Fresh from the farm

Get your hands on a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, like this produce from Burnett Farms, at the Ag Heritage Park Farmer's Market on the AU campus.

Smells of peaches, honey and shrimp linger in the air every week, rain or shine, at the Ag Heritage Park's "Best of Alabama" Farmers' Market. The market is bordered with white tents and tables speckled with colors of blue, red, yellow and purple.

A variety of locally produced fruits, vegetables, honey, plants, herbs, eggs, soaps, baked goods and coffee are offered at the market every Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m. on the Auburn University campus. The market is located on Samford Avenue across from the athletic complex.

The summer selling season is April 24 through Aug. 14, with an option to extend a few weeks into the fall if produce remains available, according to the market Web site.

Each week there are approximately 20 tents set up for vendors to sell their goods. The market is open to the public; many students, families and local residents come out each week.

"The market crowd seems to be bigger than ever this year, especially now that the summer produce is really coming into production," said Katie Jackson, market coordinator.

Vendors also tend to be the same each week, according to Jackson.

"Some come sporadically, and occasionally new vendors are added," Jackson said.

Some tents offer similar produce, such as vegetables and fruit, and it can be hard to choose which produce you want to buy. Every tent offers a tempting display of shiny, green peppers or fuzzy, ripe peaches that can't be resisted.

In addition to produce, the market sometimes features local artisans and musical entertainment.

"Over the last couple of years artisans have included a furniture maker, gourd artists and during the first year we had a blacksmith," Jackson said. "Musicians tend to be acoustic players with guitars, fiddles and mandolins, or other stringed instruments."

The market first opened in 2004 and is hosted by the AU College of Agriculture in partnership with the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

Honey produced from Bee Mac Apiaries in Opelika and shrimp raised in Alabama ponds are only a sample of the animal produce offered.

A unique vendor housed in a tent in the corner every week is Bulger Creek Farms, which offers goat milk, goat cheese, soaps and lotions. The family-owned and operated, licensed goat dairy in Notasulga has more than 70 goats to produce their gourmet cheeses and soaps.

Many tents offer stone-ground grains, from grits to granola and oatmeal to cornmeal. Vendors include Sanders Street Cookies, Aplin Farms of Slocumb and Burnetter Farms Chilton County Peaches.

The market was founded to promote regional food production and consumption, as well as promoting family farming and the direct marketing of farm products, according to the Web site.