Farmers Market season is our favorite! Mostly because we get to shop on Saturday mornings while simultaneously supporting the community around us. As we all know, Lubbock has a newer farmers market and one of our favorite parts about West End is seeing Juicy Lucy’s Veggies there every week.
Juicy Lucy is a local vegetable producer in Lubbock. But it’s more than that. Lucinda Mann, the owner and operator of Juicy Lucy’s Veggies is a part of West Texas Grower and Producers Association in which she and the other of their 25 members certify local growers and producers in the area to ensure that everything they grow or make to sell is entirely local. That means that whatever you get at the West End farmers market in Lubbock is, quite literally, certified to guarantee its freshness and locality.
Juicy Lucy specializes in something different than the rest: fresh garlic. Whether you like it pungent, spicy, or tame—she’s got it all. She grows all of her produce in about three acres of the 15 that she owns. Her produce includes purple potatoes—which she taught us are healthier for you—onions, watermelons, your basics: tomatoes and squash, and even pumpkins! Lucinda shared with us that her favorites are (hands down) her tomatoes. Though they are running late this year, we can expect to taste them around mid-August. But naturally, our favorite is her variety of garlic—which is perfectly in season and available, by the way.
She got started producing her veggies about 2010 once she grew tired of store-bought food tasting bland and began growing for herself. She eventually started sharing and selling and before long became a regular sight to see at the Farmers Market. She has two other fields than the one she owns in Lubbock where she has room to grow back-up. With this year’s unpredictable weather, it’s a good thing our local producers are so prepared!
Lucinda told us that she’s “a little ol’ country gal” who strives to provide the locals with delicious produce that is healthiest for their bodies and sense of community. Her grandson, 13, started working with her and she couldn’t be happier about growing Juicy Lucy’s as a family business. She plans to expand her farming, looking into some hoop housing that will expand her growing season up to six weeks. Think about how much more garlic we can get from that expansion!
On Saturday, while you collect your fresh garlic and squash from Juicy Lucy, you can enjoy the live music and grab a bite for lunch at West End Farmers Market in the West End Center. You can catch Juicy Lucy’s Veggies on the plaza in front of Nike from 9:30am – 12:30pm.
