect as well with onions, rutabagas, parsnips and more. We’ll also bring a good variety of imported fruit and veggies to complement the seasonal fare."

From Monika of Greenfields:

"Spring is definitely in the air- and in the soil! And so are the kale, kohlrabi, cabbage, mustard, lettuce and many other seedlings! This week we have our own freshly cut chives and just-harvested sunchokes. Other local offerings include huge bunches of bok choi and pac choi, spinach, yellow onions and parsnips. Won't be long now until we have asparagus and rhubarb! See you there!"

From Jonathan Forbes:

"I'll have this year's new crop of Maple syrup in 250ml, 500ml No.1 organic and 1 Litre #2 amber organic plus lots of dried mushrooms,wild fruits and veggies."

Our market friends Adolfo Garces and Carole Ferrari have been sending news about Fair Trade Weeks events both at the park and around the city. Head to the website for more details: http://www.dufferinpark.ca/neighbourhood/wiki/wiki.php/NewsAndNotices.FairTradeWeeks

By the way, there's construction on the rink, so you can't enter the building on the east side

See you at the market!

Anne
Dufferin Grove Organic Farmers' Market
Thursdays, 3-7 p.m. year-round
www.dufferinpark.ca

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