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I have been going to the Farmers Market and getting veggies. I do not see how they have anything but they do. I have had feild corn and sweet corn. They have had a great varity of everything. I hope they keep having things so I can have some fresh veggies...
Hi gn.. Yes, I go to the Farmer's Market every week.. I don't have anything from my garden yet, and I also enjoy seeing what all others grow. There are alot of lifetime farmers there that I like to chat with - lots of good conversation. I also don't have alot of space to grow veggies/fruits like watermelon & cantalope...So I go support the locals. Corn has also been coming in too- Gosh it is so good!!!!
I always encourage others to go to the Farmers Markets instead of supermarkets... MUCH better produce!
You are right there. I have feild corn for the fourth. Watermellon of course. Got fresh butterbeans and white peas also. We especially like the feild corn since my husband farmed for 15 years until he got disabled. It sure is good for you and they have lots of farmers markets here in Alabama.
I've gotten addicted to the FM out here, too. I'd forgotten, in my years of nomadic student living, how good veggies were really supposed to taste! Here in Tucson, I'm still trying to figure out how to grow much of anything reliably well, so I'm making a weekly venture to go acquire stuff that tastes the way it's supposed to.
And, we've gotten corn, too, from the FM, and it was so good I almost didn't let the kids have any :)
I agree with the above posts. In addition to all the practical benefits (fresh produce, good prices) the FM is a very nice community event. I enjoy strolling around our small FM and talking to the vendors, many of whom I've gotten to know by attending the market each week.
It is great you all are supporting the Farmers. They work so hard to please people with their produce. I have been there and did that. I am now retired and unable to garden much. Most is done in containers. We get vouchers to go to the FM to get fresh veggies. I used mine quickly. Vouchers are for senior citzens. The corn has been wonderful even though it has been so dry. The peas have tasted better than usual also. I guess the dry weather made everything taste its best. I hope you all contunie to go to FM. They enjoy seeing you and talking to you. You sometime get bargains when you get to know a Farmer. I got a bargain yesterday. I usually have to pay $4 a dozen for corn. They let me have it for $3 a dozen and gave me extra corn. I had 15 ears instead of 12. I got it all fixed and in the fridge except what I cooked to eat. It was so goooooooood. We had white peas with it and tomatos and peppers.
I have just about given up on farmers markets. Too many vendors buy their veggies in - they buy them from the same distributors the grocery stores use. That's why they have so much stuff at the end of June, it's coming from California.
Not all farmer's markets are like this - we had good farmer's markets where I lived before in MO. But the one here, you have to watch the vendors. A good market has rules against buying stuff in, but this one doesn't.
Too bad you're having problems, ZenS. I know how quickly something like that can really sour your attitude towards the whole experience.
We just got back from the ultimate in "fresh produce" experience (aside from growing your own, that is)--a U-Pick-it place in Willcox, AZ. Got a big box of peaches, a ton of beans, corn, peppers and tomatoes. Would have gotten more, but DH and kids were all melting (me, too, I confess)--only about 107 deg. But still, I *know* where this came from! :) Now I just have to do something with it all before we lose it. Break out the Ziploks!
I stopped over at my FM last weekend and they had watermelons that were not local (they even had labels on them!). They had some not very good looking tomatoes which were $8 a basket - and that's not a bushel basket, that's about a 3 or 4 quart strawberry basket! About a buck apiece or more for green tomatoes. They had some peppers that they guy didn't even know what kind they were. I'm guessing that if he grew them, he'd know what they were.
Like I said, not all FMs are like that, but if they seem to have copious quantities of stuff that's out of season in your area, be suspicious.
I'm going to see if I can't find a FM out in the rural area. I'm guessing I'll have better luck.
I grew and sold vegetables, herbs, and flowers for our local farmer's market for 12 years. I still visit the market when I have bad luck with a vegetable in my garden. This market has a rule that the produce must be grown locally, by you or your workers. But there is a limited ammount of spaces in the market, and the competition for spaces there has grown fierce over the years. It used to be just a comfortable place to stroll along on a Saturday morning, and chat with local growers. We all knew each other, and our families well. As time passed, newer vendors began to use marketing techniques used in the supermarkets, presenting huge ammounts of blemish-free items, and using unsavory market practices. (undercutting prices, etc.) There was a push to become larger and larger, as vendors got grant money for greenhouses, equipment, etc. The small entrepreneur, like myself, who enjoyed sharing the excesses of a large garden and stories along the way, could no longer compete. It is sad. I miss the simple days.
I like your kind of market better. I especially like to buy from older people who just clearly love growing things. I can identify with them - I do, too.
We do not have many vendors and we know most of them since they are neighbors. That makes it nice to get some of their produce. Produce has been scace this time because of the dry weather we have had. It is raining now. Since July has come in, We have had 2 or 3 showers. Small ones but is helping.
