Episode 121: Inside Peterborough’s 200-Year Market

Walk a 200-year-old market with us and meet the people who turn fields, hives, herds, and ovens into food that actually lasts and tastes like home. This is a guided tour of the Peterborough Farmers’ Market, where stories of craft and community sit behind every jar, loaf, and bundle of greens.

We start with why local often means smarter value: lettuce that keeps five weeks, Brussels sprouts that last longer on the stalk, and produce picked midweek and sold on Saturday for maximum freshness. From there, we stop by a second-generation beekeeper for raw and pasteurized honey, beeswax candles, and a primer on basswood’s citrusy honey versus buckwheat’s molasses-like depth. An emu farmer shares how emu oil supports sore joints and skin, and a small-batch cheesemaker walks us through curds, flavoured cheddars, and bold 10-year wheels made by hand.

Textiles take center stage with alpaca fiber: how grading works, why alpaca socks wick and warm without itch, and how felted dryer balls cut static and drying time without chemicals. We taste our way through deep-fried pierogies in classic potato cheese, roasted cabbage and onion, and truffle-parmesan, then explore dedicated gluten-free baking—from pies and loaves to freezer-ready lasagna. Microgreens growers harvest live for you at the stall, offering sunflower, radish, broccoli, and mixes that elevate salads, wraps, burgers, and soups with serious nutrients and shelf life. Even pets get a seat at the table with single-ingredient dehydrated treats like beef lung, tendons, and chicken feet sourced from inspected farms.

Along the way, we highlight how markets launch businesses, build trust, and keep dollars close to home. You hear the practical tips—how to store stalk sprouts, how to pair maple-infused cheddars, how to use microgreens beyond salads—and the bigger takeaway: buying local isn’t a luxury; it’s a resilient, flavorful way to eat and live.

Transcript

Welcome And Show Vision

SPEAKER_18 0:00

Back in 2016, Frank and I had a vision to amass the single largest database of musky online education materials anywhere in the world.

SPEAKER_12 0:09

Our dream was to harness the knowledge of this amazing community and share it with passionate anglers just like you.

SPEAKER_18 0:15

Thus, the Ugly Pike Podcast was born and quickly grew to become one of the top fishing podcasts in North America.

SPEAKER_12 0:22

Step into the world of angling adventures and embrace the thrill of the catch with the Ugly Pike Podcast. Join us on our quest to understand what makes us different as anglers and to uncover what it takes to go after the infamous fish of 10,000 casts.

SPEAKER_18 0:36

The Ugly Pike Podcast isn't just about fishing, it's about creating a tight-knit community of passionate anglers who share the same love for the sport. Through laughter, through camaraderie, and an unwavering spirit of adventure, this podcast will bring people together. Subscribe now and never miss a moment of our angling adventures.

SPEAKER_12 0:54

Tight lines, everyone.

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Find UglyPike now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you get your podcast.

Host Intro And Market Setup

Peterborough Market History And Makeup

SPEAKER_24 1:18

But they are still available to those who know where to listen. I'm Jerry O'Lean, and I was honored to serve as Ontario's Minister of Natural Resources. However, my journey into the woods didn't come from politics. Rather, it came from my time in the bush and a mushroom. In 2015, I was introduced to the birch-hungry fungus known as Chaga, a tree conch with centuries of medicinal applications used by indigenous peoples all over the globe. After nearly a decade of harvest, use testimonials and research, my skepticism has faded to obsession. And I now spend my life dedicated to improving the lives of others through natural means. But that's not what the show is about. My pursuit of this strange mushroom and my passion for the outdoors has brought me to the places and around the people that are shaped by our natural world. On Outdoor Journal Radio's Under the Canopy podcast, I'm going to take you along with me to see the places, to meet the people that will help you find your outdoor passion and help you live a life close to nature and under the canopy. So join me today for another great episode, and hopefully, we can inspire a few more people to live their lives under the canopy. Okay, as always, we want to thank our listeners all across Canada states, um, all around the world, Switzerland, Ghana, the Caribbean, Trinidad, Tobago, as well as the Bahamas and everywhere else. We really appreciate that. As usual, you got any questions, ask him. You got any suggestions for show? Let us know. We'll do what we can. I gotta tell you, after uh Gunner's operation, uh he's doing fine. It's as if there's nothing happened at all. And he's doing very well, and the chocolate lab is happy. But uh most like most mornings when I'm heading out to where I am now, he's just a little bit still sleepy. But we're doing something a little bit different today. Today we are at a farmer's market and right here with the president, Anna, from the local farmers market. Welcome to the podcast, Anna.

SPEAKER_13 3:33

Thanks for having me, Jerry.

SPEAKER_24 3:34

Yeah, no problem. So tell us a bit about okay, uh the the farmers market that's uh here.

SPEAKER_13 3:39

So this farmers market has been running in Peterborough for over 200 years. We celebrated 200 years, really.

SPEAKER_24 3:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_13 3:46

And 200 years, we had a big celebration in July, and we're gonna try and have another little bit of a celebration in January. Um, just to thank the community for having us be a part of of the community. We have uh regularly we have 40 vendors.

SPEAKER_24 4:03

40 vendors. Is that good for the farmers market? Just so our listeners, because a lot of the listeners may not know what a farmers market's all about.

SPEAKER_13 4:09

So, our farmers market, we are 51% minimum of farmers at our market, and then we add on top of that some bakers and artisans, and that is quite a large one. There are larger ones in Canada, but um we are the third oldest running market um in Canada. We've had um a lot of history here. There's always been ups and downs, but um so you have a stall here, a booth here? I do.

SPEAKER_24 4:39

And what uh product do you have?

SPEAKER_13 4:41

So we are beekeepers. My husband's a second generation beekeeper. We do um raw and pasteurized honey. It's local. We run 200 hives. Um we have eight yards. We do beeswax candles and other products.

SPEAKER_24 4:56

Is your product considered agricultural?

SPEAKER_13 4:58

Yes, it is.

SPEAKER_24 4:59

Okay, so and I'm looking over here. I see there's uh uh we've got uh staples um maple syrup, and are they considered agricultural? Because a lot of people would think agricultural is only the people to our left over here. I see apples and cabbages and and leeks and and romanescu.

SPEAKER_13 5:16

Right. So that's a good question. Syrup and honey are both classified as agriculture. We meet the same needs or the we have the same requirements as does the farmers that are growing fruits and vegetables.

SPEAKER_04 5:32

Right.

SPEAKER_13 5:32

So we have some bigger vendors here that have that are full-time vendors farmers that are here for the winter. So, yes, there's a syrup and honey here, but we also have um apples, and we also have two other vendors, three other vendors for I guess one certified organic. Um, but they have storage, they're big enough farmers that they also store their products. So we're getting they'll be right here till April.

SPEAKER_24 6:00

Oh yeah, so and there's quite a few other different things. So and a lot of those ones, like um, I know uh Bob and Mary, um, and and other places they they actually come in and they some of them start their businesses like last year. I think you had a a uh um cheesecake maker here.

SPEAKER_13 6:17

Yes, we did.

SPEAKER_24 6:18

And now she's not here this year.

SPEAKER_13 6:20

Right.

SPEAKER_24 6:20

Um, but it's way one of the ways that she kind of kick-started her business.

Value Of Buying Local And Freshness

SPEAKER_13 6:24

So there's a lot of people who this, you know, their humble beginnings. They start here, um, they end up growing, and they end up outgrowing the market. They they go either to a brick and mortar or they go to the to another facility, um, or they just have enough online sales that they don't need to come to market. The farmers themselves, every week it's it's freshness, right? So it's stuff that they're they're bringing fresh, they've picked it, they've cleaned it, they've they've hauled it here to the market.

SPEAKER_24 6:54

Um and a lot and a lot more now are looking to to buy local. Right. And so they they can actually meet the people who are growing the products here, correct?

SPEAKER_13 7:04

Right. And so the other part of that is too the local part, people don't understand. They say, Oh, I don't want to go to the farmer's market, it's too expensive to buy from the farmer's market. But in today's economic times, what you buy from the farmer's market has better value, even though it is a little bit more money, but some stuff is even cheaper than it is at the grocery store. It hasn't traveled, it hasn't got the third, it hasn't got the middleman. So, what's happening is you're getting it picked in the field the middle of the week and it's coming to market on Saturday. You can't get fresher than that. You can buy lettuce here, it it will keep for we have one vendor, they're hydroponics, they grow lettuce, they it will keep for five weeks. Like it's just incredible. People don't realize the value in the the little more expensive for some stuff is the value is how long it will keep. You're not having it rotten the next day.

SPEAKER_24 7:56

Yeah, and some of the stuff I know when I talk about uh um you mentioned about a little bit more expensive, and I tell people look, if you want to support beekeepers, for example, with your your unit, um you want to go out and buy that because it's gonna keep the bees, it keeps them healthy. You've got 200 hives, like you said, and yeah, that's one of the key ways to to make sure that that local beekeeper is keeping bees around to put do all the pollination they do, and the same with the farmers. Right. You know, you're going in and you're directly helping this farmer. It's not going to help the the big grocery stores that go to the go to the um um the the depot to buy all their stuff at a reduced cost. Um this way you actually help the farmers to make sure and you get to meet the people that are growing the products. Yeah, yeah. But there's quite a bit of other stuff I see as well.

SPEAKER_13 8:43

You've got uh quite a few bakers, um, all different. We have sourdough, we have just traditional baking, we have pies and tarts and a good selection.

SPEAKER_11 8:54

Um we have some artisans this time of year, we have um some craft makers, we have uh knitters, crocheters, we have jewelry makers, we have um bird seed, we have gluten-free, we have microgreens.

SPEAKER_24 9:10

Now you're in Peter. This market's in Peterborough, and the gluten-free people come from where to be here.

SPEAKER_11 9:15

She comes, she's still local, she comes from the Sterling area.

SPEAKER_24 9:19

Okay. Yeah. So anyway, so thanks very much, Anna. And and okay, tell us uh the name of the market, the time uh it is, and and how often it runs, uh, the hours of operation, and where people can figure out how to get here.

SPEAKER_13 9:32

Right. So we're Peterborough Farmers Market. We're on Lansdowne Street, 151 Lansdowne Street for the winter from November, first Saturday in November to the last Saturday in April. We run indoors, um 7 a.m. till 1 p.m. every Saturday. Come May 1st, the first Saturday in May till the last Saturday in October. We run outside. Um, we're across the road. Um we're a full rain or shine, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. as well.

SPEAKER_24 10:05

Very good. And it's right beside where the the uh so people know the international listeners know about uh how far uh east of Toronto are you? A lot of people wouldn't know where Peterborough is.

SPEAKER_13 10:15

Depending where you are in Toronto, we're minimum an hour, probably an hour and a half, depending where you're from.

SPEAKER_24 10:23

And right where right beside where the uh the uh the Peterborough Pete's who regularly lose to the Oshawa Generals where they play, right? That's correct, that's correct. Okay, well thanks very much, Anna. I appreciate that. And what I'll do is I'll do a bit of a walk around and talk to some of the vendors.

SPEAKER_13 10:39

Awesome. Thanks so much for having us today, Jerry.

Vendor Tour: Beekeeping And Produce

SPEAKER_24 10:41

Okay, okay, we're at uh one of the farm markets here uh at uh the Peterborough Farmers Market, and we're at one of the farms. So tell us which farm is which who are we talking to?

SPEAKER_17 10:53

I'm Carol and Carol uh representing daily farms and greenhouses.

SPEAKER_24 10:57

Okay, and so these products here are stuff that uh you're growing and bringing your yourselves?

SPEAKER_17 11:02

Yes.

SPEAKER_24 11:03

Okay. And uh tell us uh how long has the the farm been around and and what's the big benefit to coming to a farmer's market?

SPEAKER_17 11:10

Well, we're uh my father started this farm in 1957. Okay. Uh actually probably started a few years earlier, but he we've been coming to the market since 1957.

SPEAKER_24 11:21

Oh, really? Yeah. And is this the primary place you sell most of your products?

SPEAKER_17 11:26

Well, our greenhouses we sell from the greenhouse on Little Lake Road in Colburn. Okay. And we also come here. But we sell only our produce here on the market.

SPEAKER_24 11:34

Oh, okay. And what kind of products and uh produce do you carry here at the farmer's market?

SPEAKER_17 11:38

Uh we carry a lot. Uh cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, uh leeks, potatoes, carrots, beet, beets, uh, tomatoes, turnips, turnip, cabbage. And is that rutabaga or is that uh we call it turnip. Okay. There's always some question as to what's a rutabaga, what's a turnipega?

SPEAKER_24 12:02

Okay, what's a rutabaga and what's a turnip?

SPEAKER_17 12:04

This is where I need her all. See, I told you I was gonna get stumped. Same thing. She just got all caught up in it.

SPEAKER_24 12:12

Right. And so, and you've got these romanes as well, right?

SPEAKER_17 12:15

Yeah, they're uh an Italian uh cauliflower called Romanesco. It has a bit of an almond nut flavor.

SPEAKER_24 12:22

Okay, now there's two types here, I see.

SPEAKER_17 12:24

Yeah, this is a new one we tried this year. It's a white romanesco. Okay, and it's actually a little sweeter, doesn't have such a nutty flavor, but it's quite sweet, a little bit different from the regular cauliflower.

SPEAKER_24 12:34

Okay, well, make sure you put two aside, one of each for me. Okay because when I come back, I want to make sure they're they're still here. All right. Okay, but yeah, so you've been coming here for a lot of years, and this is the primary place that uh you support your business is by coming here. Got a good space. And you pretty much how do you uh make sure you got product for most of the year?

SPEAKER_17 12:52

Or uh yeah, well, we start in the greenhouse. We we actually get a little bit of a late start because we're so busy in the greenhouse that we don't get our product in the field for like an early one. But we and uh tomatoes and things, we try and get that in like end of August. Right. And I see you have some tomatoes here, still cherry tomatoes that we do plant inside our greenhouse so they can get going a bit quicker.

SPEAKER_24 13:15

Right.

SPEAKER_17 13:15

And then we've we've had to, unfortunately, because of the cold weather, we've had to pick them all, and they're all over our house. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_24 13:24

Oh, okay, very good. Very good. And and the Brussels sprouts, you've got two ways here. You've got on the stock, is is that what they they they say? Yes, and then you've already got ones that are off the stock.

SPEAKER_17 13:33

Yeah, a lot of people don't like to maybe pick them themselves. It is a bit hard to pick them and cook them so much dexterity yourself.

SPEAKER_24 13:41

Do they last longer? Do they taste any difference?

SPEAKER_17 13:43

No, they don't taste any different, it's just that they last longer. They continue to get nutrients from the stems. Oh, okay. So you can put them in your garage somewhere really cold, they'll keep we keep we have them till February, March. Oh, really? So they'll keep longer on the stalks.

SPEAKER_24 13:59

Very good.

unknown 13:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_24 14:00

All right. Well, thanks very much, Carol. And if people are looking to, oh, you've got uh a bunch of tons of squash, I realize that later. Yeah, you got a bunch of squash here. I see you've got the butternuts that uh um my wife makes a great butternut squash suit and an orange hubbard. Uh, what do you do with the orange hubbards?

SPEAKER_17 14:17

They're great for pies, actually, and a lot they're a bit drier as well, so they're good for pies.

SPEAKER_24 14:22

Right.

SPEAKER_17 14:23

So yeah, we do have them cut up for people again who have dexterity issues.

SPEAKER_24 14:28

Right.

SPEAKER_17 14:28

So they can get um butternut squash or turnip already diced in uh freezer bags. They can freeze it, they can take it full. A lot of people really enjoy that.

SPEAKER_24 14:39

Very good, and a bunch of apples as well.

SPEAKER_17 14:42

Lots of apples, kind of more of the older types. We have a few like a honey crisp and ambrosia, but then we have all your older types, your spies, max, empires.

SPEAKER_24 14:53

Very good. Well, thanks very much, Carol. We appreciate your your input uh on the Peterborough farmers market here. Just a something a little bit different under the canopy. Thanks.

SPEAKER_17 15:03

Thanks for talking to me.

SPEAKER_24 15:05

Okay, we're with Rustet Preston, who has some unusual products here that you don't see in the regular store. Uh tell us about uh some of your some of the things that you have here that you know, like I see you got quail eggs as well as farm fresh eggs, and you've got a lot of um other uh emu products as well.

SPEAKER_16 15:26

Yes, quail eggs are tiny, right? Uh but they're high in protein, and they have a nice buttery flavor.

SPEAKER_24 15:33

Oh, okay. And then you just cook them like regular eggs? Just like regular eggs. Okay, so tell us about uh your unit here. Uh you're from Havelock, I see. Yeah. And you've got all kinds of different emu stuff and things like that?

SPEAKER_16 15:44

Yeah, we raise emus and rias.

SPEAKER_24 15:46

And what emus in which?

SPEAKER_16 15:47

Rhea. Okay. It's a South American ostrich, as well as a lot of other birds. We have our emu oil product. Right. Emu oil is a natural anti-inflammatory.

SPEAKER_24 15:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_16 15:57

So we use it for arthritis, tendinitis, sore muscles. It's also good for eczema and psoriasis and other skin ranges. Okay.

SPEAKER_24 16:04

And you've I see you've got soap as well.

SPEAKER_16 16:06

Yeah, we make soap. It's nice. Lasts a long time. It's mild. Wonderful fragrances. And then we have our own honey.

SPEAKER_24 16:16

Oh, you've got uh honey as well. So you got some really dark honey.

SPEAKER_16 16:20

Yeah, that's the buckwheat. It's a quite strong flavor. It's like molasses.

SPEAKER_24 16:24

Oh, okay. So and buckwheat honey just um the bees harvest their pollen from from the buckwheat flowers. Okay, so you've got buckwheat growing in the area, or you grow buckwheat?

SPEAKER_16 16:33

I don't grow it, but yeah, we did a uh have a farm down near uh 401. Oh yeah. And a small farm there that raises buckwheat.

SPEAKER_24 16:40

So and you put your hives there? Yep. How many hives do you have?

SPEAKER_16 16:44

56.

SPEAKER_24 16:44

About 56 hives, okay. And you've got uh the regular honey and uh just normal, things like that?

SPEAKER_16 16:50

Summer wildflower and clover and basswood.

SPEAKER_24 16:54

Basswood, yeah. Really? So basswood is just honey from uh basswood tree.

SPEAKER_16 16:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_24 16:59

And and and does it have a different flavor or taste to it?

SPEAKER_16 17:02

It has a bit of a citrus note to it.

Longtime Farm Stories And Seasonal Crops

SPEAKER_24 17:04

Oh, okay, very interesting. Yes, but uh, a lot of people don't know that there's different types of honey. So buckwheat, I think people have seen buckwheat, and sometimes they see clover or wild honey, but the basswood I've not seen before at all. Yeah, very interesting. And you've got uh these are all chicken eggs, or you have duck eggs as well?

SPEAKER_16 17:22

I have duck eggs from my farm. Okay, and these are chicken eggs that come from Telford's farms in Worldwood. Okay, they've been there forever.

SPEAKER_24 17:29

Very good.

SPEAKER_16 17:30

And then I saw my cards, which I paint from watercolors, and then I have them printed.

SPEAKER_24 17:36

Oh, and some ostrich feathers as well, I see, or peacock feathers.

SPEAKER_16 17:40

Peacock feathers, yeah. And then I've got uh a few free-range ducks for us.

SPEAKER_24 17:44

Oh, very good. Well, thank you very much. We appreciate uh the information. Thanks, Jordan. Okay, okay, now we're at uh the next unit over, which is Donna, who has an uh another unusual product that you most of the time you wouldn't find in the store. Donna, tell us about your product.

SPEAKER_10 18:00

Well, uh I have uh Avery and Alpacas, and uh we have been raising alpacas for 19 years. Okay. So everything that we can do with our own fiber, right? Um, we do with our own hands. So what do you do?

SPEAKER_24 18:13

Like is it like a sheep you shave it, or is it just come off or what?

SPEAKER_10 18:17

We do. So once a year we shave them, okay, and then we decide what we're gonna allot the fiber for. So our best fiber, or what we call a grade one fiber, goes into all of our hand knit products. So we are hats and our mitts and our anything that you would wear close to your skin.

SPEAKER_04 18:31

Right.

SPEAKER_10 18:32

And then what we deem uh grade two fiber, still very good. It goes into all our sock products. So we ship that out to be made into socks. Okay, and then anything that is a little older and a little coarser, we have that into our filter products, our dryer balls, and our insoles. Okay. So there's always a use for the animal even as it ages.

SPEAKER_24 18:51

So, what's the advantage, like a dryer ball you mentioned?

SPEAKER_10 18:54

So, dryer balls uh eliminates using dryer sheets, which of course we all know have chemicals in them. Yes, and it's so it's drives me crazy.

SPEAKER_24 19:01

My wife puts them in all the time, and I say, I don't want that dang stuff in there because I'm breathing in all those chemical fumes. So this replaces that kind of thing?

SPEAKER_10 19:09

Absolutely. So three balls of dryer balls, they're felted. Right. It creates a lot of movement in your dryer, so your products, your uh your clothing dries faster. Okay, and it um no chemicals, it reduces static cling. And they last about two years. So really, really good. If you want a little scent to them, you can add essential oils. Right. Or a lot of people just do them natural because your own laundry soap usually has enough scent to it.

SPEAKER_24 19:35

So tell us a bit about the alpacas. How long do they live and how old do they get to be?

SPEAKER_10 19:39

Um, well, when I first got into them 19 years ago, the the um history on them was that they would live 15 to 20 years.

SPEAKER_24 19:46

Right.

SPEAKER_10 19:46

But now we have such good nutrition, uh, a lot of them are living 22, 25 years.

SPEAKER_24 19:52

Oh, really? So they're producing quite a bit. And how much would you be able to like one alpaca would produce? I see you've got mitts here and hats and socks. How much would one alpaca produce?

SPEAKER_10 20:03

So a good producing animal, and that's part of our breeding program. Right. We're breeding animals that have more fiber, longer fiber, and denser fiber.

SPEAKER_04 20:12

Right.

SPEAKER_10 20:13

And you're looking at, say, a two-year-old male in his prime that has good coverage, you would probably get 12 pounds of useful fiber. So that would be what we're going to call your products. So you would still have um odds and animal fiber that makes great insulation that we use for we give to the birds and stuff to make their nests. So there's there's lots you can get off an animal.

SPEAKER_24 20:37

And you know, the the material, it uh there's advantages to it uh for uh socks, for example, they're warmer or last longer, or better cushioning or what?

SPEAKER_10 20:46

Absolutely. So what they're saying is um alpaca fiber is a breathable fiber. Okay, so it's uh wicked fiber, so it's it uh creates a wicked wave when you use it, so your feet stay dry, and it is approximately four times warmer than wool, but as soft as casually.

SPEAKER_24 21:03

Okay, so where else do you sell your product? Is this the main place that you promote your product?

SPEAKER_10 21:07

This is what we do every Saturday uh for the Christmas fall season. Uh we have a booth at Craftworks on the lower level, so that's year-round, seven days a week, and we do have a farm store on the property in Campbellford.

SPEAKER_24 21:21

In Campbellford. So you're so your farm is in Campbell. Now we've got a lot of listeners uh all around the world that wouldn't know where Campbellford is. From Toronto, where would Campbellford be?

SPEAKER_10 21:29

Approximately two hours. Okay. Uh east of Toronto.

SPEAKER_24 21:33

Okay. And it's a small community, a big community.

SPEAKER_10 21:36

Oh, it's a it's a tiny little community, but it's like in a little hamlet that has all kinds of other things to do there. There's lots of uh recreational things you can do as well as some beautiful little eclectic stores in the area.

SPEAKER_24 21:50

Okay. Very good. Well, thanks very much, and good luck in your sales.

SPEAKER_10 21:54

Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_24 21:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_07 22:03

Hi everybody, I'm Angelo Viola. And I'm Pete Bowman. Now you might know us as the hosts of Canada's favorite fishing show, but now we're hosting a podcast. Yeah, it's right. Every Thursday, and I'll be right here in your ears, bringing you a brand new episode of Outdoor Journal Radio. Hmm. Now, what are we going to talk about for two hours every week? Well, you know there's gonna be a lot of fishing.

SPEAKER_01 22:25

I knew exactly where those fish were going to be and how to catch them, and they were easy to catch.

SPEAKER_08 22:30

Yeah, but it's not just a fishing show. We're going to be talking to people from all facets of the outdoors.

SPEAKER_19 22:35

From athletes, all the other guys would go golfing. Me and Garchom Turk, and all the Russians would go fishing.

SPEAKER_01 22:42

The scientists. So now that we're reforesting or anything, it's the perfect transmission environment to line with the chefs.

SPEAKER_12 22:51

If any game isn't cooked properly, marinated for you will taste it.

SPEAKER_08 22:56

And whoever else will pick up the phone. Wherever you are, Outdoor Journal Radio seeks to answer the questions and tell the stories of all those who enjoy being outside. Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

SPEAKER_24 23:12

And now it's time for another testimonial for Chaga Health and Wellness. Okay, we're with Bev here in Lindsay. And Bev, you've got some experience with Chaga that you'd like to share with some people. Tell us uh two stories. Start with your father's story.

Specialty Goods: Emu Oil, Honey, And Eggs

SPEAKER_00 23:28

Hi, Derry. Um Well, um my dad had mentioned to me that he was struggling with his blood pressure and he'd gone on meds and it wasn't bringing it down. He was running around 180, 185, and wasn't enjoying that at all. And um and so I suggested that he try the chocolate tea because I knew some other people that had had good experience with it, and I knew my own experience with it. He started doing the chocolate tea every day. Um he stuck it in with his coffee, so he only had to drink one thing a day, and within three weeks he had dropped from 180 to 140, which he was really excited about. But what he was even more excited about was that about three to four weeks after that, he had gone down to 125. So we're really grateful for the difference the chaga has made with his blood pressure.

SPEAKER_24 24:17

And he wasn't doing there, wasn't any other medications or changes? This is the only change?

SPEAKER_00 24:22

No, this was the actually the only shift. He didn't shift anything diet-wise, physical exercise-wise at all. The only thing he added in that he hadn't been doing before was chaga.

SPEAKER_24 24:30

And he put it in his coffee, I believe. I heard that.

SPEAKER_00 24:32

And he put it in his coffee.

SPEAKER_24 24:33

Oh, very good. Okay, and you have your own story now.

SPEAKER_00 24:35

I have my own story. So I I started on chaga when I um I met Jerry just as I realized that I was going into a relapse of multiple cirrhosis that I I had not relapsed for approximately 25 years, so I was a little startled about it and wanted to get on it. And um, so I was in the process of changing a lot of things so that I could um go back into relapse rather than dealing with the MS symptoms. And so I did change diet and I stopped physical exercise so that my body would have more rest, and I added the chaka in. And within a within a I mean within five days, I noticed that the nerve sensory issues I was having in my legs was already settling down, and within about three weeks I had the strength to walk unassisted again, and I am about three months in now, and um I have um taken a 10-day break from it a couple of times just to, you know, you know, just so that my body, you know, can stay balanced, you know, without it. But every time I go back on it, I um I can feel the difference in mental clarity and in the way my nerves are communicating, and I'm I'm walking very, very well now.

SPEAKER_24 25:56

Very good. Well, thank you very much for sharing your story with us.

SPEAKER_00 25:59

No, thanks for thanks for hollering me and asking me to try a free cup that one farmer's market morning.

SPEAKER_24 26:05

Well, I'm glad it's working out for you. Thanks, Jerry. Okay. We interrupt this program to bring you a special offer from Chaga Health and Wellness. If you've listened this far and you're still wondering about this strange mushroom that I keep talking about, and whether you would benefit from it or not, I may have something of interest to you. To thank you for listening to the show. I'm going to make trying Chaga that much easier. By giving you a dollar off all our Chaga products at checkout. All you have to do is head over to our website, Chaga Health and Wellness.com, place a few items in the cart, and check out with the code Canopy. C-A-N-O-P-Y. If you're new to Chaga, I'd highly recommend the regular Chaga tea. This comes with 15 tea bags per package, and each bag gives you around five or six cups of tea. Hey, thanks for listening. Back to the episode. Okay, so we've got a lot of different vendors here at the market, and they do a lot of different things. So I see the Lions Club is providing a breakfast here, the shrines here with Christmas cakes and all kinds of things. But one of the other vendors that draws a lot of people in is our friend here, and Mr. and Mrs. Pierogi.

SPEAKER_20 27:30

Yes. So we are Mr. and Mrs. Pierogis. Okay, tell us, tell us. So we have uh six varieties of pierogis. Okay. They're a little bit different from they're not boiled, they're deep fried. So it's very nice, like uh finger food. Okay. They're pretty different from whatever you imagine. So which uh which types do you have here then? So the our nature of our most popular, our most traditional one is potato cheese. Right. That's we started 25 years ago with only one flavor, potato cheese. And then we'll add up potato mushrooms, then roasted cabbage and onion, then it was uh sweet pierogis, uh sweet peach pierogis.

SPEAKER_24 28:09

And my favorite always used to be with my barber was buckwheat, buckwheat ones.

SPEAKER_20 28:13

Yeah, no, we never tried those before. Yeah, we have green beans as well, and a new flavor. Yeah, it's um truffles, truffles, potato, truffles, parmesan. It's very popular now. Oh, really? And it's actually on the second place now, it's beat even potato mushrooms. Good. So after potato cheese, we have truffles now, then mushrooms, then cabbage, and then the and you have cabbage rolls, and what else do we have? Yes, cabbage rolls, yeah. And for special occasions like uh Christmas, Eastern, Canada Day, uh Thanksgiving, we also do blinies, potato mushroom blinis, and feta cheese and spinach, and our special sour cherry cake for Canada Day and for Christmas.

SPEAKER_24 28:56

So, where where do you sell most of your products?

SPEAKER_20 28:59

Only farmers markets. Only farmers markets, that's only farmers markets.

SPEAKER_24 29:02

See, that's what we're talking about today, is the different farmers markets that are around and the things that you can pick up that you don't get a lot of other places, and this is one of the specialty ones. Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_20 29:11

Very good. And so you're doing a couple of markets today? Today is uh one market in uh Peterborough Square, downtown Peterborough Market, and market right here, yes. Right here, which is and we have two special markets for Christmas inside the Army in Lindsay, it will be December 13th and December 20th.

SPEAKER_24 29:30

Yeah, very good. Well, thank you very much. Thank you. Okay, so another one we have uh at the farmers market is uh Autonomy Microgreens, which we actually did a show with Max before, and Max is here selling this product. Max, tell us about your products.

Alpaca Fiber: From Shear To Sock

SPEAKER_09 29:45

Well, from the first episode, I kind of went over a bit about what the greens are. It's very young. Uh we give them fresh live harvest at the market, so very uh special to other market vendors out there. Um, they last a couple weeks. In the fridge, at least, and they're a lot healthier than your big leafy greens.

SPEAKER_24 30:04

So right, so the ones you've got here, so you've got sunflower shoots, yeah, which is and then you've got radish, which is one of my favorite kind of spicy, broccoli, and what's this one here?

SPEAKER_09 30:15

Mixes. So they mixes a few different kinds in each of them, so then vendors or customers can don't have to choose too many of the single types and whatnot.

SPEAKER_24 30:24

Right. So what what do you use this for? Do you use it in salads or do you use it?

SPEAKER_09 30:28

How do you use it, Max? We use them mainly in salads, um, but you can garnish them on anything. Personally, my favorites are burgers, uh, wraps, egg sandwiches, and the list goes on.

SPEAKER_24 30:36

Oh, very good. And where else do you sell your products, uh, Max?

SPEAKER_09 30:40

We also sell them at some stores um local to Millbrook and Peterborough. Uh we've also got some restaurants, uh, Moody's Bar and Grill in Millbrook, and also Pies by Zach. So check us out in the Millbrook, Ontario area.

SPEAKER_24 30:53

Very good. Well, this is just another thing that uh is available at farmers markets that you don't usually get in a lot of the other places. And right here we're talking to the grower Max himself. And how how how big is your place? How much stuff can you grow or provide, Max?

SPEAKER_09 31:07

Uh we grow about 60 trays per week. Okay. So it's on the small side right now, but uh the consistent numbers there, but uh we'll be getting upwards of the hundreds, hopefully next year.

SPEAKER_24 31:16

Okay, keep up the good work, Max.

SPEAKER_09 31:18

All right, thank you.

SPEAKER_24 31:21

Okay, and another one here at the market we have is Marilyn. Uh Marilyn, tell us about your product and uh the specialty stuff that you have.

SPEAKER_15 31:28

Oh, yes, I am dedicated gluten-free.

SPEAKER_24 31:32

Gluten-free. Imagine that.

SPEAKER_15 31:34

Yes. And so, yeah, and I try and have everything from pies to tarts to pierogies and oh, really?

SPEAKER_24 31:43

So, what kind of stuff have you got here that I see? So you've got some some uh tarts and some uh scones and some like uh butter tarts kind of things, yeah. And what other kind of stuff have you got here?

SPEAKER_15 31:54

We've got pies, cookies, cupcakes, we have different loaves. Right, and yes, and then we have things in the cooler, which we have um lasagnas, pierogies, pape's. Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_24 32:10

Yeah, so just something a little different. And whereabouts are you from?

SPEAKER_15 32:13

I'm from a little town called Springburg.

SPEAKER_24 32:16

Okay, from most of our a lot of our listeners are Canada-wide and all through the states and all around the world. Where are you from, Toronto?

SPEAKER_15 32:23

We are approximately two hours from Toronto.

SPEAKER_24 32:27

Okay, and you show up. Where else do you sell your product?

SPEAKER_15 32:29

Um, I sell it at also Kwartha Sweets and Eats. Kwartha's Butter Tart Factory.

SPEAKER_24 32:35

Oh yeah. Okay, and whereabouts are they located?

SPEAKER_15 32:38

Uh in uh Kwartha Butter Tart Factory is in Peterborough. Okay. And the Quartha Sweets and Eats is in Durham.

SPEAKER_24 32:47

Okay, very good. And this is all kind of stuff that uh um it's pretty much all specialty stuff that it's only gluten-free. And uh it's great to see in just something else that you find at a farmers market that you don't sell at uh find at other places, right?

SPEAKER_16 33:01

That's great. Very good.

SPEAKER_24 33:02

Thank you very much. Thank you. Okay, now farmers markets uh a lot of times it's not just one single vendor, and we've got another microgreens producer here at the uh Peterborough Farmers Market, uh Dharma Acres. And tell us uh tell us about your product.

SPEAKER_21 33:16

Uh well, so uh our product is pretty much microgreens, which is uh in between a fully grown vegetable and a baby green. Right. And uh, you know, they're 40 times more Christian for you, jan packed with nutrients and vitamins and minerals and all that. And uh we got a couple of varieties, you know, from broccoli, peach, pea shoots, sunflowers, arugula, even. Yeah, um and cilantro I see.

SPEAKER_24 33:42

We got cilantro in the salad mix, and where do you use a lot of your products?

SPEAKER_21 33:46

Um where would you use them? Just in salads or what? Uh salads, pretty much anything you eat, right? Uh pastas, you know, uh burgers, your you know, even hot dogs. Yeah, people throwing radish on their hot dogs, you know, you know, that's a good topping.

SPEAKER_24 33:57

Very good.

SPEAKER_21 33:58

Uh so yeah, that's pretty much good for for anything on anything you eat, good dish, you know, not just salads. A lot of people think it's just the salads.

SPEAKER_24 34:05

Where else do you sell your product?

SPEAKER_21 34:06

Uh so it's just farmers' markets, and I do home deliveries.

SPEAKER_24 34:09

So there you go. So another example of uh uh businesses out there getting started at a farmer's market and bringing good product to people. Yeah, okay, thanks. All right, I see you got a customer, so I'm gonna let you go. All right, thank you. Okay, another one we have here at the market. I mentioned a bunch of the they bring in a lot of community groups, which is great to see. But uh you can also pick up things like regularly cooked food here at the market, and we've got Joe. Joe has a specialty uh food here that you can pick up at the market. Joe, tell us about your uh the the food that you provide here for people at the market. What's the name of the business, first of all?

SPEAKER_03 34:42

It's currentra. We are in Peterborough Square. Okay. Every Saturday we are here in the farmers market. Okay. Peterborough Farmers Market. Make sure that is Peterborough Farmers Market.

SPEAKER_24 34:54

Yeah. Whereabouts uh um what kind of products do you carry?

SPEAKER_03 34:59

We carry butter chicken.

SPEAKER_24 35:01

Butter chicken, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 35:03

Chicken madrass.

SPEAKER_24 35:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 35:05

We carry potato bhaji.

SPEAKER_24 35:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 35:08

And you carry china masara.

SPEAKER_24 35:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 35:11

And we carry doll. Okay. Right. We carry a lot of vegan products.

SPEAKER_24 35:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 35:17

And uh gluten-free as well.

SPEAKER_24 35:21

Now people can come in and they can come in and buy your food here and take it home, or they can eat it here. And this this helps uh with your business as well. It just yeah, it keeps the business very viable by having a supplement by coming to the markets. Do you do other markets as well, Joe?

Community Plugs And Chaga Offer

SPEAKER_03 35:36

Yes, we do other markets. We do uh in the summertime, we do music fest. Okay, music fest, yeah. Dragon Ball. Yeah. And we do a folk fest. Very good. Yeah, we do all the festivals eatable.

SPEAKER_24 35:52

Oh, very good. So so it comes out, it helps your business, it helps it can go, keeps it viable, and you get to come in and and and try something very different with uh the very different products that you have, a lot of different curries, and and I know the butter chicken wrap is very good. My wife enjoys that along with the the uh the witch chicken?

SPEAKER_03 36:12

Tandori chicken.

SPEAKER_24 36:12

Oh the tandoori chicken, yes, yeah. I usually pick up that as well. Very good. Okay, well, thanks very much, Joe. We're just letting people know about some of the things that we have here at the market. What's the name of the business again? Kurimantra. Kurimantra. Very good, sir. Thank you. Okay, so we've got another uh product here at the farmers market. And uh tell us about uh your specialty uh product here. Hey, I've got cheeses. Cheeses? Okay, what kind of cheeses? Where do where is the cheese made?

SPEAKER_22 36:45

Okay, umpire cheese. Okay, just just past Campbell Ferd.

SPEAKER_24 36:48

Okay, so which is from for a lot of our listeners internationally, uh they're just east of Toronto, but what, two hours sort of thing?

SPEAKER_22 36:55

Yeah, hour and a half east of Toronto. Okay, a little farther east from Mapledale. I have uh cheeses that actually uh my wife and I make the maple syrup that was in the cheese. Oh, very good. That's all there's that cheese.

SPEAKER_24 37:08

Yes, I had her on uh and we did a podcast about maple syrup a while ago. And so some of these cheeses, now what kind of specialty cheese? What's the difference so different about the cheese that you have here at the market today?

SPEAKER_22 37:20

Well, all this cheese is handmade, so it's in small batches. Okay, so it's all small batch, handmade, and there's a lot of different flavors here that I have that such as well I think the I have your three kinds of curds.

SPEAKER_24 37:41

Okay, oh you got a dill curd here?

SPEAKER_22 37:43

Four kinds actually.

SPEAKER_24 37:44

Roasted garlic, I see. Roasted garlic and red pepper, curd, right?

SPEAKER_22 37:50

Cheese is from one year old to ten years old.

SPEAKER_24 37:54

Oh, ten year old. Okay. And uh and so what's the advantage of aging cheese?

Pierogies And Holiday Foods

SPEAKER_23 37:59

The longer you age it, the stronger the flavor. Oh, okay. So it just keeps getting stronger and stronger. Right? So if you like really strong cheese, the ten-year-old is what you want. Oh, okay. If you just want a mild cheese, one year old.

SPEAKER_24 38:19

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_23 38:20

And then you have all your flavors.

SPEAKER_24 38:29

Oh, very interesting. Now, are there the this is and each one is a little bit different, right? So even though it's it's it's a cheddar, but the empire cheddar is a little bit different than somebody else's cheddar. Yes. Right.

SPEAKER_23 38:43

So in every cheese factory, the cheesemaker will do something a little different. So they have to build things differently. Right. So now something will come along and they know exactly what they want. They want a full cheddar or a smaller next board will want the uh maple mustard. They might want the hero wave. Oh, very good. There's one that they want this cranberry, not that cranberry.

SPEAKER_24 39:11

Right. Oh, maple, okay. Yeah, a bunch of different cranberry ones. Very, very good. Well, this is just something a little bit different here that we've got. And I know uh beside you uh you've got uh all the the maple syrup that you produce and sell as well, which is uh great to have at the farmers market, along with a lot of other things. It is wonderful. Come to the market. Okay, very good. Thanks very much. Yeah, you're welcome. Okay. Okay, so another one we have is we have a lot of bakers at uh farmers markets as well. And we have a little sugar shack in Mary and Bob here, and you're at the farmers market promoting your product. What kind of products do you have here?

SPEAKER_14 39:46

Uh we sell everything from cookies, cheesecakes, muffins, coffee, seasonal array of everything.

SPEAKER_24 39:53

Well, yeah, so this is a way that you can uh promote your business and and you do other events as well, like shows and things like that.

SPEAKER_14 39:59

Yes, we do. We actually do catering as well as we take on other events around the town and hometown as well.

SPEAKER_24 40:06

Right. So this is a way that you can do small business uh developments and things like that, that you can promote your business and get your product out there and get it known. And then that way you can uh in other locations you'll be able to, you know, well, you've got some other soups and things like that, I see. Yeah, so that's good.

SPEAKER_14 40:21

Start carrying a line of frozen soups. Oh, very good, yeah.

Microgreens Makers And Uses

SPEAKER_24 40:24

So these are some of the things that a business starting out can uh try and get its business known and then uh expand from there and you build up a clientele, and people get used to coming and seeing the different products that you have. Yes, they do. Yeah, very good. Well, yeah, it's great to get the market, and it's good to see all the people over here. Thank you. Okay, okay. So, and one of the other ones we have is Lawrence as well, who we did a show with who does dog treats. And Lawrence is an unusual one that you get at these are just some of the specialty things that you get when you come down to a farmer's market. And Lawrence, tell us about the dog treats you have here.

SPEAKER_02 40:59

Well, I do all the dog treats myself. Uh I get them from local farmers that I know. Right. Because our market does inspect those uh markets. Yeah. Those farmers, excuse me. Um I do beef lung, beef liver, um chicken feet, duck feet, chicken necks, uh, duck heads, um the lung pork.

SPEAKER_24 41:20

Where's the lung? You gotta mention the lung because my dogs eat the lung.

SPEAKER_02 41:23

I definitely need the lung, yeah. Yep. The deep flung is in my my top sore. Okay. Um, I also do uh beef tendons. Yeah. Everything that I get is wild healthy stuff. It's all dehydrated cut naturally from once the cows have been butchered. Yep. Um I try to keep it as clean as I can so I don't do any additives to my product. Right. It's just chopped up and dehydrated.

SPEAKER_24 41:48

Very good. All right. Well, Lawrence, uh, I'm I just I see somebody over there that I it's over at my lowly work. Anyways, so they're gone now. But uh yeah, this is great. These are some of the different things that you can pick up at a farmer's market. And this is just some of the reasons that people come out. And where else do you sell your product?

SPEAKER_02 42:06

Um, I just do it at the Peterborough Farmers Marketing. Um sometimes I do it online, but mostly people come and get my car, then they phone me and say, Can I get some?

Dedicated Gluten-Free Baking

SPEAKER_24 42:15

Very good. And this is just one of the ways that you can get uh uh your business out there and start to grow it, and people find out about it, about the great things you're doing here at the market. Yep. Thanks, Lawrence. Thank you very much. Okay, all right. Well, I'm about to wrap up about the farmers market. There's a lot more vendors here with a lot of details we've got. We've got a beer retailer here, uh little beast brewing company out of Whitby, Ontario. There's uh there's somebody that I don't see them here today, but uh they they make their own um, I think there's like vodka and rum and things like that that's made in Peterborough. And then I'm gonna go over and pick up some of those uh Romanesque uh that I talked about earlier, and I'm gonna go get some specialty apples from the apple guy here, some russets. And it's about the only place that I can find russet apples, which have a real nice flavor to it, and I like a very crisp apple. When you bite into it, it's kind of hard, a little bit of a bone to it. Not only that, but we've also got some Andrew with uh uh Waymak uh mushroom farm, and he's got specialty lion's mane and the oyster mushrooms and king oysters and some pinks and things like that, along with the the standard uh um the white buttons that everybody gets. Plus, there's Christmas ornaments here for uh you know making your decorations, organic farms, and a bunch of stuff like that, but a lot of good different things that you can find here at the market, and I'm sure most markets are like that. It's a good one in that there's a lot of vendors here, it's a way to get your business promoted and noticed and start off. And there's quite a few actually that started with farmers' markets and then expanded into. I remember Josh, it was uh hard winter's bread. He used to come to the market all the time, but now he's uh left the market because he's got a store going, and it was one of the ways to start his business to get it going. But there's a lot of different things here that you find out there, you know. In the springtime, I know the organic grower there will have wild leeks out there, plus uh even fiddleheads and a bunch of stuff like that. And just something a little bit different that you can find out there under the canopy.

SPEAKER_05 44:54

I'm your host, Steve Nitswiki, and you'll find out about that and a whole lot more on the Outdoor Journal Radio Network's newest podcast, Diaries of a Lodge Owner. But this podcast will be more than that. Every week on Diaries of a Lodge Owner, I'm going to introduce you to a ton of great people. Share their stories of our trials, tribulations, and inspirations. Learn and have plenty of laughs along the way.

SPEAKER_06 45:27

And we both decided that one day we were going to be on television doing a fishing job.

SPEAKER_19 45:32

My hands get sore a little bit when I'm reeling in all those bass in the summertime, but that's mighty more efficient than it was punching.

SPEAKER_05 45:40

So confidently you said, hey, find diaries of a lodge owner now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.