Farmer’s Market, Colorado Gardens, Opens this Weekend

A farmer’s market, Colorado Gardens LLC on West High 50 in Lamar, will open its doors this Saturday, July 26.  The site is just past County Road 7 as you leave Lamar.  The new store is the collaboration of three owners, Del Ensor, and farmers Michael Hirakata and Matthew Proctor from the Rocky Ford area, and their farms will supply the produce to this section of southeast Colorado.

Robyn Ensor told the Prowers Journal, the store will be open seven days a week from 8am to 6pm and they are employing some full time and part time employees from Lamar and Wiley.  “My husband, Del, works for MeadowGold and delivers throughout southeast Colorado.  He spoke with his friends, Michael and Matthew and after doing some research, believed there was a market for fresh produce in the region,” she explained.  Robyn Ensor continued, “We’re offering melons, cantaloupe, watermelons and tomatoes from these farms and the corn will be from Pueblo.”  She stated that some other items will be offered,  as well as honey and pinto beans to start.  “We’ll see how well these items sell and if there’s a demand for additional products in the future,” she said.

The demand will also determine how often the produce is replenished in the market.  “On the average, we expect to have three deliveries a week to make sure the shelves stay fresh with produce,” she added she’s hoping for a quick turnaround in that department.  Ensor said the store is also open to the idea of selling locally grown vegetables from the county, but she hasn’t heard of anyone who is planting right at this moment.  “If anyone is, we’d be open to discussing having them as a supplier,” she offered.  Ensor said the operation is seasonal, “We think we’ll be open until at least mid October at this point.”  She believed the market will catch on, so people won’t have to make a drive into Rocky Ford to purchase the fresh produce as they have in the past, now that an outlet will be available in Lamar.

By Russ Baldwin