Carson City’s Early Spring Farmers Market opens Saturday

“Choose your roads wisely and be sure some of them are dirt.” Not sure who said that, but it reminds us of how lucky we all are to live in Carson City and Nevada. You can walk, bike, run and just be outdoors and breathe the fresh air. Spring is in full swing and summer is on the way. “If you don’t like the weather in Nevada, wait five minutes and it will change.”

Change in seasons, change in weather, lots of changes taking place in Carson right now. Just give yourself some extra time to get where you need to go and throw in a pinch of patience. Our downtown is going to be done soon, and I hope we can all embrace and get behind what’s happening instead of complaining about everything. Being positive is so much better for your health and posture, not to mention your piece of mind.

The early Spring Farmers Market starts Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in a new downtown location on the corner of Nevada and Musser streets in the parking lot behind Due Sorella.

We loved being at the Greenhouse Garden Center for the past couple of years and thank Julie and Dave Ruf for their support, but with our customers and theirs, traffic and parking became a problem. In the interest of safety we moved the farmers market back downtown just two blocks north of the 3rd & Curry St. market. We will be in this location every Saturday for the month of May and starting in June back to 3rd & Curry Street for our bigger market.

Also Saturday the Greenhouse Project at Carson High School will hold its annual plant sale from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. This event, not to be missed, supports a great cause. So head on out get some plants and then come down to the Spring Market.

Cafe Beignet will be there selling its addicting beignets and coffee. The Bakery Gallery from Yerington will certainly have some goodies you’ll want to pick up for Mother’s Day. Chuck Vue Farms will have his early sweet strawberries and Minton Farms will have cherries. Lattin Farms should have asparagus, kale, chard, lettuce and their jams and jellies. We will have a new vendor, Gary Lewis, who will be there to sharpen your knives. Haven’t found that perfect Mother’s Day gift yet? Everybody needs sharp knives done by a professional, surprise her. He will be at the early market and also at the regular 3rd & Curry St. Farmers Market.

Just a reminder — if you’re looking for farm fresh eggs, Butler Meats sells them year round. Sherry Flynn’s eggs from Silver Springs are a must have for Mother’s Day if you plan on cooking breakfast. Pick up some of their delicious sausage or bacon while you’re there.

My recipe for this week is easy. Buy something fresh from the market and make a salad, spinach or baby greens with a drizzle of olive oil and a splash of vinegar. Asparagus can be grilled or steamed. Pick up some fresh strawberries, slice them and enjoy the sweet taste of summer in May. I made a kale salad from the new Nevada Grown cookbook for a demo last week and it was so good it surprised me. I will have copies of that recipe, but you will have to come down to the farmers market to get it. We will have the cookbook for sale at the market. You can also purchase them at Greenhouse Garden Center and Due Sorella. These books are hot off the press and would make a great gift.

Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers, grandmothers and mother substitutes. You’re all appreciated.

Linda Marrone is a longtime Carson resident, manages the 3rd & Curry Street Farmers Market and is the director of Nevada Certified Farmers Market Association.