Farmer’s Market is Pee Dee Staple
Published Oct 17, 2007
The long growing season in Florence County makes locally raised produce available much of the year at the 55-acre Pee Dee State Farmers Market on U.S. 52.
Shoppers at the Pee Dee State Farmers Market swear by the sweet corn. Their mouths water for the watermelon.
But nothing brings them in like the butter beans and butter peas.
“I guess we’re known across the state for our butter beans and peas,” says Tré Coleman, manager of the 55-acre Pee Dee State Farmers Market on U.S. 52. “That’s what pays the vendors’ bills to us. There’s a huge demand for them. They’re hard to find, and they’re fresh, shelled and clean.”
From azaleas to zucchinis, the market has been the place to go for plants, flowers and fresh produce since it opened in 1983. Located on the the site of a former tobacco experimental station, it operates year-round and features 16 produce, plant and retail vendors.
“It’s all local produce grown from area farmers,” Coleman says. “We consider anything grown in South Carolina as local.”
The summer months, of course, are the busiest times for the market. But it does steady business during the “nongrowing” season as well, especially in the renovated red barn located on the grounds. Part of the original farm on the property, the barn is now home to a café, pecan kitchen and potter’s shop. It also serves as a venue for marketing workshops and seminars.
The Pee Dee State Farmers Market hosts two flower shows each year, one the first weekend in October and the other the first weekend after Easter.
The festivals attract visitors from all over the country.
For more information, visit http://pdfarmersmarket.sc.gov.
Story by John McBryde
Photo by David Mudd
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