From apples to zucchinis, Queen Creek residents have plenty of fresh food options and now the town’s newest farmers market wants folks to connect with the people who bring them that produce.
The Pecan Lake Farmers Market launched this month at the Queen Creek Botanical Gardens, 25002 S. 206th St., a feature of Pecan Lake Entertainment.
“We’re excited to welcome our community to experience the connection between local food, nature and beauty,” stated Justin Rohner, market organizer at Queen Creek Botanical Gardens, in a press release announcing the new market. “The Pecan Lake Farmers Market is more than a market — it’s a place to gather, learn and celebrate local growers and makers.”
The botanical gardens are part of the town’s growing agritainment sector, and true to that moniker the gardens want to make the farmers-market experience fun and educational.
Along with produce, local vendors will be offering baked goods, meats, flowers and handcrafted items.
While parents shop, kids can play on inflatables or visit the petting zoo. Families can also tour the gardens or take gardening classes. The market is open from 7 to 11 a.m. on Saturdays and it will take place year-round.
During the cooler months, residents can also go to the long-running Queen Creek Family Market at Schnepf Farms, 24810 S. Rittenhouse Road.
The botanical gardens contain various demonstration gardens such as an English garden, a Japanese garden, a vertical garden and an urban garden in its nearly 10-acre site. In the future, the botanical gardens has plans to build other themed gardens in the future.
You can eat anything in the gardens, including the flowers. The Queen Creek Botanical Gardens also works with new agricultural technology that promotes sustainability.
Cultivating Goodness is the charitable arm of the gardens and its mission is to “cultivate goodness and lift humanity through worldclass edible gardens, interactive exhibits, and easy to access community services that gather, inspire, and nourish the greater good in all of us.”
“Everybody that works at the botanical gardens has a huge passion to just teach people about where your food comes from. Growing your own food. There’s nothing fresher than just growing in your backyard and you making stuff from it,” said Joanna Williams, marketing manager at the gardens.
Admission and parking are free, and the event is pet-friendly with both indoor and outdoor spaces.
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Janet Perez News Editor | Queen Creek &
San Tan Valley
Meet Janet Janet Perez joined Independent Newsmedia as editor of the Queen Creek Independent and Florence Independent in 2020. She started her career in 1989 with the Gannett-owned El Paso Times. In 1992, she moved to Tempe and has worked in newspapers, magazines, radio and television. She left Arizona for three years to work at New Mexico State University and Baylor University before returning to work at Arizona State University. Missing the business, she went back to journalism in 2017.
Community: A long-time pet owner, she supports animal welfare causes.
Education: University of Texas at El Paso with a BA in journalism and a minor in political science.
Random Fact: She had a head full of random facts.
Hobbies: Reading, watching documentaries, cooking and playing with her dogs.
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