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SallyT
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| Posted: April 06 2013 at 8:40am | IP Logged
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Today was the opening of our little local farmers' market! Yay! My daughter and I walked the dog over a little while ago to see what was up. It's early days yet, and there wasn't much on offer (even the lady who sells "gooey bars" and other baked goods wasn't there, so we had to rethink breakfast), but there were two garden-plant vendors, and another farmer selling tomato and pepper starter plants. There was also a man selling pastured Charolais beef. I didn't have room in my freezer or my budget this week, but I'm going to plan for next time and hope he comes back. You never can tell who's going to be there week to week, though the farmer with the starter plants is a longtime regular. Several people were also selling eggs. Again, I didn't plan well and already have a fridge full, but next time!
All I bought today were a little pot of hen-and-chicks from one plant vendor, and a big peony plant from the other, who kind of talked me into it (but hey, who doesn't need peonies?). But it was good to have a look around -- I never quite know who's going to be there week to week, but still, I can note vendors like the beef guy to plan and budget for. And I will probably buy my veggie starters from there next week.
So -- Who else has a farmers' market? What do you like to buy there? Increasingly I get my garden plants at ours: vegetables, flowers, and even some house plants (I'm looking right now at an aloe plant I got there last year). Our local farmers grow some nice heirloom varieties, which they sell very, very reasonably compared to the big-box garden centers, and anyway I'm lousy at growing things from seed! And it's nice to be able to chat with people who have grown these plants in our soil and climate.
Anyway, yay. It's really spring here! Our market is tiny, like our town, but we are so blessed to have it within walking distance, so that we can make a ritual of going.
Sally
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pumpkinmom
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| Posted: April 06 2013 at 8:55am | IP Logged
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Sally, this sounds wonderful!
We did have a farmer's market, but our little town won't support it so they aren't going to do it this year.  I was able to find some wonderful local fruit and I'm going to miss that! I may call the lady that was selling it to see if I can just come to her house and buy. I don't want to drive 20 plus minutes to the next one that is in the Kmart parking lot on the busiest street in town. The atmosphere ruins it for me! I guess we will be planting lots more stuff in our own garden this year. Also plan to go to produce auction that is about 25 minutes away to buy in bulk and can and freeze stuff. Everyone says the prices are awesome for all the second pick stuff. Local restaurants buy up all the good stuff at higher prices. Actually I may send dh because I'm not an auction lover and find them stressful. 
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Cassie
Homeschooling my little patch of Ds-14 and Ds-10
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stefoodie
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We have a farmers' market, and I'm considering becoming a vendor on a limited basis, to sell my macarons.
I usually buy our meat there if I hadn't placed a bulk order. So pork, beef, lamb, poultry, eggs. Fruits and veggies -- depending on what people have. But especially berries if there's someone offering unsprayed ones. And honey! And beeswax candles! Those are our favorites.
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Becky Parker
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Can't wait for our farmers market to start. It's a little cold here yet. I'm envious of those who can get meats and eggs! We just have mostly fruits and vegetables and sometimes baked goods. There's always a person there selling raw honey as well.
The problem I've had is knowing which vendors are local. When I see strawberries here in May I question where they actually came from. I guess I just need to step up and ask them.
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Becky
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pumpkinmom
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stefoodie wrote:
We have a farmers' market, and I'm considering becoming a vendor on a limited basis, to sell my macarons.
I usually buy our meat there if I hadn't placed a bulk order. So pork, beef, lamb, poultry, eggs. Fruits and veggies -- depending on what people have. But especially berries if there's someone offering unsprayed ones. And honey! And beeswax candles! Those are our favorites. |
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How does the prices compare for meat that you buy at the farmer's market compare to the grocery store?
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Cassie
Homeschooling my little patch of Ds-14 and Ds-10
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lapazfarm
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We have a fabulous farmers market here in Fairbanks, but it won't open until mid-May. They have all of the usual goodies-local veggies, fruits, eggs, meat and baked goods, plus a few venders selling various interesting hot lunch items. It's a fun, festival atmosphere that we really enjoy.
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Theresa
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: April 06 2013 at 2:48pm | IP Logged
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SallyT wrote:
Anyway, yay. It's really spring here! Our market is tiny, like our town, but we are so blessed to have it within walking distance, so that we can make a ritual of going.
Sally |
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If you don't mind my asking, where do you live? It sounds utterly charming!
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stefoodie
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| Posted: April 06 2013 at 4:45pm | IP Logged
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Cassie, I really have no idea anymore what grocery store prices cost in terms of meat because we've been doing this for 4-5 years now. Sometimes I happen to look at a grocery store sale and whoa! 99 cents a lb. for chicken! But I can't un-know what I know from the research I've done since we found out about food allergies, hormones, antibiotics, etc. We made the commitment to buy what we need for the family's health, and once we did that cost was no longer an issue. We make it work -- we had to give up a lot of other things, but it's a compromise that works for us. That said, I still do occasionally buy
organic chicken, whole, breasts and thighs from Costco
and organic ground beef from Costco
and the occasional Laura's ground beef from a local international market
Now if I can only find wild-caught or sustainably farmed fish free from mercury, etc., I'd be all set. 
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stacykay
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Becky Parker wrote:
Can't wait for our farmers market to start. It's a little cold here yet. I'm envious of those who can get meats and eggs! We just have mostly fruits and vegetables and sometimes baked goods. There's always a person there selling raw honey as well.
The problem I've had is knowing which vendors are local. When I see strawberries here in May I question where they actually came from. I guess I just need to step up and ask them. |
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 I have to explain my laughing! My bff/sister flew me to FL over my birthday weekend, so we could celebrate the "big 5-0" together. She treated me to a pedi/mani (my first ever!) So, what does this have to do with farmer's markets? Well, I had been bemoaning to my sister the cost of romaine at our local grocer ($5 for the bag that has three in it.) She mentioned this to the manicurists (is that a word- not sure what you call that job.) Anyhoo, the lady looked at me, knowing I was from MI, and in all seriousness asked me, "Why on earth don't you go to the farmer's market?!" I just smiled and said that we've had an especially cold winter, and the farmer's market won't open until early June, if we are lucky.
One of our farmer's markets has only produce, but another, just a town over, has meat and eggs. I am looking forward to them opening!!! Becky, if you ever heard over this way, come on a Saturday, and we can check out both!
In Christ,
Stacy in MI
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SallyT
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| Posted: April 06 2013 at 8:20pm | IP Logged
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Theresa, I'm in Lincolnton, NC. We're off Hwy 321 between Hickory and Gastonia, which means we're basically nowhere. But it's a nowhere I really love -- and our little market, while limited and unexciting in lots of ways (the Gastonia one has live bluegrass, while we have a permanent display of old guys smoking cigars), is very nice.
Also, it's quite, quite obvious that everything is local, which I appreciate. I got tipped off early that the produce stand on the main thoroughfare gets its stuff from the same wholesaler the grocery stores buy from, but people know these market vendors, know where they live, etc. It's the real deal.
My neighbor who works for the County Agricultural Extension was telling me at the market today that everything's about a week late, since we've had (for us) a lot of cold weather. I'm looking forward to some strawberries, since my own patch is still pretty small, and I've seen exactly one blossom so far this year! But then, maybe all those farmers have seen only one blossom on theirs, too . . .
And here's a slice of small-town life: because the gooey-bar lady wasn't at the market, my daughter and I walked to the courthouse square to get pastries at the coffee shop. The coffee shop is run by this very lovely, very young woman who is now our neighbor, because she and her husband bought this beautiful big old house that I've been salivating over since we've lived here. She remarked that they'd justified buying it by saying, "Well, we want to have LOTS of kids, and this way we never have to move." So we had this big conversation about all that while she was making our drinks, and we talked about the new Pope, because she's Episcopalian and likes all this Catholic stuff. Then after my daughter and I had sat down, someone came in from the farmer's market to bring her some eggs, because she hadn't been able to get there.
I know things go on in my town that aren't nice, but this kind of thing I really love.
Sally
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: April 08 2013 at 7:13am | IP Logged
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stacykay wrote:
Becky, if you ever heard over this way, come on a Saturday, and we can check out both!
In Christ,
Stacy in MI |
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Sounds like fun Stacy!
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Becky
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Topic: Farmers' Market!
