Editors note: Matthew Stevens is the horticulture extension agent for Halifax County Cooperative Extension.  If you have any questions about this article or other aspects of your home gardening, please contact Matthew at 583-5161 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

On Saturday the Roanoke Valley Farmers Market will be opening for the year and we will have our annual Strawberry Day celebration. The strawberry season has just begun in Halifax County and the weather has been great for growing berries. 

There will be plenty of delicious, locally grown strawberries for sale at the market on Saturday, as well as strawberry shortcake and other homemade strawberry treats. 

For those who have tried or want to try to grow strawberries in their home gardens, I will be at the market to present a class on how to grow strawberries successfully at home.  I’ll be doing the class in two sessions, one at 10 a.m. and one at noon, so you may stop by for either session.

Our farmers market vendors will also have other early season vegetables such as onions, greens, potatoesand cabbage available, as well as pies, cakes, jam, jelly, and more.  

Rain barrels are also still available for sale by the Roanoke Valley Master Gardeners for $40 each. 

The farmers market will be open every Wednesday and Saturday from 8 am to 2 pm, from Saturday until fall.

Each week at the farmers market this season, our vendors will be donating an item or two into a gift basket that we will raffle off at the end of each day. 

Anyone who buys something from any of our vendors during the day will have a chance to enter the raffle for free, and tickets may also be purchased for $1. 

Also on Saturday the Halifax County 4-H program is hosting an all-you-can-eat Flapjack Fundraiser breakfast at Applebee’s restaurant in Roanoke Rapids.  

Tickets for the fundraiser, which will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., cost $6 and the proceeds go to benefit 4-H programming in Halifax County. 

Tickets may be purchased through 4-H clubs, at the Halifax County Extension office or at Applebee’s and the Roanoke Valley Farmers Market on Saturday morning. 

When you present your ticket at Applebee’s, you will be given the chance to enter the weekly farmers market raffle for free. 

For more details about the Flapjack Fundraiser, contact Halifax County 4-H agent Kathleen Fleming at 583-5161 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Several new events are being planned for the farmers market season. 

On May 1, and each first Saturday of the month thereafter, the market will be hosting Yard Sale Day. 

If you have yard sale items you would like to sell, come by the farmers market, rent a booth and sell away. We’ll have a great crowd of customers right here ready to buy from you. 

On May 8, I will be selling some perennial and vegetable plants that I have propagated from my garden or grown from seed. Some of these will be rare or unusual plants, while others will be old favorites. 

All proceeds from the plant sale will go to fund the Roanoke Valley Farmers Market.  I will also have some information and tips about propagation techniques to share on those days. 

Later in the summer the market will host events such as Corn Day and Watermelon Day.  We will be looking for activities and entertainment to accompany these themes.  If you would like to be a part of these events please contact us at 252-583-5161.

The farmers market is also open to any new vendors who are interested in participating.  Whether you’d like to sell home grown vegetables, home-made crafts, home-cooked food, flea-market or yard sale items, or nearly anything else, the Roanoke Valley Farmers Market may be the perfect place for you to sell your items. Call 252-583-5161 for more information.