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July Edition of the Nelson Farmers Market E-Newsletter

It really is feeling like mid-winter but it is a big milestone to have the shortest day behind us. Slowly we are getting more daylight hours. We are in the middle of Matariki and our growers are busy preparing for the coming season.

First and foremost we congratulate The Vegetarian Butcher for her recent success at the Vegan Sausage Awards wining the supreme award. This is such a fantastic achievement and well deserved.

This is traditionally a quite time at the Nelson Farmers Market as it is hard to grow produce in the middle of a frosty winter. However we are very lucky to have Ranzau Mandarins at the Market at the moment with their delicious spray free mandarins. Okainamu and Veda Organics continue to provide great fruit and vegetables and our artisan producers are experiencing an increase in their warming satisfying products over the colder months.

The Nelson Farmers Market is open every Wednesday in Kirby Lane from 8.00am to 1.30pm so please pop on down and se what’s fresh this week. We would love to see you.

Congratulations to The Vegetarian Butcher
A massive CONGRATULATIONS to The Vegetarian Butcher who was the Supreme Winner at the NZ Vegan Sausage Awards with her breakfast sausage. The judges said ‘A very authentic sausage. Great texture, appearance and flavour’. She also was awarded Best Breakfast Sausage, Best Chorizo and Runner Up in Best Speciality Sausage with her Spicy Italian sausage.

Stallholder Profile – Enzbee
Profile:
Warren first learned about bees as a youngster helping his father in Australia. As an adult he trained as a psychiatric nurse but when he moved to New Zealand in 1983 he got back into bees. Warren was living in Nelson but travelling down to Christchurch where he was working at Sunnyside Psychiatric Hospital. He was given a swarm by a contact in Christchurch so built a hive and brought the swarm back to Nelson. Warren continued to work as a nurse at Ngawhatu, Braemar and Alexander Hospitals for several years but continued to grow and develop his bees.
Eventually his beekeeping hobby became a full-time job and he left nursing around 15 years ago. He now has over 40 hives all over Nelson and the West Coast which is why he is able to produce such a wide range of honey. A big challenge over the past years is controlling the varroa mite. Bees now can’t survive without human intervention and Warren has to treat the bees twice a year.
Warren was part of the original Farmers Market in Founders Park and he has been a stallholder for 16 years. Warren loves the whole ethos of the Farmers Market, buying direct from the producer and supporting local industry. He is very proud to be a consistent producer of top quality honey which is sold in glass jars. He gets very good feedback over the taste and texture of his honey and really enjoys introducing honey to young people.
Products:
Honey: Manuka, Bush, Beech, Kamahi, Clover, and Cinnamon in 275g and 500g jars
Assorted Herbs
Healing Balm
Availability: All year round

Ranzau Mandarins
Ranzau Mandarins have been at the Market for the last 3 weeks with their delicious immunity boosting sprayfree Mandarins. There are locally grown in Hope by Geoff Love. Their short season is nearing an end so if you haven’t had a chance to try them already then please do so. They offer flavour plus!

Why Farmers Markets Matter! Reason #2
The Farmers’ Market movement is about building and strengthening local communities, supporting local food related businesses and giving consumers access to regional food. As people become more aware about food and where it comes from their has been a worldwide growth in the popularity of Farmers’ Markets.
A key advantage of Farmers Markets is LOW FOOD MILES. All of the stallholders have come from the region. The food has not been transported thousands of miles to get to you. You are minimising your carbon footprint when you buy local. The low food miles also guarantee the product is fresh – it has not sat in a warehouse or been transported for several days.

Veda Organics Away 14 and 21 July
Veda Organics will be taking their annual break on 14 and 21 July. We are sorry for the inconvenice but wish them a happy holiday and look forward to their return on 28 July. In the interim Okainamu will be at the Nelson Farmers Market weekly rather than fortnightly.

 

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