‘Delightful mix of vendors’ at this new farmers market opening in Harris County

A new farmers market is opening in Harris County this week.

Starting on May 3, a farmers market will take place every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2.p.m in Pine Mountain at the intersection of McDougald Avenue and Broad Street, 149 McDougald Ave.

The market is organized by Chipley Square Farm and will comprise a “delightful mix of vendors featuring farm-fresh produce, homemade jams and baked goods, handcrafted creations, local honey, flowers, and more,” according to the news release.

Five local vendors have confirmed to be at the farmers market. They are:

• Jenny Jack Farm of Pine Mountain, selling fresh produce and eggs

• MercyMed of Columbus, selling fresh produce

• Vale of Paradise Mushrooms, based in Freeport, Florida, with a second location in Harris County, selling gourmet mushrooms

• Chipley Square of Pine Mountain, selling produce supplied by MerceyMed and Jenny Jack

• Crossways Apiaries of Columbus, selling honey and beeswax.

Sam Andrews, organizer of the farmers market and manager of Chipley Square Farm, has been working on bringing this farmers market together for over one year. He told the Ledger-Enquirer he wants the event to address a growing need to access organic produce in Pine Mountain.

“Just from living in Pine Mountain, there’s a small grocery store, but there’s no farmers markets up here at all,” Andrews said. “We just knew we needed something and thought it would be well received.”

The market also has an educational component. Each week, the market will provide opportunities to learn skills related to farming, such as beekeeping and foraging. Some classes offered will be free entry, while others will have paid admission.

“It’s all about community and bringing people together,” Andrews said. “On both sides of things, we wanted an easy space for vendors to be able to get out there and sell stuff but also just a welcoming space for all local families to come out and spend a couple hours shopping around, maybe eating some more organic whole foods that they wouldn’t normally get, some fresh baked breads and seeing each other — almost like Sunday morning church kind of community out there.”

Andrews said the farmers market will continue to grow over the next few months, aiming to expand to 12-15 local vendors.

“We’re definitely gonna start small and let it grow naturally,” Andrews said.

This story was originally published April 28, 2025 at 12:07 PM.