Farmers Market Held At Senior Center

By Catherine Ellerton

Moapa Valley Progress

How many bee hives does it take to pollinate one acre of almonds?

One of the side benefits of Farmer’s Markets is the interesting dialogue and intriguing vegetables and fruits that are for sale.

Our very own local Quail Hollow Farm did not disappoint. At the recent Farmer’s Market on Tuesday, April 16, at the Moapa Valley Sr. Center, they had red and yellow Swiss Chard among their farm fresh offerings…which also included farm fresh eggs.

Success Valley Farms from Fresno, California, was the other producer present. According to Dan Garrison, there are seven farms represented in this business to include: Success Valley Farms, Olson Family Farms, Zuckerman’s Farm, Benzler Farms and Burkett’s Honey Farms.

This group of producers attends the Farmers’ Markets in Las Vegas and Pahrump on the weekends. Twice a year they visit the Moapa Valley at the Moapa Valley Sr. Center.

I picked up interesting red asparagus….that when cooked turned green. It has a “softer” or sweeter taste than the green variety.

Garrison stated that they would be back on April 30 and hoped to have cherries available for sale at that time. More information can be found on their website fresh52.com.

Two and one-half hives of bees is the answer to the earlier question regarding almond groves. However, Dan stated that Almond Honey does not taste that good and is usually added to some other kinds of honey.

When asked if their bee farms were having trouble with sick bees, he replied “No,”. He added that the possible “disease” might be caused by a chemical spray that causes disorientation in the bees.