Taylor-made to sell
When it comes to living in harmony with one’s environment, North Idaho’s Elizabeth Taylor shines.
Situated about 15 miles outside of St. Maries, Taylor grows a variety of organic produce and sells it at the Moscow Farmers’ Market every Saturday. The location of her 1-acre garden ensures one thing: “I don’t do hot crops,” she said. It just doesn’t get warm enough for tomatoes and peppers and such.
But when many other market vendors have moved past the spring and early summer greens in lieu of warmer weather crops, Taylor enjoys her niche providing a variety of fresh greens.
On a hot August Saturday morning at the Moscow market, Taylor and her partner-friend Gretchen Teufen were busy restocking baskets with greens, cucumbers and more. Taylor’s intensely focused on helping her customers, offering serving suggestions for kale to one and ensuring another that the following week she’ll have plenty of pickling cucumbers. Scurrying around in bare feet, she doesn’t stand still for even a minute.
“I love to farm,” she says. “It’s a nice natural lifestyle.”
Though not certified (she says it costs too much for a small operation like hers to get organic certification), Taylor grows her produce using all organic methods. “Everything’s done by hand. We dig the beds every spring.”
Taylor farmed organically in Santa Barbara before moving to North Idaho. She says that in the 20 years she’s been growing organic produce, it’s been in the last five or so that people have really started appreciating organic methods. “Which is cool in a lot of ways,” she says. “People didn’t know what organic was when I started.”
Teufen says Taylor’s commitment to sustainable agriculture goes beyond just growing organically. “She lives the whole lifestyle,” Teufen said, adding that Taylor lives without electricity at her home. “She hires kids and teaches them how to farm. She really lives her belief system.”
But that can be tough in a world that relies so much on its conveniences regardless of the price to the environment.
“My job is a hard one,” Taylor says. “Sometimes I can be so disgruntled and grumpy when I come here on Saturdays and then the people are so appreciative for what I do, they make me cry.”
It’s true, Teufen confirms. “She bawls almost every week.”
Taylor’s been selling at the Moscow market for 10 years and says, “This is a fun community to serve.” She says the people who shop the market are inquisitive and are willing to try new things.
She sells a lot of greens such as mizuna, baby bok choy and stir-fry mixes. She also sells baby leeks, golden beets and cucumbers. In addition to produce, Taylor sells fresh cut flowers, with which she has a love-hate relationship.
“They’re fun. I love to do flowers,” she said. But how they sell at the market varies week to week. The problem if they don’t sell: “You can’t go home and can ‘em,” she says.
Here’s a serving suggestion from Taylor: Saute fresh kale in a little bit of olive oil for a few minutes, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and then add it to a quesadilla.