The Turlock Certified Farmers Market, which runs until October 28 on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., features not only fresh produce, but also a variety of other local vendors who grow and craft their own products. From any pickled vegetable imaginable, to honey and mead, to lavender-infused candles, these local goods are sold by small business owners who triumphed over adversity.
One of these vendors is Anatoliy Tsymbal, the owner of Golden-Comb and the two LOZA restaurants. Tsymbal also sells local honey, a sweet treat and a natural antiseptic that offers a variety of health benefits and is especially useful during cold season.
Tsymbal explained that her parents came as refugees from Ukraine with six children in 1991. It was in their new home in the U.S. that her father received an unexpected business opportunity from a generous neighbor.
“The neighbor was a beekeeper, and he gave my dad one beehive,” she explained, “My dad used to do this in Ukraine as a hobby, so he started from one beehive in America.”
Tsymbal’s family worked hard to expand afford a larger property of 4.7 acres. It was on this property they began to grow grapes and slowly expanded from that humble one beehives to a couple hundred hives.
Another vendor rising above unfortunate circumstances to share his craft is Wayne Norman, the owner of Green Vine Canning. Norman grows and cans his own pickled vegetables right here in Turlock.
Norman’s business sprouted from the dire circumstances of the 2008 recession.
“In 2008, I was working for a construction company and the housing market crashed and I got laid off with severance pay,” he said, “Didn’t have to go back to work right away and I started a garden.”
Norman, now blessed with a great amount of produce, got a suggestion from his wife to start making pickles.
“In 2008, I made my first batch of pickles, and here we are in 2023 and I’m making a lot more pickles,” he said.
“A lot more pickles” could not be more accurate, as Norman sells an astounding variety of pickled products.
At the market, Norman was carrying pickled cucumbers, pickled okra, pickled green beans, pickled cauliflower, pickled carrots, pickled brussel sprouts, pickled asparagus, pickled red onions, pickled garlic cloves, and more.
He also has had four other recipes approved by the state of California: pickled beets, pickled mushrooms, pickled daikon, and pickled pineapple.
Wayne provided insight into the process of pickling. Pickling has specific requirements and safety regulations because it can be dangerous when done improperly.
The state of California requires that food products that are acidified to make them shelf stable are sent to a laboratory at UC Davis for testing. The lab will then either approve the recipe or provide information on how to bring the product up to code.
“If you do it wrong, it can create botulism, and botulism can kill people, and people have died from tainted pickle items,” Norman warned.
For a CSU Stanislaus student, Isabelle Fuqua (Senior, Child Development), it was her first time at the Turlock Farmers Market. She was shopping through fresh produce and had already picked up some lavender-infused items.
Fuqua was especially surprised by the variety of fruits and vegetables that she had never seen before.
“I was very surprised to figure out there are yellow raspberries,” she said, “I was like, that’s the neatest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
The Turlock Certified Farmers Market will continue through the October 28th every Saturday from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. and then re-open on May 6th, 2024.
