Nine-year-old Fynn Collins has a plan: grow seedlings, sell them at the Market and put away enough money to buy herself a car when she’s 16.

“It will be my car, so mom and dad shouldn’t have to pay for it,” she said last Saturday as the Frontenac Farmers Market opened for its 13th season. “I may save up for my own TV before that.”

About two years ago, Collins got interested in gardening. She particularly liked growing seedlings and this year when her mom Amanda told her the Farmers Market was opening soon, she knew exactly what she wanted to do.

“I decided I wanted a stand,” she said.

So, she got busy starting her seedlings, even to the point of growing some under artificial lights. For the opening day, she had a variety of pepper strains for sale, along with some mini-cheesecakes, but this is just the beginning. She plans on expanding her inventory as other seedlings reach the transplanting stage.

She said she loves all sorts of plants but Kale seems to be her favourite.

“I pick it out of the garden and eat it,” she said.

For now, Collins is looking at this venture as “a good summer job” but the idea of making a living as a market gardener some day does appeal to her.

“I love gardening,” she said.

Collins is a welcome addition to the Market this year, said self-described “chief go-fer/manager Debbie Harris.

“We have a full house this year with some new vendors like Fynn,” Harris said. “And it’s good that we have a variety of farm vendors.”

For example, she said, besides Collins they have people selling vegetables, including hydroponically grown varieties, prepared foods like pirogues, a couple of vendors selling meats, baked goods and “old favourites like jams, jellies and herbs and of course having coffee available is very important.”

The Market is open every Saturday in the parking lot of Prince Charles Public School from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. right through until Halloween.

They like to have ‘special’ days, like the annual Tomato Day, but those things tend to be dependent on things like weather, growing conditions and fate.

“We seem to like to fly by the seat of our pants,” Harris said. “But people can check our Facebook page for special events.”

The market goes every Saturday, regardless of weather. They’ve been rained on, snowed on, and lived through some pretty good windstorms.

Even this year, a little rain didn’t dampen their enthusiasm.

“We’re never very sure about the weather,” Harris said. “I’ve been doing my sun dance all week.”

But as long as people keep coming, they’ll keep doing it, she said.

“We appreciate the support the community has shown us,” she said. “If they’re not here, we’re not here.”

The regular season of the Sharbot Lake Farmers Market is over for this year, but people can continue to access their favourite local producers via the website, sharbotlakefarmersmarket.ca or on Facebook. Please use this off-season market to support the vendors. You will find a list of producers there. Click to find the list. You will be amazed at the products you will still be able to purchase all through the year. No need to wait for the opening of market next May, as you can continue to enjoy many of the items you are used to buying at the Saturday market.

Everyone at the market sends their appreciation for the support the community has shown this year. The good thing about buying from your local food suppliers is that the money supports the entire local economy. This year the total sales for the market were just over $55,000. It is also interesting to know that 4,200 customers visited the seasonal market. The numbers speak for themselves.

If you were lucky enough to be able to come out the market this season you would have found many people enjoying the Butter Tart Challenge and the Taste Fest, two of the most popular and best attended events, but of course there were so many other events to attend. You will just have to come out next year to take it all in. Watch for a listing of the upcoming events for next season, as there are lots of plans for 2017, including new food events.  New vendors are signing up now, and there will be new products including a greater variety of meats.

All the vendors are appreciative of the support of the Township of Central Frontenac as well as the support of loyal customers. At the market vendors have time to talk to customers about the products they raise and sell. This is so important in a world where people have for the most part become very disassociated from the land and the farmers who grow their food. There is no denying that there is a buzz at the market. It’s the conversation, the sharing of information and, well, the great food and good coffee that you can get there. There is a special energy that you can experience on any given Saturday morning that you come out to the market.

The regular season of the Sharbot Lake Farmers Market is over for this year, but people can continue to access their favourite local producers via the website, sharbotlakefarmersmarket.ca or on Facebook. Please use this off-season market to support the vendors. You will find a list of producers there. Click to find the list. You will be amazed at the products you will still be able to purchase all through the year. No need to wait for the opening of market next May, as you can continue to enjoy many of the items you are used to buying at the Saturday market.

Everyone at the market sends their appreciation for the support the community has shown this year. The good thing about buying from your local food suppliers is that the money supports the entire local economy. This year the total sales for the market were just over $55,000. It is also interesting to know that 4,200 customers visited the seasonal market. The numbers speak for themselves.

If you were lucky enough to be able to come out the market this season you would have found many people enjoying the Butter Tart Challenge and the Taste Fest, two of the most popular and best attended events, but of course there were so many other events to attend. You will just have to come out next year to take it all in. Watch for a listing of the upcoming events for next season, as there are lots of plans for 2017, including new food events.  New vendors are signing up now, and there will be new products including a greater variety of meats.

All the vendors are appreciative of the support of the Township of Central Frontenac as well as the support of loyal customers. At the market vendors have time to talk to customers about the products they raise and sell. This is so important in a world where people have for the most part become very disassociated from the land and the farmers who grow their food. There is no denying that there is a buzz at the market. It’s the conversation, the sharing of information and, well, the great food and good coffee that you can get there. There is a special energy that you can experience on any given Saturday morning that you come out to the market.

“This is food I grew up with,” said local farmer, Ernie Sands of Sands Produce from Battersea, in regards to all the organic, locally grown products for sale at the Frontenac Farmers’ Market (FFM).

The FFM has been a hot spot in the township ever since it first opened up in 2005.

The market and its vendors have been providing customers with local, organic produce and homemade goods for 11 years now and they show no signs of slowing down.

In 2014, the market moved from its old location at the Verona Lions Centre on Sand Road to the parking lot at Prince Charles Public School on the much busier Road 38, and business has increased significantly.

According to Sands, the vendors now see anywhere from 200 to 400 people pass through their little market on a good day.

Merchandise available at the market ranges from fresh fruits and vegetables to hand-made crafts. One can find almost anything on their grocery list at the market and for a comparable price as in regular grocery stores.

Father and son, Ernie and Eugene Sands of Sands Produce, are just a couple of the local farmers who keep markets like this in business. The two of them have been a part of the market ever since it was first introduced to the township.

Eugene Sands says that they keep a close eye on prices in the grocery store to ensure their prices are comparable for their customers. He sees great importance in local markets in communities like this.

“The biggest thing is getting people educated on what they’re buying in the stores compared to what you can get at the market,” Sands said. “Yes there are disadvantages; there might be some blemishes and stuff like that. But the positives are the taste and that it’s local. It hasn’t been sitting in a warehouse or been shipped from half way across the countryside.“

Sands encourages people to take the time to come to the market for groceries.

The work of farmers’ markets is twofold: to keep local farmers in business and to provide the community with healthy, organic products. “We want to be needed here,” said Eugene Sands. The only way this is possible is with the community’s support.

The market season is quickly coming to an end, with the last one to take place on October 29, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the usual Prince Charles Public School location.

The Sharbot Lake Farmers Market held their second annual Buttertart Challenge on Sept. 3, which drew 11 entries. The butter tart is a truly Canadian dessert, an ooey gooey delight that was invented in the 1900s in Barrie, Ontario and has a huge following of connoisseurs. The honour of judging the challenge was highly coveted, with one unnamed judge having actually begged for a spot! Each judge had to consume three full butter tarts in total, which left the delighted crowd with the rest! Believe us when we tell you, there were a lot of delighted testers and appreciative commentaries throughout the entire crowd! The winner of the coveted “Best Buttertart in Frontenac County” award was Karen Schonauer of Ardoch. Second prize was won by Kim Perry of Food Less Travelled in Verona, and third prize went to Guy Leger. Soon we will have to have our own butter tart road map to visit the many talented bakers in the Frontenac region.

As well, Natsuki Ono's name was drawn as the winner for the SLFM Kids' Word Search.

This Saturday, Sept. 3 will be a sweet day to be at the Sharbot Lake Farmers Market at the beach in Sharbot Lake. At 10:30am, the judging for the Second Annual Buttertart Challenge will take place. There were 15 entrants last year and it looks like there will be that many and more this year, as Frontenaconians love their butter tarts and clearly love to compete as well. The winner of the $50 prize and title of "Best Buttertart in Frontenac County" will be announced at 11:30 am.

The competition was started last Labour Day weekend by Mary de Bassecourt and Andrea Duggan on behalf of the Sharbot Lake Farmers Market as another event to drum up community spirit. The winner last year, Jocelyn Harpell, (of Jossey's) credits her mother, Annabelle, for the family recipe. Molly Ducharme finished second, a mere 1/2 point behind! Not bad for a girl in grade 8! Anyone can win!

The audience gets to enjoy the tarts as well, as quarters are handed out while the judges are diligently and painstakingly grading the tarts, first by appearance, then by the texture of the crust, the flavour and consistency of the filling and finally, how does it taste all together? These are some of the hardball questions that must be addressed by our panel of judges - all local butter tart lovers of various ages.

Get baking, people! Register by September 2 with a fun name for your butter tart creation. To register, send an email with "Butter Tart" in the Subject line to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. In the body of the email, include your name and the title of your butter tarts. Be creative! Then drop off six butter tarts at the bandstand on September 3. You never know, you may end up $50 richer and with a whole new status in the county!

When friends and family get together to celebrate the Easter long weekend, food is always a going concern. For that reason, vendors at the Frontenac Farmers Market have been putting on an annual Easter weekend event, which was held at Prince Charles Public School in Verona on March 26.

Debbie Harris, long-time manager of the market, was pleased with the turn out and said the idea behind the Easter market is to give buyers a chance to purchase food locally grown and raised for their Easter celebrations. “This event is also a great outing for local people who may be entertaining guests for the weekend; it gives them something to do and a chance to get out and purchase a few things that might come in handy for their Easter meal and celebrations” Harris said.

Sixteen vendors took part this year and up for grabs were fabulous meats like Easter hams, lamb, plus locally grown veggies, and a wide assortment of home made comestibles like jams, pickles, and candies. Home baked good like pies, hot cross buns, and monkey bread were also bountiful, and not to be missed were home-made perogies, organic soaps, spring seeds for growers, a wide assortment off art and craft items including home-spun yarns and more.

Together with the long-time regular vendors, the Easter market introduced some new and notable sellers to the market’s loyal clientele. David Bates and Lucinda Thum, owners and operators of Bramble Heights Farm near Parham, are two first time vendors to the FFM. Their booth attracted much attention due to their unique products that include their pastured heritage pork, Muscovy ducks, geese, chicken meat and egg products and much more. The couple’s motto of “Happy Animals, Heritage Lifestyle” is as unique as their off-grid farm and hand built 176 square foot cabin located on their 30-acre farm property near Parham, where they have a single solar panel, and still pump their water by hand.

Old-style farm practices are first and foremost at Bramble Heights, where Bates and Thum raise a wide range of heritage breeds of pigs, ducks, geese and chickens both for meat, eggs and breeding stock. “We have a really old traditional style of raising our animals, who are all free range and ecologically raised”, Bates said. “We have a unique approach to raising our animals and as a result the products we sell, for example our pork, is especially tender, flavorful and juicy and our bacon is really something special”.

The two have been farming for the last four years and they offer up a unique range of items including their “flock in a box” selection of fertile hatching duck and chicken eggs. They decided to join the farmers’ market not only to bring their goods to market but also to meet people in the community, to make contact with other farmers in the area, and to build up their animal stock, which they will be selling during the market’s upcoming regular season.

“ We are hoping to introduce people to the idea of local food and the unique “happy” animals that we are raising”.

The two also sell birch syrup, a wide selection of plants and local trees like beaked Hazelnut as well as locally grown produce, seeds and more. Judging by how fast their ducks and geese flew off the shelf on Saturday, these two farmers, new on the scene with the FFM, will no doubt be attracting many more shoppers when the regular market season opens in May.

For more information about Bramble Heights visit www.brambleheights.com and for more information about the FFM visit

www.frontenacfarmersmarket.ca and follow them on facebook.

Over 30 vendors participated at the annual Frontenac Farmers Christmas Market, now in its 10th year, which continues to draw large crowds of shoppers looking for high quality local produce, comestibles, crafts and other gift items. This year the sale was held in the gym of Prince Charles Public School in Verona and the regular market has been taking place weekly in the school's parking lot for the last two years.

Market manager/treasurer and vendor, Debbie Harris, said that the annual event continues to grow every year. Many of the regular market vendors, who sell a wide variety of products including ecologically raised meats, maple syrup, canned and jarred sweets and savories, home made perogies, baked goods and more, were there. The event also attracts vendors who specialize exclusively in Christmas wares; among them was Rebecca Peters of Rebecca's Angels and Snowflakes, an artisan who has been making crocheted angels, snowflakes and other ornaments for the last 10 years. Peters says that her business is seasonal and as a full-time mom of two young children, she crochets “whenever I can get a chance”.

Some of the new vendors included Nanny's Woodcrafts from Lombardy; Heather Buchanan of Crooked Tree Pottery of Ottawa, who makes a wide range of functional pottery; John Squair, owner of the award-winning 3 Dog Winery of Picton, who had to run out to his car during the show to replenish his stock of bottled creations; and Alison Williams of Itty Bitty Bites, who was selling her own miniature cookies, muffins and gingersnaps. Also new was Jake Hancock, a high school student and owner of NewSweater FingerBoards, which are a great gift for those who love everything to do with skateboarding.

This year was the first that market organizers partnered with the school's parent council, who held a fundraising breakfast with Santa in an adjacent classroom that same morning. For $5 families could dine on a sausage and pancake breakfast and youngsters had a chance to visit with Santa. Close to 70 diners took part and funds raised will go towards the purchase of three new pieces of playground equipment for the school.

Market organizers will be partnering up again with the parent council for their first Easter market, which will take place at the same location on the Saturday of the Easter weekend in March. After that the regular market will resume on Saturdays at the school from 9 am – 2 pm beginning on Victoria Day weekend in May.

Harris would like to thank all their long-time and new customers, who made this year's season such a success.

The first annual Sharbot Lake Farmers Market Butter Tart Challenge was held

on Sept. 5. It was a sweet farewell to summer and a taste of the cooler baking season ahead.

Out of a total of 15 entries the winner of the Tastiest Butter Tart In Town medallion and $50 grand prize was Jocelyn Harpell of Jossy’s Chill and Grill. Jocelyn credits her mother Annabell Hill (pictured) for the family recipe and shares the 2015 title with her. Jossy’s used to sell Rising Bun butter tarts but since they are no longer available, Annabell and Jocelyn have been making their own while they prepare their vegetable-based gravy for other dishes. “And they’ve just gone viral” said Jocelyn Tuesday morning.

The certificate and crown are already posted above the delicious morsels that you can try for yourself at Jossy’s on Highway 7. The crown will be passed on to next year’s winner.

Second place was awarded to Molly Ducharme and third place went to Glenys Bender. They each received a litre and a half-litre of Conboy’s maple syrup respectively.

Each tart was quartered, and given to the judges. The Butter Tart boys and Butter tart girl served the remainders to the audience members and market-goers.

The panel of butter tart experts included Ludwig Ratzinger, professional pastry chef and chocolatier. He acted as head judge in the event of any disputes. Alongside him was Megan McKenzie of Seed to Sausage, which sells artisanal cured meats and specialty foods.

Cerridwyn-Cox Henderson, intern gardener and market vendor with Good Golly Gardens brought a youthful appetite as well as vast experience of pie eating to the judges’ table. Victor Heese was pleased to be asked to be a judge for the event. The councilor for Central Frontenac said, “It’s my duty to over-indulge.” Rounding out the judges' table was local beekeeper Virgil Garett with over 78 years of sweetness under his belt.

“I understand that the judges' gastronomic enthusiasm waned somewhere between the 8th and 10th tarts, but they soldiered on through the 15th”, said co-organizer and Sharbot Lake Market manager, Mary de Bassecourt.

De Bassecourt and fellow organizer, local chef and food enthusiast Andrea Duggan would like to thank everyone who submitted their entries, as well as Hazuki Heese who tallied the scores; Donna Laroque for her poster design; the Butter Tart Boys James and Ryan Howlett, sons of vendor Rustic Roots Farm; and the Butter Tart Girl Izabella Giroux.

The Sharbot Lake Farmers Market will continue to run every Saturday 9am to 1pm until Thanksgiving.

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It might surprising to see a 13-year-old running a successful business at the Saturday farmers’ market in Sharbot Lake. But what's even more surprising is that it is Ellie Larocque's third consecutive summer doing just that.

Ellie started up Cassnelli's Cookies and Lemonade in 2013 with her friend and cousin Cassidy Donaldson (hence the business name) when she was just 11. It was Ellie's mother Donna, who suggested that the two set up shop at the Sharbot Lake Farmers Market, and for her first summer, Ellie used her birthday gift money to invest in the necessary supplies.

While Cassidy, who lives in Lanark, is no longer involved in the business, Ellie has continued on and her friend Annika Putnam has joined her as a co-baker/seller. The two bake all-butter-based cookies, with Ellie offering up huge and reasonably priced cookies that come in chocolate chip, ginger and oatmeal, and Annika adding her own peanut butter and sugar cookies to the mix.

I recently interviewed Ellie and her mother Donna at their home in Sharbot Lake and got a close up look at what makes this young entrepreneur tick. Coming from a family of self-motivated business people, (Donna is an artist and sign maker and father Dennis a mason), it is no wonder that Ellie is herself an enterprising young entrepreneur.

Ellie let me in on a couple of trade secrets, like the fact that some of her recipes come from Evelyn Raab's cookbook, “The Clueless Baker”. She uses only butter, never lard, and the cookies that I was lucky enough to sample are light and chewy but with a definite crispness. It comes as no surprise that one is never enough. They are affordably priced at $1 each, $5 for a half dozen and $10 for a dozen.

Ellie’s longest work days are the day before the market. She mixes up fresh batches of cookie batter throughout the week and always bakes the cookies the day before the market, ensuring their freshness. She bakes over 100 cookies on Friday and often sells out.

While cookies are the girls’ main focus, they also sell ice-cold glasses of real, homemade lemonade as well. Asked what her motivations were for starting up a business, Ellie answered that making her own money to spend as she likes is one of the reasons, but added that she was also looking for experience in running a business, understanding that it will make her more knowledgeable and employable in the future.

This summer she set a personal goal for the season - to sell enough cookies to afford a Macbook since she is also interested in graphic design.

Of course the business could not exist without the help of Donna, who does the driving to local stores to purchase the ingredients. An understandably proud mom, Donna said the business venture has been a project they worked on together and she admitted that though the road was bumpy at the start, things are now running smoothly and efficiently. “I'm very proud of the initiative Ellie has shown and her hard work.”

Ellie herself says that she has learned a lot since she first began three summers ago. “Baking is more difficult that I thought it would be and I am a much better baker now then I was back then. I am also a lot better at handling money and understanding the costs of doing business."

She admitted that balancing school and the market in May and June can also be tough. That being said, Ellie said that she expects to be continuing at the market for another year or two.

For those not in the know, Ellie and Annika's cookies are worth every penny and though the two are not able to attend every single market day, as the saying goes...Get ’em while you can.