Farmers' Market Brings In Local, Regional Vendors

For brothers-in-law Ryan Tuckey and Mark Wooten, trips to Gaithersburg are a two day process.

Hailing from Tuckey's Mountain-Grown Berries, Fruits and Vegetables in Biglerville, Pa., about a half hour north of Gettysburg, the duo begins preparing for Thursday's travel and sale by 6 a.m. Wednesday.

After a full day's work of picking, washing and packing farm-grown items ripe for sale, Tuckey and Wooten wake up early on Thursday to make the hour and a half trek to Gaithersburg for the Fulks Corner Farmers' Market.

Each Thursday from June 7 through Oct. 25, vendors like Tuckey and Wooten congregate at the intersection of Fulks Corner Avenue and Route 355 to sell their products from 2-6 p.m., hoping to make a few hundred dollars before heading home.

A good day for Tuckey and Wooten might net upwards of $1,000, but on average they see closer to $700, they said.

"It's a very good market," Wooten said. "Tons of people move through here."

Among the other vendors are Randy Blair, 29, from Misty Mountain in Hagerstown, and Sheila Duncan, from Well Spring Farm in Gaithersburg, who both said they enjoy the community interaction provided by the market.

"A normal day is just getting to know the community around Gaithersburg and bringing more healthy options by providing all-natural meats," said Blair, who sells 100 percent grass fed beef, pork, lamb and goat.

Meanwhile Duncan, in her first year as a Fulks Corner vendor selling homegrown spices and herbs, said co-vendors and customers alike have been very helpful.

"I've learned uses of herbs that I didn't know from reading and talking to my customers," Duncan said. "[My experience at Fulks Corner is] educational for me and I've learned from the vendors in terms of sales and how to present food."

Products available for purchase at Fulks Corner include a vast assortment of fruits and vegetables, jams and jellies, various herbs, cut flowers, and potted plants, honey, cider, fruit butters, applesauce, canned peaches, straw, and reusable shopping bags, according to the City of Gaithersburg.

For more information about Farmers' Markets in the city, including the Saturday Main Street Market in the Kentlands, visit the City of Gaithersburg website.