July 6 was her first day selling at the market, and it was a very hot day. “We used tons of ice bags trying to keep all our goods cold,” she said.
Refrigeration also plays a key role this time of year for Sharonda Summers, a Barnwell resident and co-owner of Humpty Dumpty Poultry Farm. “Our specialty is fresh eggs and desserts. We use eggs to make desserts.”
She also described the market itself: “It’s very diverse. I think it has a positive atmosphere and a lot of customers are grateful to be at the market.”
Sales included 30 dozen eggs on July 6. “We’re sold out for today,” Summers said, noting that they have a small amount of produce left, including grapes, peaches and blueberries, to be sold another day.
Beech Island resident Donald Snavely, an Army veteran and newcomer to the market, runs Two Lucky Dogs Mushroom Farm. “My mushrooms are grown fresh, picked fresh and sold fresh,” Snavely said, noting that most of the operation is done in an air-conditioned warehouse space in Augusta.
Although the July 6 session was a success, “we had a great time and made as much money as we expected for our first session,” he said. “It was fun helping people find the perfect mushrooms for dinner and giving them cooking tips.”
Vicki Simmons joined the market in 2019 to help run NKBJ Microgreens, based just north of Aiken, whose acronym stands for “No King But Jesus,” she said.
Simmons sells at the market year-round, offering products such as spicy salad mix, basic salad mix and speckled peas. “Because I grow at home, I can keep everything very strict. No fertilizers, no herbicides, no pesticides, no nasty stuff like that. Everything is clean.”
