5 things you can find at the farmers market in Warner Robins

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Every Thursday afternoon, rain or shine, a small farmers market comes to life on a stretch of grass off Watson Boulevard and Maple Street in Warner Robins.

The longstanding International City Farmers Market in a corner of Perkins Field offers a mix of fresh from the farm produce and homemade and handcrafted goods.

Recently, I decided to head over to the farmers market to see what they had to offer that day, purchase five things, and let you know about them — and the people offering them.

I also included a few of the other vendors I met during my visit a week ago Thursday. Here’s what I brought home:

Tomatoes

Fresh-from-the-vine tomatoes from Rust’d Plow Farm owner Johnny Abbott, 72, of Warner Robins. He’s been bringing fresh vegetables and fruit to the farmers market for 14 years.

Abbott grows his own vegetables such as broccoli, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, turmeric, ginger, garlic, large and small tomatoes — except for the red potatoes and onions he was also selling. He also sells fruits such as strawberries, plums, apples and oranges carefully sourced by a friend.

Additionally, Abbott makes and sells Cajun-flavored boiled peanuts.

The four tomatoes I purchased for $5 were super juicy and probably the best I’ve had so far this season. Perfect for BLT’s, tomato-mayo sandwiches or simply sliced with a little bit of salt.

Honey

Spring fruit orchard honey from Peggy and Shawn Corbett, who harvest honey from the hives of bees that pollinate fruit trees in their Byron orchard. Shawn Corbett is the beekeeper.

Peggy Corbett owns Peg’s Preserves. She uses a lot of the fruit they grow in her jams and jellies. She also uses Taylor Farms for all of her strawberries and most of her peaches. Her mother taught her the craft, starting at age 6.

Originally from Lancaster, Massachusetts, the couple travel back to see their grandchildren every three months where she makes pickles and relishes to also sell at the International City Farmers Market, which she owns and manages. Peg’s Preserves can also be found at the Perry Farmers Market on Saturdays.

The 2 ounces of the spring fruit orchard honey I purchased for $3 came in a cute bear-shaped bottle. The honey is sweet, an all around good honey that’s raw and unprocessed that Corbett also said helps with early season allergies.

The honey soaked delightfully into a freshly-baked, homemade large croissant, offering an extra bite of sweetness. The honey also is a perfect natural sweetener for hot tea. If you have a child with a sweet tooth, try adding the honey to a nutritious peanut butter and banana sandwich.

Croissant

A large croissant from Marianna Turner, a native of Moldova who lives in Warner Robins and named her home cottage business, Mamica’s Bakery, after her late mother who taught her to bake. Mamica is a term of endearment for mommy in many Romanian-speaking cultures.

From her home, Turner makes breads, pastries and cakes to sell at the farmers market and the Saturday farmers market in downtown Perry. By late afternoon, she was nearly sold out — only three of the 35 sour bread loaves she started with remained. She was also down to a couple of croissants and a slice of carrot cake. Her most popular baked good is the croissant, which she said she makes with the best of ingredients such as Kerrygold Irish butter.

The flaky, buttery pasty paired well with fruit and coffee for breakfast. Although I added Corbett’s honey and some butter, the $7 croissant can stand on its own. Also, the croissant would be perfect for making a chicken salad sandwich. Better yet, Turner also makes croissants stuffed with chocolate. Arrive early at the farmers market, because they go fast.

Cookies

An oatmeal raisin, a snicker doodle and a lemon cookie from cottage baker Maria Venable who started CakesOverCubicles because “I’d rather bake cakes and be in the kitchen baking than stuck in a cubicle — so much more fun.”

Other cookie choices included sweet potato with a maple glaze on top, chocolate chip, peanut butter, and double chocolate. Venable can be found at the market every Thursday, at the Forsyth Main Street Market on Fridays, and the Wesleyan Market every second Saturday in Macon. Her baked goods also can be ordered online.

The three cookies I tried were delicious. The lemon with its tart zing stood out but the snicker doodle stole my heart. The thin oatmeal raisin was literally falling apart but not a crumb was wasted. The total cost was $9.72.

Lip balm

All natural lip balm made by Tamela Smith, owner of Simply Purity Soaps. She started the business as part of her journey toward healthy living. To achieve a healthy lifestyle, she eats nutritious foods, exercises and uses only chemical-free products on her skin and hair. Finding it challenging to find such products, she began making her own and selling them on her website, through Etsy and at farmers markets and festivals.

Lemon grass and sea foam are among her most popular soaps. She also makes soaps in molds to create beautiful shapes as well as soaps for children. Other products include natural insect repellent made with essential oils, candles made only with beeswax and coconut oil, and beard oil.

The 0.15 ounce of lip balm I bought for $6.12 is made with beeswax, rosehip oil, castor oil, coconut oil, shea butter, and Vitamin E oil. It’s all natural, soothing to the lips, and came in a sheer gold-colored gift bag.

While I was at the farmers market, I also talked with a few other vendors.

The Riverbend Meadow Market

Greg and Kimberly Shiver own a 20-acre farm in East Dublin. They make a living from farming, selling their produce at farmers markets across Middle Georgia.

“We bring tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peas as they come up, onions — a little bit of everything,” Greg Shiver said.

What produce they’re bringing to market and where they’ll be set up is posted regularly on their Facebook page.

Helga’s Seasonal Wreaths & Gifts

William Willis was set up selling wreaths handcrafted by his wife, Helga, who was looking for something to do after she retired and got interested in the craft from YouTube.

Included in the wreath selections were collegiate wreaths, including the University of Georgia, Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Tennessee. He was also selling a few flower arrangements his wife made for Mother’s Day.

The Burn Boutique

Samantha Gilbane of Kathleen makes laser cuts gifts and decor. She started out online and recently started selling her products at the farmers market “trying to kind of be more into the community and just kind of try out another avenue.”

Her products include laser cuts, mosaics, Mother’s Day signs, cutting boards, U.S. Air Force challenge point holders, garden markers, earrings and more.

Other vendors included Marview Farms, selling grass-fed beef, lamb, goat and pork; Wicked Solutions Candle Company, offering hand-crafted candles; Jimbo’s Shrimp, a mobile fish market selling “seafood from boat to table,” and a couple offering a wide variety of plants.

The International City Farmers Market is open from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays. The market matches Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program/Electronic Benefits Transfer dollars with fruits and vegetables.

This story was originally published May 8, 2025 at 6:00 AM.