Fresh Vegetables in Winter (Knoxville, Maryville: appointed, 2015, house)

[soCalsoFar]

The timeline keeps slipping but the Knoxville area still looks to be in our future. 12 - 18 months from now looks doable.

Here in So Cal most of our veggies come from Mexico during the winter (OK most of the year quite a few are from Mexico). A lot of the fruit and a few veggies come from Peru, Chile, etc. The Mexican produce gets here and is usually fresh and decent - with a good variety to choose from (brocolli, cauliflower, asparagus, beans, etc). The stuff from South America is really spotty for quality - avos are never good.
(local strawberries and avos can be found most of the year)

During the winter months, where does most of the produce in Knoxville come from? Is the quality good and the variety OK? Is there about the same number of choices as during the summer? I am just remembering a childhood in Iowa where fresh veggies during winter consisted of a few skanky heads of broccoli and cauliflower and some wilted lettuce.

Thanks

[creeksitter]

Some vegetables come from south of the border, but a lot comes from Florida. There are even local winter vegetables. Quality varies but there are stores like Fresh market, Earth fare and 3 rivers market (co-op) that tend towards higher quality. Very good variety.

[soCalsoFar]

Thanks creeksitter, Good to know

[Trevor92]

We try to freeze or can some vegetables in the summer as there's nothing better than home-grown beans and corn, but we do get about 3/4 from the grocery store in the winter. When we do get fresh produce from the store we actually prefer the Food City produce which is a regional chain here. They've actually partnered with a lot of local farms from from Grainger County, Maryville, and a few other East TN counties along with several counties in SW Virginia. It really seems as close to farmer's market quality we've been able to find in the summer for corn, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli, strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupes, watermelon, blackberries, asparagus, squash, half-runner beans, and probably a few more I'm not remembering. I would also say Earthfare has really good quality, even a little better than Fresh Market. We personally tend to avoid the larger chains like Walmart.

In the winter specifically the quality does drop when the local farms don't produce, but I would still rate it as pretty good. The selection really doesn't change but where they come from does. From this past weekend I can remember the strawberries and oranges being from Florida and California, blueberries and blackberries being from Chile and Peru. Apples, depending on the type were from Pennsylvania or New York. The organic tomatoes were labeled from Mexico but the regular, salad tomatoes were tagged from Virginia (maybe greenhouse??). The green peppers were still labeled from Tennessee. I'll try to pay more attention next time if this thread stays active but it seems like they still had a fairly wide variety from the Southern U.S. that seemed good quality.

[TheShadow]

SoCal, we've been terribly disappointed in the produce that we can find here at Food City, Food Lion and Ingles (grocery chains). We are going to have to travel a little further and start getting our produce at Publix or Kroger, but that means driving 20 miles ONE WAY for us. Coming from CA 1 1/2 years ago, I have yet to find a store here that has the variety or freshness that we took for granted in CA. Most of the produce I have bought in the last year seemed to be half wilted by the time I purchased it. I find myself dreaming of Raley's produce department....

eta: don't get me wrong, I love it here, just tired of limp kale and peppers that go bad in two days...

[soCalsoFar]

This is all great stuff. We hope to have enough land and time when we get there that I can get a small green house going for greens during the winter months. We won't mind driving a bit for veggies even here we drive 20 minutes to get to a Sprouts. (heck my commute is 30 miles each way)
This time of year our tomatoes are from Mexico but they have breathed more ethylene than oxygen -barely red pasty and tasteless. I will be happy to grow my own

[creeksitter]

You rarely need a greenhouse for greens & lettuce. If possible cover them on a cold night like tonight.

Tomatoes will need an extra light source for good production.

[hiknapster]

Grocery stores vary by area. I'm willing to bet that the quality of produce is better at the Food Citys and Ingles that are in Knoxville.

Also, I wanted to point out that the Walmarts here bring in local produce when it is in season. I can get Grainger County tomatoes from Walmart but not from Publix (they had them there ONCE, in a tiny basket, and they were immediately sold out). They also have local corn, etc.

We have a winter farmers market. The location has changed. Last year, its inaugural year, it was held in the Southern Railway Depot. The building is now going to be used as an event venue as well as home to the Blue Slip Winery, Tennessee's first urban winery. This is also a great time to put in a plug for The Station Comedy which showcases there every Wednesday night. (I'm not affiliated with them but have a friend who is.)

Blue Slip Winery

https://www.facebook.com/stationcomedyknox

But I digress. The winter market is now at the Central United Methodist Church in Fourth and Gill. Last year, this was run once a month, but due to demand, it will be twice a month, this year.

Nourish Knoxville brings farmer's market indoors for the winter

Market Square Farmers' Market

For years, I've bragged that you could find a farmers market almost any day of the week, but it's now come to the point where you can actually find a market during the winter, too. Not every day of the week but it's certainly nice to have. The Market Square market runs from the beginning of May through the end of November, then opens up in December for the holidays.

Finally, here is a comprehensive list of all the markets in East Tennessee. Knoxville has a crazy amount of markets, even UT has one. But the surrounding area has markets as well.

Pick Tennessee Products