New Bend farmer’s market targets backyard gardeners

With warm weather at hand, fingers are crossed for a bountiful gardening season in Central Oregon.

But what happens when you harvest more than you can eat?

“We’re going to have a place for people who grew too much lettuce, too much zucchini,” Backyard Farmer’s Market owner Julie Schiedler said Friday.

There’s a new farmer’s market coming to Bend, one designed to put a little cash in your pocket and make sure your garden’s spoils don’t do just that.

“Ten dollars for the day, and you can go in with a few people and have your table,” Schiedler said.

Schiedler owns Celebrate the Season Farm and Garden Structures, and she told NewsChannel 21 her customers have been begging her to a farmer’s market in the courtyard of their business.

“We’ve had people coming in with their carrots or their plums from the plum tree that just went crazy (with lots of plums), wanting me to buy their produce from them,” she said. “We’re not set up to store a lot of produce. This is just a great way for people to come and bring their product and sell it themselves, make all the money themselves and everybody’s happy.”

Or maybe you’re just getting started with a new product — a spice rub, salsa or lotion — and just want to get your gardening toes wet.

“This is a great way to get exposure, you know — we always say, ‘Just get it in their mouth, they’re going to love it.’ But you know, you’ve got to have a place to do that.” Schiedler said.

Celebrate the Season’s Backyard Farmer’s Market will open up in Southeast Bend off American Loop on May 25th.

And although they’ll have plenty of full-time vendors selling everything from produce, to candles to cheese, they’re also saving lots of space for you to sell to your neighbors.

“There’s a need — there’s not just a lot of options for this neighborhood,” she said.

Schielder also hopes to bring a little more summer fun to the area.

“We have music lined up, We will have beer and wine, we’ll have food — it will be a summer party,” she said.

The market will be open each Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Once a month, they will host the “After Market” Party. It will be every fourth Saturday from 7 to 10 p.m. The cost is $12 in advance and $15 at the gate.

Vendors can reserve a 10-by-10-foot booth space for $220 for the full season and $165 for a half season. Also, 4-by-6-foot table spaces can be used on a first-come, first-served basis for $10 a day.