5 Reasons You Should Visit Your Local Farmers’ Market
As the days get longer, the sunshine gets warmer, and the snow finally starts melting, I find myself thinking about the vegetable garden. I only just received my seed order, which is fairly late in the year for me. This weekend I’ll be starting onions and peppers under the grow lights and dreaming of bountiful harvests.
It’s strange to have this time of year feel so relaxed. When I was running the market garden I would have so many plant trays under lights already and be planning the move out to the greenhouse. I do miss those days. Farming was tough, but so very rewarding. Thinking about those days has caused me to reminisce about farmers’ markets, so here are 5 reasons you should visit your local farmers’ market.
1 – There is an abundance of excellent food at markets
Fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, meat, eggs, and more, you can often find all of it at a farmers’ market. I love finding mushrooms I don’t see anywhere else. When the fruit starts to ripen there’s a constant supply of delicious goodies coming through. An the vegetables change throughout the season. Even if you don’t think you need anything, it’s hard to leave the market without a few pieces of veg, or a basket of fruit, or a package of chicken breasts.
2 – It’s a great way to meet your farmer
When you take the time to talk to farmers at the market, you get a greater connection to your food and a better understanding of the process that went into producing it. So many customers would excitedly tell me about driving by my farm earlier in the week, seeing me working in the field, and knowing that’s where the lettuce they bought from me the week before had actually come from. When you talk to a farmer at the market they can tell you about other things they do on their farm, like maybe they run a CSA you would like to join.
3 – You can learn more about agriculture
Although farmers can be very busy at a market, they are more than happy to explain their growing methods if time allows, or what goes in to raising the meat you want to buy. Many of us see headlines in the news that can lead to misunderstandings about what happens in order to produce the food you are eating. If you stopped at my booth and told me it was wrong to raise turkeys for meat, I would pull my phone out and show you the countless pictures and videos I had of them, happily living their lives until that final day. Farmers love to counter fear and misinformation with education, by telling you what actually happens. I spoke with fellow farmers who would tell me about their sleepless night staying up with a sick pig, and ones who struggled with whether they should turn a crop into the ground because it wasn’t in optimal shape anymore. Maybe you think that organic growing is the only way vegetables should be grown, but if you talk to a conventional farmer, you might better understand why they grow the way they do and decide to change your mind. You can learn SO much.
4 – Try new things
At the grocery store you often don’t get to see a lot of different varieties of food. Cucumbers generally all look the same. Tomatoes are red and come in a few sizes. It makes sense for the grocery stores – stock what the majority of people want. But the fun thing about a market is that farmers love experimenting with new and strange varieties, so there’s always something fun to try! A friend of mine grew cucamelons. They never failed to draw a crowd. I loved growing lemon cucumbers – “looks like a lemon, tastes like a cucumber.” Tomatoes come in all shapes and sizes and colours and flavours. Rainbow carrots and rainbow radishes always draw attention. If you’re the curious type who likes to try new things, markets are the place to go.
5 – Don’t forget the flowers
A farmers’ market is a place to get food, for sure. But it’s also a place to find products made from things that people grow, and handcrafted items, and artwork, and so many other neat things. The one thing thing that a lot of people seem to forget about is FLOWERS. A farmers’ market really isn’t complete without a flower farmer in attendance, whether they grow veg and flowers, or meat and flowers, or just flowers. My absolute best days at markets were when women (it was always women) got super excited to buy a small bouquet of flowers from me for themselves. The ones that were smiling from ear to ear with a pretty bundle of blooms in their hands. They would tell me that no one ever bought them flowers and they were so happy to take these home. Go to a market and buy yourself flowers. It will brighten up your day.
There are so many ways to support farmers and Canadian agriculture, but attending a farmers’ market is one of my favourite. Most of the ones here in Ontario will open back up around the May long weekend. Put it on your calendar to get out to your local market this year!
argosgirl
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