Market Update (7/2/2011)

It's July, and we're in the abundance period of summer fruits and veggies. It only gets better from now until September. And abundant produce translates into abundant photos, so grab a cuppa and check out the pics!

It was a glorious day yesterday, at least at the beginning. Here's my shot of the sky:

It started out cool, with low humidity. I set up early - like 7:30 am, just in case, and I was grateful for the decent breeze.

Our little market has grown this year. Here's the main section:


and the rows of tents to the left of the pavilion:

There's my spot this week:

Time for some produce! Let's begin with the tomato table at Farmer Mike's:

Here's the Maters:

And (ugh) Okra:

I still don't know how anyone eats this stuff, though I must confess I did buy some. Maybe 3. Big ones, too. Why? Because one of my tweeps sent me a link showing how to use okra as a stamp. Okra + paint has distinct possibilities. :) (Hi, Bunny! *waves*)

Some bell peppers:

and grape tomatoes:

Next weekend, a lot of these will be coming home with me. More on that in a moment.

Sweet peppers:

and more tomatoes to the right of the sweet peppers.

Jalapenos:

Farmer Mike's jalapenos generally peel paint, so I avoid them, but he said this year they are a new variety, so I should try them. Next week. Maybe next week.

Cukes:

and zukes:

and basil:

This year they planted it in the field instead of in the greenhouse. Why? To see if it is hardier. So far I think it is - it's less wilty at the end of the day, plus it lasts longer in my fridge. He said the next test will be to see if the bugs attack it out there. They are not officially organic (takes licensing and inspections and can be costly), but they do use Integrated Pest Management, which means they don't spray unless they absolutely have to. So they are waiting to see if the basil survives any natural bugfest. We're hoping it does, cuz I like this hardier stuff!

Moving on, we have blueberries:

and blackberries:

I ate a small box of these while wilting in my tent.

Celery:

and beets:

(ugh)

Kohlrabi:

cabbage:

and Japanese melons:

My city-girl mind did not retain the exact name, but I do remember they are Japanese, and even though they look like cantaloupe, they are green inside. I've had one, and they are yummy. ETA: No, it's not Honeydew.

These are Garden Eggs, which is a type of African Eggplant:

And orn-yons:

Farmer Margie had early spring peaches:


and corn:

Farmer Katie had more beets:

and an abundance of fruit. Apricots:

Both red and black raspberries:

Sour cherries:

and sweet cherries:

Oh, look, a doggie:

I asked what breed it was, and they said a mish-mash. Some cocker, some lab, some who-knows. Gorgeous dog!

And this is Mooshie, a market regular:

He was hanging out under the table in the flower tent where it was cool. Smart dog!

Here are some of the flowers we had... snapdragons:

and more:



Zinnias:

and a sunflower (or is it a daisy?):

A fuzzy doggie pic of a Whippet:

and finally, the T-shirt of the day:

Oh, wait, another dog:

And some people don't get that the city and county law of "your dog must be leashed" means you actually need to hold onto the other end of it. :( He did wander over to my tent and have a drink of water, though. :)

And here is my submission of "what not to wear" to a farmers market:

The plaid shorts are fine, but what's with the shiny gold thing?

Here is my vase of fleurs (and the rest of my tent area in the background):

And some more of the note cards I made last weekend:

That's about it for the pics.

One of my more interesting conversations with a few of the customers went something like this:

Customer1: Don't you think the produce prices are high for a farmers market?
Customer2: Yeah, this stuff is so much cheaper in the grocery store.
Me: This was all picked yesterday.
Customer1: (eyes get real big) You know, that tomato I had from the store wasn't all that great.
Customer2: Yesterday, huh? Let's go buy some tomatoes!

And they did! My work here is done.

To explain an earlier comment about buying a ton of tomatoes next week, I will have a house guest. You see, one of my tweeps from Germany, Mariam, is on a 6-week tour of North America. She started out in Vancouver, and will make another stop outside of Seattle before heading here next Friday. She'll be staying with me for about a week, at the end of which we'll drive Skyline Drive, meet up with Bunny and see Luray Caverns, then she'll stay with Bunny for about a week before continuing on her journey.

One of the things Mariam loves is tomatoes, and luckily for her, it's tomato season here. First thing we'll do Saturday morning is hit the farmers market - as customers! - and buy up all the tomatoes she can eat for the week. I'll take pics of our haul. :)

I am also going to make a stamper out of her while she's here. :)

So most of today and the rest of the coming week will be spent making room for company among all my s-crap. I will undoubtedly experience major bouts of creative avoidance, which means I'll be stamping instead of cleaning, so I should have all sorts of stampy stuff to show you. :) I am nothing if not predictable.

Thanks for stopping by!