Durham Farmers' Market and SEEDS Get Composting

Happy Earth Day weekend! This Earth Day, the Durham Farmers' Market is kicking off an exciting new program. In coordination with SEEDS, the Market will be be a collection point for kitchen scraps for compost creation! The garden coordinators at SEEDS have been talking about really beefing up their compost production to feed and enrich the soil in their garden. The Market shoppers will be a wonderful source for ingredients to build their compost piles! Every week, you take fresh vegetables and foods that are full of nutrients home from the Market. Even when most of the nutrients are consumed, there are always some pieces left over - like leaves, stems and eggshells. If you don't have a compost pile or worm bin of your own for recycling those leftovers and would like to divert them from the landfill, now you can!

Starting tomorrow, there will be a brightly colored, lidded collection bin near the bull shaped bike rack and the Grace Garden at the northwest corner of the Market. There will be signs about composting and what items are accepted.  Composting is a wonderfully green activity - it keeps excess waste out of the landfill and it is an easy way to recycle nutrients that are left over from our food.  And the compost ingredients that you bring to the Market will be transported from the Market to the SEEDS garden by BIKE!  Yes, by bike!  Chris Russo, a community member and volunteer, has fashioned a trailer to hitch to his bike and will be picking up the compost every week and taking it over to SEEDS!

Items accepted for composting include:
All Food - including vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, tea leaves and eggshells.
Soiled Napkins & Paper towels, etc
NO: Dairy, Meat or Fish

Fresh this Week....
Vegetables:  SUGAR SNAP PEAS, NEW POTATOES, BABY SUMMER SQUASH! Asparagus, Asian Greens (Pac Choi, Tatsoi, Mizuna), Arugula, Beets, Broccoli, Broccoli Raab, Chinese Cabbage, Cilantro, Collards, Greenhouse Grown Cucumbers, Dried Herbs, Frisee, Green Onions, Green Garlic, Greenhouse Grown Green Beans, Gourds, Mustard Greens, Kale, Lettuce, Leeks, Onions, Rhubarb, Radishes, Rutabega, Salad Mix, Shiitake Mushrooms  (dried), Sweet Potatoes, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Greenhouse Grown Tomatoes, Turnips, Turnip Greens,
Fruits: STRAWBERRIES!!!
Meats:  Beef, Bison, Chicken, Goat/Chevon, Lamb, Pork.  Look for whole cuts, sausages, hot dogs, jerky, liver pate and more!
Flowers & Plants:  Anemones, Icelandic Poppies, Ranunculus, Dutch Iris,
Vegetable & Herb Seedlings, Landscaping Plants, House Plants
And: Honey, Pecans, Chicken and Duck Eggs, Flour, Cornmeal, Fresh and Aged Goats and Cows Milk Cheeses, Baked Goods - Pies, Breads, Cookies, Pastries, Gluten Free Items, etc; Pasta, Beer, Wine, Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Preserves, Wool
Crafts: Pottery, Jewelry, Stained Glass Art, Handmade Baskets, Gourd Birdhouses, Woodwork, Photographs, Hand-dyed Clothing and other items, Handmade Clothing, Soaps, Yarn, Roving, and much more...

Produce availability depends on weather conditions