This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Hot Days at the Farmers' Markets

Smart Markets does its best to stay open even in extreme heat, but keep an eye on our website and other notices to find out when we need to close.

Who let the dogs out? Again already?

Those proverbial dog days are becoming a little too common this season, and it sure is tough on the farmers markets. Who wants to pile their children in a hot car in plastic car seats and then into plastic strollers to meet this kind of day?

Check your sources for the markets you attend to make sure they will be open; Smart Markets may decide to close early on one or two days and as those decisions are made, we will post them on our website and Facebook pages, send it out to weekly newsletter lists, and tweet about it too.

Find out what's happening in Restonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Making a weather-related decision about the market is always a tough call, and we do have a stated weather policy. We always encourage shoppers to check our website before heading out the door if they have doubts. We do not operate “rain or shine” with no exceptions — there are too many risks to shoppers and vendors alike in being out there in the wide open spaces during bad weather. My vendors know that I am only going to call off a market if things look pretty dangerous for us — those of us who will be exposed for up to five hours or longer.

That means I sometimes err on the side of caution but not often. Last Wednesday in Reston, most of us waited out two large and violent thunderstorms because our radar watchers back at home and in offices were telling us that the storms would pass quickly and that would be the end for the afternoon. Still, we left it up to the vendors, and some left in the midst of the storms.

Find out what's happening in Restonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Those who stayed saw the sun come out for the rest of the afternoon at about 3:30 p.m. and hustled to get set up, and we had a good market thanks to all of you. But it could very easily have been too much hard rain and lightening for too long — and we would have scattered then without setting up at all. And at 3:30 p.m. it would have been on our website that we had.

We want you to take care too as you decide whether to come support us — we will be very grateful as always for the business, even more so this week in the heat. We will understand if you decide to move through quickly and not linger. Watch this space too — we will post on Patch if we make any changes as the heat rises toward the end of the week. We almost had T-shirts made last summer for the Oakton market after we “survived” a 4-degree market in January and then a 104-degree market in July. We may have to reconsider that this year!

See you at the market!

This Week at our Reston market   

Join us for great jazz from the Rodney Richardson Trio starting at 5 p.m. Our local trio of guitar, organ and drums performs originals, standards and some unexpected covers.

Heritage Farm and Kitchen will send freshly processed ground turkey and two varieties of turkey sausage. Smoked turkey breasts are also on their way for your summer salads and sandwiches. Check out the Smart Markets recipe table for some ideas for using ground turkey for your own low-cal and low-fat burgers at home — it does require some additional fat and moisture but can cook up into a great burger if handled properly. Martin’s Angus Beef will also be sampling their beef.

Peggy Fath of Catlett Confections will be joining us starting this week. She will bring homemade chocolate specialities and unique and delicious baked goods for family desserts and special occasions. She also will accept special orders for cakes and other items. She also puts together lovely gift baskets for all occasions — you will want to take advantage of her creativity as well as her baking skills. Look for her next to Heritage Farm and Kitchen.

Betty’s Chips and Salsa will be moving next to Loudoun Valley Vineyards to replace our wonderful cheese vendor who needs to give up our market in order to get the necessary work done back at the creamery.

Tyson Farms will continue to expand their offerings — more plums this week and a new peach variety. Remember that Max displays his ready-to-eat peaches along the front of his stand and those that need a few days before they are fully ripe back alongside the truck. Buy a mix of both if you want them to last most of the week.

And one more reminder: If you have not sampled Alex’s sausages at Il Bastone, you are really missing some great sausages redolent of Loudoun Valley wines and Alex’s special spice blends.

Photo by Rob Stinnett

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?