Absolutely. My frig explodes at me every time I open it. (but I've never seen a personal cantaloupe

The only thing I can imagine...you used to be able to buy watermelon seeds at a health food store

for kidney issues. Now you can't find watermelon seeds anywhere. My guess is they don't like the controls we have in this country.

 

charlie

Well-known member
Guilty--beautful fresh produce turns me on--we're just waiting on local tomatoes & corn, but have

been enjoying lettuces, stone fruit, strawberries and blueberries.

 
I know when folks are still working and raising families you have to live where you can work

and make money. We are retired now and I can honestly say that I would not live where there were no Farmer's Markets right in my town. This is my Saturday love affair. If we head out in our RV, I search for Farmer's Markets in the direction we are going, and I make sure we stay near there so I can stock up on my week's worth of good produce.

 
Deb-I am so sorry for you. It is such a wonderful treat to have a farmers

market nearby. We have a great number of them all around the city. Most are just once a week set ups, usually 8 til noon in a parking lot somewhere. The ones in my neighborhood have a great variety of farmers and produce, they all carry different stuff---so, I have to go to them all!

Have you looked on localharvest.com to see if there are any in your surrounding area?

 
Dawn I a about half way through the book and look forward to reading

some each evening. There is so much more I would like to learn like what are the most worthwhile things to spend that extra money on that are labelled "organic", exactly what does "organic" mean (I have tried searching for the FDA regulations but can't find any I understand.), is buying fresh wild caught fish -here in VA- that has been shipped from AK better than buying fresh wild caught fish-here in VA- from Iceland or is neither the right answer if you are looking at carbon footprints? There is soooo much to learn, very confusing but I want to make informed choices!

Here is one example that stumps me: in the Earthbound Farms Organic Cookbook, Food to Live By there is a side bar that says never to buy conventional raisins. The reason being that they are sprayed several times with a chemical to keep mold away. This chemical is very hard on the ozone. They suggest buying only organic raisins and keeping thm in the fridge. Is this really true? How damaging is "very hard"? These are the kind of things I would like to learn more about.

 
Your post is very powerful Barbara. It simplifies what we are here for.

The love of food and cooking. I'm envious of your access to a wonderful farmers market. Enjoy it!

 
Me too. And I live alone and buy more than I can eat. Some of it has already started landing in

freezer. I pureed tomatoes that were getting too ripe & sliced up and sugared peaches that I hadn't been able to finish.

 
I'm living vicariously through you, Barbara. We don't have a good farmers market close by...

although we did purchase a 1/2 share in a CSA and on Sunday's we pick up our share at a very small (and not very good) farmers market. About 3 fruit/veggie stalls and the rest crafts.

Deb

 
My parents have a weekly 'date'....

Every Wed. and Saturday mornings they go, very early, to the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market. It is WONDERFUL - fabulous fruit/veggies/flowers/breads/etc. And to top it off - my sisters have a business (non-related to the FM) in a building adjacent to the market so on Wed. they also have coffee with their daughters and one granddaughter. How wonderful!

I am jealous of how much family time they all have together:)

 
Karen, some thoughts but no idea if I am right...

Maybe the farmers you were speaking to do not use genetically modified seeds/plants? (I am thinking that "seedless" watermelon means that they have somehow been minipulated to not produce seeds?)

Or, I think many people save the seeds from the prettiest, tastyist piece of produce for next year's crop--sorta their own way of "genetically modified" crops.

I would ask them next time, it would be curious to know the right answer!

 
There are two: one is 30 minutes away and the other is 45 minutes...

the problem is that my commute during the week is so darn long (60+ miles each way) that the thought of additional long drives is just too much. But we do have a couple of great farm stands near us so we get fabulous corn. And we grow tomatoes, beets, green beans, herbs etc. But what I wouldn't give to have a great FM nearby:)

 
Same here, but we are not in peak season yet. The corn will be coming in soon

and I cannot wait. I won't even bother growing it because you can get it so fresh here. Next year though, I want to grow some Indian corn for Autumn decorations.
Barbara, you need to read, if you haven't already the book that Marilyn recommended to me. It is called "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life" by Barbara Kingsolver.
I am really enjoying it. I had to get my car fixed yesterday, and was irratated when I had leave after two hours of waiting for it, because that meant I had to put my book down. smileys/smile.gif If you haven't read it yet, you might want to check your library and check out a copy. I haven't read any of her other books, but I think I will be in the near future.

 
Strange thing about the small, seedless watermelons.....

I bought the brand "Braveheart" during this past winter and they were wonderful. Now that our Farmer's Markets are in full swing, I saw some small ones last week and asked if they were seedless. The grower wrinkled his nose and said, "No". Last year I asked another grower if his watermelons were seedless and he said NO and that I should not buy the seedless types. I cannot recall why, but I know he told me, "Why". Does anyone know why the growers would be against the seedless variety?

 
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