Tessi’s Garden

    My adventures in gardening began when I was a little girl helping my mom and dad in their garden. I always loved the smell of freshly tilled earth and the feel of it on my bare feet. Putting the seeds into the soil and covering them up, and then the excitement of those tiny sprouts appearing as if by magic! My love of gardening has only grown since then! 

    I have had a garden at almost every house I have lived in. Sometimes is was just a small patch of peas or beans, but I was always growing something! Almost 10 years ago I acquired my current property. It is 3 1/4 acres near the Oregon border. This has allowed me to have a much bigger garden!

    What started out as a modest 10′ x 15′ plot has grown into 40′ x 60′ garden that is expanding a little bit each year. A few years ago I was starting to get a LOT of extra produce. I gave most away to friends and family, but still ended up with extra (which made for some VERY happy chickens!).

    That is when I decided to try selling at a farmer’s market. This would serve several purposes. It would help me to provide healthy non-GMO organic produce to others, use my surplus for a more than just fattening my hens, and would provide me a little income to help buy more seeds, plants, and materials for my garden. 

    Since I work full time as a teacher, the weekday markets did not work for me. I decided to go with the Nampa Farmer’s Market mostly because it was held on Saturdays. I am so glad that I ended up with them! The people there are so amazing to work with and I have had a tremendously positive experience with them. This will be my third year at the market and I am so excited to bring all of the old favorites as well as a few new things. I have developed many new friends and regular customers and I look forward to making more!