Nick the Dutch Baker

Nick the Dutch Baker’s booth at area farmers markets are undoubtedly the busiest places on Saturdays at the Market. His delicious, freshly baked goods attract many customers, both first-time buyers and loyal repeat customers all interested in either a single snack or in larger quantities to take home to family and friends. All painstakingly handmade and home baked from scratch, Nick prides himself on being a master baker with a long tradition of Baking skills acquired at the home of his grandfather who was an expert baker in Holland. As Nick says, "I grew up in a baker’s family and honed my skills at an early age." Now, having brought his amazing talent for baking to Canada, Nick’s impressive repertoire of baked goods includes 14 different kinds of bread, with the favourites being the multi-grains and the Dutch raisin bread. Other breads include flaxseed bread, whole wheat raisin bread, country harvest bread, and rustic wholewheat bread, some of which are sugar free which is great for diabetics and dieters. Date, lemon and raspberry, and apple squares are delightful and the butter tarts will melt in your mouth. There is country shortbread, chocolate-dipped macaroons, flaky sausage rolls, cinnamon buns, Dutch butter cake, and apple, lemon, strawberry, and cherry turnovers. The almond turnovers filled with almond paste is a special favourite. With such an inventory lineup on Saturdays, there’re lots to choose from, with something to tempt every palate. Nick has an onsite oven to offer freshly baked goods and a freezer on hand for un-baked chicken and beef pies and pizza crusts and pizza dough.

Nick Stam gained his baking apprenticeship and certification in Holland and immigrated to Canada at the age of 23. He initially settled in Ontario where he soon married and began a family. Always attracted to the farmers market venue, he began his outstanding career at Ontario farmers markets. In 1996, Nick and his family of twelve children moved to Notre Dame, New Brunswick, and promptly joined the Moncton Farmers Market. Now an integral part of four area markets, Nick’s Dutch baked goods can be found at the Bouctouche Farmers Market, The Shediac Farmers Market, The Dieppe Farmers Market, and The Moncton Farmers Market s Co-op. As Nick says, "I have always loved farmers markets. The overhead is low and I enjoy the contact with people." Often found accompanied by some of his children as helpers behind the counter at The Moncton Farmers Market Co-op location on John Street, Nick remarks, "I am a third generation baker, training the next generation of expert bakers and entrepreneurs!"

Drop by any of the area markets on Saturdays and meet the next generation of bakers as you treat yourself to the mouth-watering array of baked goods from the skilful hands of Nick the Baker, all meticulously crafted from age-old, traditional Dutch recipes! Got a special order? Call Nick Stam at (506) 576-9042 and let him help you augment your needs with the best in baked goods!

Dragonfly Gardens

"Dragonfly Gardens" - the name exudes a certain rustic beauty and charm, and that is exactly the nature of the many unique offerings found at this creative and beautiful booth at the Moncton Market Marche on Saturdays. Specializing in hypertuffa trough gardens and pots all handmade by the proprietors and creators Carol Ann Fownes and Andrew Lewis, these rugged "stone" containers make an excellent addition to your own garden with just the right finishing touch to your pond area, patio or rock garden. Great for indoors as well as outdoors, these container gardens provide the perfect touch of greenery to help you through the long winter months, and being completely portable, they can move when you do. Beautifully landscaped, these miniature gardens come in various shapes and sizes, and styles include an amazing pedestal with a large bowl that can function as a planter or a birdbath. These diminutive gardens are a complete ecosystem in themselves, containing alpine, dwarfs, cacti, and succulents all artistically arranged to create a one-of-a-kind effect giving lasting beauty to your surroundings. All filled with perennial plants, these gardens can withstand being outdoors in the winter with plants that rejuvenate in the spring, often blossoming in the summer months.

Dragonfly Gardens also carries an amazing line of maple and birch twig furniture in unusual designs straight from the creative imaginations of Andrew and Carol Ann. There are various styles of love seats just perfect for theat shady nook in your yard, throne-like garden chairs for that regal feel on your own castle grounds, trellis and garden screens for climbing plants, and an amazing bird bath holder with a concrete bowl all created with a view to helping you make your own personal statement in your garden environment. Got a special idea? Andrew and Carol Ann take custom orders and can tailor these lovely garden accents to your individual specifications. Also specializing in perennial and annual plants, tropicals and herbs, Dragonfly Gardens carries herbal products, gourmet fruit confections, and original jewellery - all outcomes of the fertile imaginations of Andrew and Carol Ann whose wonderful premises at 1739 St. Augustine Road in Beersville, NB, E4J 7K4, display their own superb gardens designed and created by this enterprising couple. This summer, take a leisurely drive out to their own corner of paradise which is open by appointment or by chance. For more information, call (506) 785-4528, or visit the market on Saturdays during the summer and treat yourself to the magic that is Dragonfly Gardens!

Batman at the Market

Batman Lives! And he can be found right here in The Greater Moncton Area complete with a cool batmobile. Reg Beal is a bat afficionado, environmentalist and entrepreneur who has been able to combine all these attributes to carve out a niche for himself extolling the virtues of cultivating bat colonies to area dwellers by elevating the profile of the little brown bat as a natural and effective way to control the mosquito population which can plague outdoor fun, especially in these lovely summer months. With bats eating up to half their body weight in mosquitoes nightly, bat colonies are the most environmentally friendly way to address the mosquito problem. Look for Reg Beal’s kiosk at the Moncton Farmers Market Co-op location on John Street where his useful bat houses can be purchased. They come in various sizes housing anywhere from 70 to 200 bats each. Made entirely from eastern Cedar, exterior select plywood, spiral galvanized nails and top quality caulking and stain, they offer draft-proof shelter from the weather for bats and will give many years of use. As Reg says, "Regarding the bat houses and plans that have been showing up lately in newspapers and periodicals in New Brunswick. Most of these houses are for use in the mid to southern USA. If these houses are not built for this region, and not installed right, it gives all bat houses a bad name. Anybody can build a bat house but if you don’t know anything about bats, then you are just wasting good wood and time. Some of these houses are lined with netting or wire mesh. That’s a death trap for the young, with them having their legs and wings becoming entangled in the mesh - rough wood only, please. Put mesh on the landing strip only."

Reg continues, "The Internet is full of bat house plans for different regions of the U.S. and pumps out more misinformation than the Pentagon. Bats are like birds when it comes to their housing, they are fussy and know what they want. You have to know what type of house and what type of bat you are providing the house for, to attract them in the region you live in, not all our bats live in houses.

As you travel north, the houses for the 'MyotisLucifus Little Brown Bat,' that are most common in this area, are longer and totally draft proof with no ventilation strip on the front - an attic system for the bats and their pups to move around in and to help maintain an approximate 30-degree temperature (larger is better). Male bats are solitary, living alone or in a very small group of six or eight.

In an article in the Moncton Times and Transcript on April 08, 2004, Graham Forbes of UNB says bat houses work to varying degrees of success - he is exactly right. The house has to be big enough, draft proof, stained dark so as to be able to stay warm enough by getting enough sunlight, high enough, facing the right direction, minimal or no interference from humans or predators and have at least a twenty-foot fly in zone free from tree branches, on a free standing post or side of building. We have eight kinds of bats in the Maritimes some of which live in holes in trees or under bark but not the female insect eating, Little Brown Bat - she wouldn’t even fly through branches.

Rabies is very rare in these bats but they can come in contact with the virus. The only three bats that have a track record of having rabies in the east are the Big Brown Bat, the Eastern Pipistrelle and the Silver-haired Bat (the last two being rare in this area).'

Throughout history, the bat has been a much-maligned creature, myths of "vampire" activity and of witchcraft surrounding this harmless nocturnal mammal, which, in reality, is a vital part of the ecosystem in which we live as a natural predator to insects which can cause us more harm than the gentle bat. Reg Beal praises the merits of this creature as a control for the ever-increasing hordes of mosquitoes to our region which can carry harmful diseases such as the much feared West Nile Virus.

Reg Beal’s market location also carries beautiful butterfly houses completes with literature on growing the kinds of flowering plants which attract these graceful and beautiful creatures to our gardens. Invest in a butterfly houses and get a free butterfly net with each purchase. The summer is the perfect time to enhance our outdoor surroundings with a butterfly house, and the early fall months is the best time to set up a bat colony. Visit the market on Saturdays, contact Eastern Canadian Bat Colonies at (506) 386-4432, or email bats_reg@rogers.com for orders or inquiries and join the crusade to champion bat colonies in the fight against the pesky mosquito!

Summer at the Market

The summer months at area markets bring a new outdoor dimension to the feel and flavour of Saturday mornings in The Greater Moncton Area. Seasonal booths abound with fresh fruit and vegetables all locally grown, lovely summer flowers and bedding plants, garden accents and ornaments, rustic furniture, bird houses, feed and accessories, and environmental aids such as mosquito control ideas. Many items are showcased in outdoor areas attached to the main market which makes for an informal, unhurried and festive atmosphere to the Farmers Market experience. The next few entries will feature vendors with goods geared toward celebrating the season with gifts from the gardens and outdoor pursuits, featuring displays from all three area markets - enjoy!

The Farmers Market Co-op

The Farmers Market Co-op’s new location on John Street in the heart of the city epitomizes the "Farmers Market" ideal. Independently run, it extends the true spirit of free enterprise and co-operation in the symbiotic nature of co-operatives everywhere - namely that of individual entities working hand in hand with each other to enhance the products and talents of each other to the advantage of all and to the benefit of customers.

Housed in the Headstart Building, The Farmers Market Co-op enjoys a great relationship with the Headstart Administration who have been very accommodating in providing a roomy warehouse space for the market. With no funds from grants or from the City, The Farmers Market Co-op has spent its own funds to renovate and beautify its surroundings with the result that it now exudes a down-home country charm and an easy ambience. Wide aisles make for comfortable traffic flow and a sit-down, eat-in area next to the coffee bar is great for relaxing, having a snack or meeting up with friends. With new vendors joining each week, the future bodes well for expansions which will encompass an additional 2 000 square feet by the fall.

Nick Stam, President of The Farmers Market Co-op is very enthusiastic about the future of the Market and says, "The Farmers Market has had a presence in Moncton for over 80 years and we are continuing a tradition free from political interference. Our market is all about independent vendors catering to loyal customers, the core of which consists of young families and mature adults who live in the surrounding neighbourhoods within walking distance of our location and who love the convenience of being able to purchase quality foodstuffs - meals, breads, cheeses, and desserts as well as quality handmade speciality items. The Farmers Market Co-op enjoys a win/win situation in its relationship with Headstart as their monthly yard sale brings approximately 3 000 people with exposure to our Market and our Market bringing in an equal number of people to their venue. With lots of room for growth and a waiting list of vendors anxious to join the market scene, we look forward to much success in the future."

Indeed, with true entrepreneurial vision, the many talented and enterprising vendors at The Farmers Market Co-op leave no stone unturned in bringing the very best of their product to the people of The Greater Moncton Area each week. Visit them Saturdays from 7 am to 1 pm - you’ll be in for a treat!