photo by Judy Watts

Vendor Willie Simpson, left, explains his herbs and spices to customers Willie Wise, Michael Watson and Dorothy Wright (in back) at the farmer's market Saturday.

photo by Leslie Cantu

The produce is almost too tempting for Logan Webb, 3 years old, who had to be held back from sampling by Amy Webb.

photo by Leslie Cantu

Susan Kirlin has sold produce at the farmer’s market since her father helped found it 20 years ago.

photo by Leslie Cantu

The Rivers sell a variety of vegetables at the market.

photo by Leslie Cantu

Manager Walter Limehouse displays a stack of applications for spaces at the market.

Farmer's Market still evolving after 20 years

The green peppers are greener, the squash yellower, the peaches more fragrant and the watermelons more tempting at the farmer’s market.  At least that’s how it seems while wandering the stands, eagerly planning the culinary future of this produce.

In the midst of its 20th year, the Summerville Farmer’s Market is by now a firm tradition.  After being displaced to a location near the railroad tracks, which turned out to be a boon to business, the market is again behind Town Hall.  

The market is bursting at the seams, though.  Manager Walter Limehouse keeps a stack of index cards nearly an inch thick of people who want to rent spaces.  

One hundred twenty-five people showed up to a meeting this spring about getting spots at the market. Limehouse said he didn’t bother to hold a meeting for the fall session.  He’d love to accommodate everyone, but he just doesn’t have the space.  

Limehouse envisions moving the market to the Berlin G. Myers Parkway, near Spann Elementary School. There’s plenty of space and it would be easier for people to get to, he said.  

For now, though, the market wraps around First Citizens Bank, not far from the yellow- ribboned oak tree where Wilson Gruber first parked his truck and started selling sweet corn.  

Gruber died in 2008, but his son Stanley continues to farm the land Gruber bought after returning from World War II.  At the market, he was known for handing out candy and fruits to children. “To this day, kids come and ask me, ‘Where’s your daddy?’” daughter Susan Kirlin said.

Saturdays, Kirlin works the farm’s stand, chatting with customers, making change, and bagging the fruits and vegetables.

A woman dubiously squeezes the peaches – they don’t feel quite ripe to her. Kirlin assures her the peaches are sweet and ready to eat. She doesn’t like to bring too-soft peaches to the market, she says, because with all the squeezing they get, they’d be mush by the end of the day.

The market brings people together, almost like church, said Virginia Rivers, who works a stand with her husband, farmer David Rivers.

“We trade recipes, we trade tidbits about the weather.  It’s sort of like a meeting place,” she said.

Nearby, Bernd Gronert is breaking into the farmer’s market with Asian pears and homemade jams, which he gives to passersby by the spoonful to tempt them into a purchase. Seven years ago, he planted his fruit trees. Last year he was able to make a showing at the market, but this is the first year he’s had a true harvest.

Other vendors offer crafts, clothing or information about local services. It’s important to have a mix, Limehouse said. About 40 percent of successful farmer’s markets are crafts, he said.

While Limehouse figures out how to get more vendors into limited space, the Gruber farm has figured out how to expand beyond the confines of the parking lot – beyond Dorchester County, in fact, and even South Carolina.

The farm began a community-supported agriculture, or CSA, program this year. CSAs have been around for a couple of decades but are just starting to enter the mainstream.  

Customers buy a “share” of the farm for a set fee, then get weekly boxes of whatever’s fresh and in season. The upside is the food is local, fresh and often sustainably farmed.  The downside – you won’t get strawberries in December, and you won’t get food that doesn’t grow here.

The Gruber CSA already has 350 customers, from Belmont, N.C., down to Savannah, Ga., Kirlin said. The farm is signing up customers for its fall season, with deliveries beginning Aug. 30. The farm’s website promises a wealth of fall produce, including butter beans, tomatoes, grapes, peanuts and okra.  

The Grubers will still be at the market, of course. Farming is never easy, but loyal customers and their father’s legacy inspire them. Whether that legacy will continue into a third generation is still unclear, though.

“We’ll see, we’ll just see how that goes,” Kirlin said.

Journalscene.com ® is pleased to offer readers the enhanced ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. Journalscene.com ® does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not Journalscene.com ®. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website.

Users can now build user-to-user connections, follow friends' recent posts, add an avatar that fits their personality, and more. If you have posted here before you'll need to sign up again, or if you've never posted before, start now by reading our terms and conditions, and then signing up below!

• Santee Cooper announces 2012 refunding bond sale
• Santee Cooper announces organizational changes in operation and finance departments
• Santee Cooper employees pitch in on Day of Caring
• Aerial herbicide treatment on lakes under way
• Santee Cooper Board Authorizes Rate Study
• Santee Cooper announces refunding bond sale
• Santee Cooper, Florida Municipal Power Agency enter into letter of intent for share of planned V.C. Summer Station units
• Santee Cooper, Duke Energy Carolinas enter into letter of intent for share of planned V.C. Summer Station units 2 and 3