Don Hagans holds a bag of pecans he grew at his property in Fair Oaks Ranch. Hagans is a regular at Leon Springs Farmers Market each Saturday morning.

Boerne resident Shirley Smith stayed up most of the night with her babies – 20 loaves of sourdough and whole wheat bread she coaxed through three risings on Thursday night. By Friday afternoon, all the loaves had disappeared from her vendor’s table at the Grey Forest Farmers’ Market as eager buyers snatched up her creations.

Smith also sold the four pies – two each of pumpkin and lemon meringue – she’d brought, as well as her wild mustang grape jelly, peach and berry preserves and cookies. Everything is made by hand in her Boerne kitchen, using local products and no preservatives.

Smith, a school nurse at Madison Elementary in the San Antonio Independent School District, said she’s been baking bread since age 20.

“It needs to be fresh, so I don’t make large quantities. I brought my bread machine with me,” she quipped, holding up her hands. Each loaf takes more than three hours from ingredient-mixing stage to baked loaf.

At another table, Don Hagans encouraged market shoppers to sample peach cider, which he believes is the perfect antidote to sweltering summer weather. It’s even better, he insisted, when added to a glass of white wine.

Boerne resident Shirley Smith describes her wild mustang grape jelly to a prospective customer during the Grey Forest Farmers Market on Friday.

Weekends are busy times for Hagans. After Grey Forest, he planned to restock, then head to the Leon Springs Farmers Market on Saturday morning and the Bulverde Farmers Market, which he manages, on Saturday afternoon.

As he chatted with customers and packaged their purchases, it was clear Hagans has a knack for knowing what causes food-lovers to open their wallets.

He’s selling fresh and local with a bit of nostalgia thrown in.

And there’s no charge for reigniting taste buds gone dormant in the summer heat.

The Bulverde Farmers Market is held every Saturday from 3 to 6 p.m. on Texas 46, just west of Sonic and HEB, in the Hill Country Christian Church parking lot.