Reba Green and Cindy Blake will be bringing potatoes, beans, tomatoes, okra and corn to Watauga County Farmers' Market this Saturday. Hopefully they will also have some blueberries and red cabbage. Shady Grove Gardens and Nursery will have groovy new 'Summer Ball' pumpkin which is a miniature summer pumpkin. The 4" bright orange pumpkin can be eaten as a winter squash.

The Pasta Wench is now offering fresh frozen pasta, as well as scrumptious soups and sauces to compliment the variety of pasta types Andrea makes each week. The Courvoisier Lobster Ravioli as well as the Lump Crabmeat with Shrimp Ravioli was a huge hit last week, and she promises to make more for next Saturday. "And Eve Smiled"...the unique and delicious dessert ravioli this week is created with sweet chocolate pasta and available in several flavors. They are filled with organic raspberries, strawberries and other local fruit - a wonderful ending to any meal. To pre-order for pick up at the market, please call Andrea at 828.262.1040.

There will be handmade cookie cutters made with gleaming copper by ecrandal which make a unique, creative gift or stunning kitchen decoration that will last a lifetime. Or you can try a Keepsake Hand cookie cutters made from the outline of your child's (or grandchild's) hand. Beautifully packaged, personalized and stamped with their name and age, they'll be an heirloom to be cherished for generations. ecrandal will also be showcasing a candy embellished cookie house made with new Gingerbread Cottage cutter set and decorated gingerbread cookies along with a mouth watering collection of delicious muffins.

Help us pay for our parking lot! The top prize in the care2.com "love your farmers' market" contest is 5,000, which would put us halfway towards our commitment to reserving the entire parking lot for our customers. The top market right now is in Michigan, and we all know we can come from behind to beat them. Vote for Watauga County Farmers' Market at the Love Your Farmers' Market contest and please leave comments as well. We read every one. We hear you about the condition of the bathrooms too, and the pending move of the market will most certainly bring better facilities for everyone.

This Saturday will be the second annual tomato contest at the market. This is the chance for all our gardening customers to show our farmers a thing or two about growing tomatoes. The rules for the contest are as follows:

1. There are four categories for full sized tomatoes: Tastiest, Prettiest, Ugliest and Biggest.
2. Cherry tomatoes will compete in their own two categories: Tastiest and Prettiest.
3. No rotten tomatoes in the Ugliest category. This category is for healthy tomatoes that look odd or funny.
4. All vendors and customers can enter the contest.
5. The judging starts at 9:00 a.m. All entries must be at the tasting table by 8:45.

Wednesday afternoon markets are a great option for those who can not come out on Saturdays. The Worthless Son-In-Laws will be playing this Wednesday, and we are always planning surprises. We have been averaging over 20 vendors on Wednesday with a great selection of produce, garden plants, foods and great hand crafts. There will be no sales allowed before 4PM to give our vendors time to set up properly.

The 2009 Farm-City Banquet will be Saturday August 15th starting at 2 pm. It will be held at Blair Farm on Deerfield Road just north of the Watauga Medical Center in Boone. Call 828-264-3061 for more information.

Find us every Saturday morning and on Wednesday afternoons from 4-7 at the Horn in the West in Boone. Turn next to First Citizens Bank on Highway 105 Extension and go to the top of the hill. Call WCFM manager Karen Bauman at 1-828-355-4918 for more information. We will be there rain or shine!