farmers market

[redbird]

I had to get (more) blood drawn for tests, and after that I went to the farmers market. I came home with plums, the big oval Italian kind; Elstar apples; Vanessa grapes; raspberries; and diva cucumbers.

I am very pleased with my haul, in part because I thought I'd missed the season for those plums and maybe for that kind of apple. I had been picking out Macouns when I saw the box of Elstar apples. I put the Macouns back in their bin because I'm confident of being able to get those in a week or three, and the Elstar season is short.

There's also a small tomato in a bowl on the counter, but I grew that myself.

Comments

[otter]

I'd have to get to one of the bigger markets for anything of especial interest to me. The small markets nearby don't have much that I eat. Lots of nightshades.

[redbird]

They definitely had the nightshades: the woman in front of me while I was waiting to buy the apples, grapes, berries, and cucumbers was buying eggplant and tomatoes, and the stall had potatoes. But they also had corn, cauliflower, lettuce, and a variety of other things that weren't nightshades.

This is one of the smaller local markets, but with a good variety this time of year. I wonder if this is a regional or climate difference, or just a matter of what people will buy.

[otter]

It seems the 2 families of vegetable farmers at the one nearest me are Hmong, and long beans, chinese cabbage, raspberries, cucumbers are among the things I remember. There's also cut flowers, someone who grows mushrooms and locally grown beef. A food truck, a table for local causes to get the word out. And that's about it.

[moem]

Ah, you can get Elstars (now?). I remember talking to you about them and I seem to recall that you could not get them or had not seen them around. They are my favourite apple. Where have they been grown?

[redbird]

I got these at the farmers market from Kimball Farm, which (googling tells me) is in Pepperell, Mass. That's in eastern Massachusetts, up near the New Hampshire border.

I think I'd said I'd missed the season for Elstars, at least once: they turn up for two weeks, three if you're lucky, so it doesn't take much travel, bad weather, or other whatnot to miss seeing them at the market.

[moem]

That might have been it.
They are quite common here. You can get them in any supermarket.

[pinesandmaples]

To say that Elstars are better than Macouns is saying something because Macouns are pretty solid.

[redbird]

They are both excellent in different ways. But if I'd bought Macouns on Friday I might not have gotten Elstars this year. I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to get Macouns in a few weeks. (If cattitude gets to the farmers market tomorrow, I may ask him to get a couple of Macouns, to see how they are this year.)