Pictured clockwise from upper left:  Cape Cleare bicycle hauled seafood; Shaffett’s Sharpening service; Port Townsend Coffee Roasting with bags of beans, pastries and coffee brewed on site; WSU Master Gardeners with their stacks of books, ready to solve your garden problems; Morganics jams and jellies; Mac’s Macaroons recycled dog tag earrings

If the old wives’ tales are to be believed, our elusive Pacific Northwest summer will come the weekend after the 4th of July.  Our local farmers have recently been offering more than just greens: the berries are in full swing, as well as onions, broccoli, basil and cucumbers, with the selection only getting better each week!  Beyond the array of produce you’d expect, the Chimacum Market has a lot of ready-to-eat food each Sunday.  The market has been graced by Rosa’s Deli Mex, Pane d’Amore, Anca’s Pastries, Dented Buoy Pizza (made on site in a buoy oven), Mama’s Harvest chicken, pork, veggie or vegan tamales, Chocolate Serenade, J&R Hot Dogs, Mystery Bay Seafood, even dog treats at Mac’s Macaroons!  Each week there’s live music, this last week Howly Slim performed at both the Port Townsend Farmers Market and the Chimacum market.

MAY 15, 2010 - 30+ vendors are set to be at the opening market tomorrow!
New vendors include:
Anca’s Pastries
Eaglemount Wine and Cider
Green Gable Flowers
Mama’s Harvest - tamales and pickled items galore
Mangutz Folk Art
Millbrook Clayworks Pottery
Oatsplanter Farm - seasonal produce
Scoops Brats and Nuts
Skunk Island Furniture
Whiskey Hill Farm - goat milk products
Wildwood Farm - assorted produce, flowers, jams and jellies

Music provided by Brownsville Highway - Old Time, Bluegrass and more on banjo, mandolin, guitar, bass, and ukulele

This year the Chimacum Farmers’ Market WILL be accepting credit/debit cards and food stamps!

MAY 8, 2010 - More official news!  The market will be at the old Tiny’s space across from Chevron at the Chimacum crossroads!  Check the About CFM link for detailed directions.

This new location means a lot of parking and space for more vendors.

Market vendors this year include, and are not limited to:

Bayside Gardens
Cape Cleare Salmon
Dharma Ridge Farm
Elk Meadows
Elwha Apiary
Finnriver Farm
Gifts of Mother Earth
J&R’s Dog House
Les Richards, the Garlic Man
Mystery Bay Seafood
Old Tarboo Farm
Pane D’amore
Peace Farms
Red Dog Farm
Sequim Lavender Co.
Short Family Farm
Walker Mountain Meadows

Check out the Farmers and Producers page for more details on our vendors.

After a long snooze this blog is back with huge news!

APRIL 10, 2010 - It’s official…  the Jefferson County Farmers Market Association has taken on the Chimacum Farmers’ Market!  With any luck the JCFMA’s experience and energy will help make the Chimacum market an even more vibrant and successful market for county residents and producers.

The market’s new hours are 10am to 2pm each Sunday, starting May 16th and running through the end of October.  The exact location is still being determined but will be near the Chimacum crossroads.

JULY 27, 2008 - For the market existing 9 whole weeks it’s almost a miracle that we haven’t seen such foul weather sooner. We’ve been lucky up until yesterday, when we experienced intermittent drizzle punctuated by occasional downpours. A big giant thank you to the die-hards (vendors and customers alike) who come to the market rain or shine! Your local growers are committed to you and the market and will not let a little weather get in the way of this food chain. As the community works together to build a stronger food network, one of the sacrifices we face is working through the challenges (like the weather) so that we can depend on each other being there.

This week our vendors brought even more tomatoes, onions, garlic, peppers, potatoes and cut flowers than we have seen in previous weeks. Walker Mountain Meadows was there with their assortment of water plants, Japanese maples and exotics. On such a chilly day it was nice to get a hot cup of coffee from Princess Valiant or a juicy Grange Grill burger for lunch. Tuna Dan grilled up some of his salmon for lucky taste testers. Elk Meadows quickly sold out of raspberry tarts which were quite the comfort food for the day. All you need is a little bit of honey from the Elwha Apiary to sweeten up that tea at the end of a soggy market visit.

JULY 20, 2008 - The Sequim Lavender Festival may have stole some of our thunder this week but our growers reported higher than expected sales. Locals are getting more familiar with the market’s presence and each week we see more people coming out and coming back.

Luckily for the locals our farmers are bringing a better selection each week. On Sunday we saw our first tomatoes and peppers of the season, the good sized onions are finally here, along with big, hearty carrots and cabbages.

Next week expect more of the same beautiful, certified organic (and organically grown) produce. If you’re not thinking about the winter months, you should be. Now is the time to get the best deal on abundant produce. Consider freezing or canning for the future!

JULY 13, 2008 - Another stunning Sunday for the market with 18 vendors, the most yet. New vendors were diverse, offering chair massage, landscape logs, water lilies/lotus and unusual or exotic plants of all kinds. The Grange Grill has fired up the BBQ and kept everyone fed with their tempting hamburgers. The highlight of the day for everyone was the day long performance by Tones of Peace, a marimba band with members from Port Townsend and Bellingham. They kept everyones’s spirits happy and cool on an other wise hot day.

Next week is the Sequim Lavender Festival, our usual vendor Sequim Lavender Company will be missing from the market and attending the big event which is said to draw 30,000-40,000 people. If you are in the area, stop by our market and sample the best of what the Olympic Peninsula has to offer!

JULY 6, 2008 - What a nice turn out this week. Colinwood Farm brought 5 of the 12 varieties of potatoes they are growing this year. Snow and snap peas were widely available this week from Red Dog Farm, Dharma Ridge Farm and Wildwood Farm, along with heartier onions and beets that have enjoyed the sun. Calvin the Tarboo Valley Bee man was on hand gathering interest about future bee needs. G&R Quality Seafood served shrimp cocktails and oysters on the half shell. We are so lucky to have Olympic Pastured Poultry and Tuna Dan providing peninsula grown protein in organic chicken and wild salmon, respectively. The Elwha Apiary is now offering a smaller sample size honey along with their regular pints and/or quarts. In case you missed it, Sequim Lavender Company’s Dr. Lavender was profiled in the Peninsula Daily News on Monday, July 7th.

Next weekend is Hadlock Days! While you are in the area come visit the market, support local agriculture and buy the freshest, most nutrient rich items available unless you are growing it yourself. We are hoping for a full house, with Princess Valiant Coffee, Rosa’s Deli-Mex, and our wonderful vendors with their assortment of produce, plants, honey, lavender, seafood, chicken, wool and jams. You can find great ready to eat food and music will be provided all day by Tones of Peace, a fantastic marimba band. Bring your dancing shoes and prepare to enjoy yourself!

JUNE 29, 2008 - Warmer weather for the past couple weeks has helped turn out a lot of produce we have been waiting for, such as potatoes, broccoli, onions, beets and carrots. In another couple weeks we will start to see the first tomatoes and peppers and the full bounty will be upon us in cauliflower, berries, peas, green beans, cucumbers and zuchini.

Now is the time to start stocking up on fresh produce for canning or freezing for the leaner months! It’s not official, but at least 95% of produce at the Chimacum Farmers’ Market is certified organic or grown organically. If price is a concern, click here to learn about the cost of local food, why it can be more expensive (but not always) and the impact of buying from farmers in your area. Buying your food at the farmers’ market is an investment in the future of our food on the peninsula and worth every cent.

This week we were joined by Big Quil Enterprises, Quilcene’s incredible 4H club and student-run oyster business, grilling shrimp and pan frying oysters.

The market will be open July 6th for the holiday weekend. Be sure to stop by the market during Hadlock Days on July 13th as we will have new vendors and your old favorites.

JUNE 22, 2008 - What a difference a week (and many hours of sun) will make! This week the market had 5 new vendors. Compass Rose Farm brought Icelandic wool in several natural tones, along with their herb and flower starts, Gogi berry bushes and Nicotiana plants. Wildwood Farm pleased the crowd with a bounty of heavenly fragrant peonies, perhaps 10 different jams, salad mix and red scallions. Tuna Dan brought whole salmon and fillets, all of which were “swimming yesterday”, as his sign states. Clint the Tarboo Valley Bee man showed off a beehive set up and took information from people interested in ordering colonies in Spring. Rosa’s Deli-Mex kept everyone in a good mood with her delicious tacos and tamales.

Next week the Quilcene 4H kids may be on hand, grilling local oysters and shrimp. We may also see a local man who makes rustic cedar furniture with wood from his property. Word has it that broccoli will be available, and hopefully our goat cheese, seafood and baked good vendors will bring more stock so late coming customers won’t go home empty handed. They all sold out or came very close this week. Ask your vendors about pre-orders for the upcoming week!