Top Three Lessons for Shopping at a Farmer's Market

On Saturday, my daughter, grandkids, and I took our first trip to the Midland Downtown Farmer's Market. Here are the top three things I learned while there.

1. Be friendly. Everyone is super friendly, even by Texas standards! But I was especially thrilled to see in person Seiko and Hoven of Milagro Farms in Ft. Stockton, Texas. You see, we had already "met" in a manner of speaking, hanging around some of the same like-minded circles on Facebook, and then friending one another too. From their photos, I've been following along as they've transformed their West Texas family plot with beautiful cacti and rows and rows of healthy food. A photo of Seiko behind a rototiller is quite something to see. Next time they are in Odessa, Hoven wants us to show them around our thrift stores and I want him to look at the insulation in my attic to see what he'd recommend. You know, real friends and friendly stuff.

2. Bring that extra $20. I'd suggest you bring a little extra money because you never know what you'll find there that you have been desperately wanting. Me, I had been searching for locally grown honey for ages. I almost kissed Dave and Marta when I saw their Golden Bouquet Honey. For more than thirty years their bees have been working local wildflowers and mesquite blooms. When offered taste samples, I tried both. They really do taste different! Wildflower honey is robust, rich, whereas the mesquite is delicate and fragrant. Clever bees. Actually, I wish I had brought two extra $20s, one for each flavor. (It will come as no surprise to my regular blog followers that I went with wildflower honey. $19.50 for a colossal-size jar.) 3. Next time, arrive at 9 a.m. sharp. The expression "farm fresh" is truly meaningful at a Farmer's Market. The freshest things sell out, even more so if it is the first time they are available. And sad as it might be for tardy buyers, you gotta be glad hard-working folks are succeeding so splendidly. On the far right is Matt Hanson, aka "Farmer Matt," founder and visionary of MDFM. Currently, he is scouting for even more local farmers to meet the area's growing interest and excitement for local foods. He also invites you hobby gardeners with extra to sell to contact him. And it's not just veggies and fruits, y'all. He's looking for other kinds of local producers, like those who can provide meat, cheese, milk, and eggs for example. Or bakery items, salsas. Anything yummy. If you make it, they will come.

Lastly, I thought you might like to see my reusable produce bag filled with colorful bounty from its inaugural field use. Another Farmer's Market tidbit I observed: most everyone brings their own bags, but in case you forget it's no problem. Everyone there has plenty plastic bags -- don't we all -- saved and brought to use. A big thanks to Farmer Matt and all the Wonderful Vendors! I'm sorry I couldn't get around to everyone's table to see, smell, and tout your wonderful wares, but rest assured I'll be back for more wholesome goodness.

My first reusable produce bag

Here is my first reusable produce bag, sewn from materials on hand. The bag is made from nylon wedding tulle, and the drawstring from one ply teased out of a three-ply nylon cord. It is extremely lightweight and is washable. Another plus is it will be convenient for the grocery clerk to see the sticker code for keying it into the register. That's the good news.

The bad news is nylon is plastic. :(

But, like I've been saying over and over again to myself, one must start somewhere and every little bit helps. By using materials I had on hand, no gasoline was burned by shopping. I predict this bag will last a long time, preventing the use and disposal of a hundred of those thin plastic bags from the grocery store.

For my sewing friends, here's a tip on working with net, which is like trying to sew air. For a stabilizer, I used regular paper which I was able to tear away easily when done. Used envelopes, flattened out, would work very well for this purpose.

I used a stitch on my sewing machine that was similar to zig zag, but even more ziggy and zaggy, number 21. I'm sure that won't mean much unless you also have a Brother CS-6000i, so here's a photo (click to see larger).

Today my daughter and I are headed to the Midland Downtown Farmer's Market for the first time! I wish it wasn't 30 miles from here. Still, that's a fraction of the distance most produce must travel to get to my local grocery store, I'm sure.

Time for me to sign off now. I'll be bringing my reusuable shopping bag and this one little produce bag I've sewn so far. :)