What does really grow here (in Texas) (location, county)

[pepper131]

Originally Posted by Matt2010

I tried to look for "you pick" places, very little choices with plenty of Pecans.

A couple of places I've been to are:
home Their strawberries are amazing with only about a 6 week window to get them in the spring.
Home They usually slow down around mid July.
Ham Orchards - The most complete Farm Market in Texas Although not U pick - great selection throughout the summer. Great apricots if you can get there w/in the week they are available.

Central Market and Whole Foods focus on Texas grown produce when avail. I'm vegetarian, but I never considered adjusting CoL when moving since cost of produce is subjective to vaious factors. I just buy what's in budget.

[loves2read]

what the OP should remember is that the climate here is not like in CA or FL where there is almost a year long window of grow time
the locally grown produce here is at the end of the cycle because it is Sept
a few people have hot house gardens and they produce for local restaurants that are into "fresh" food
but most locally grown stuff is getting ready to shut down

some TX product will be trucked in from the valley which has a more temperate climate but most of the "fresh" food in grocery stores will be brought in fm FL, CA or other warm climate states or other areas like New Zealand...

[Lakewooder]

Peas, beans, okra, onions, squash and tomatoes. Just bought all that at Downtown Dallas Farmer's Market.

[Matt2010]

In general my observation came when I went to Costco where every produce was from CA with few exceptions from GA and FL; then I saw the same in Sam's club where almost all fruits and vegies from outside TX, same is true for other main stream stores too. That is why I thought of tapping into this wonderful forum to check.

Originally Posted by loves2read

what the OP should remember is that the climate here is not like in CA or FL where there is almost a year long window of grow time

Agreed, probably I am looking at the end of the cycle here in Texas;

Originally Posted by pepper131

A couple of places I've been to are:

Thanks to those pointers, I will definitely visit those places, I am in serious hunt for locally grown produce.

Originally Posted by loves2read

there are plenty of foods that grow here--you can get some of them at local farmer's markets

Yes, coming weeks I am planning to visit some of the farmers market that was referred in this forum, thanks.

Originally Posted by PlanoGirl

Not sure what part of the metroplex you are in, but many areas have farmers markets which sell local produce and other products (there was a thread about this not long ago about their locations.

I did search and found few links to the farmers market, but was wondering whether Texas is not producing enough for the main stream grocery stores to carry. It also looks from the other posters that it may be because of the huge fluctuations in the temperate here in Texas we do not have year long like CA and FL.

Originally Posted by tofurkey

Pecans, duh!

Yes, I should have mentioned that in my original post. I did check You pick places around DFW and most of them were pecans.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their thoughts.

[MaryS80]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

Peas, beans, okra, onions, squash and tomatoes. Just bought all that at Downtown Dallas Farmer's Market.

tomatoes? what is your secret, is there a particular variety. The heat is also so brutal not just on the plant itself but the fruit as well. Then there are the pests.

[Spree]

>>Honestly what does really grow here in Texas? (I am not talking about cotton or livestock which Texas leads the nation) any thoughts?<<

Go to the Rio Grande Valley, I love their ruby red grapefruit, watermelon and 1015 onions. There are also many aloe vera farms.

Peanuts are grown south of San Antonio near Pleasanton/Floresville.

There is a restaurant near Love Field called Celebration, they use locally grown fruits and vegetables. There's a chalkboard when you enter that states where the produce is from. They also have a farmers market on Saturdays.

[Lakewooder]

Originally Posted by MaryS80

tomatoes? what is your secret, is there a particular variety. The heat is also so brutal not just on the plant itself but the fruit as well. Then there are the pests.

I don't have enough sun to grow them - so I just go to Lemley's or Bettye's at the Farmer's Market! 10 minutes away and much less trouble...

[Paige2]

Originally Posted by loves2read

what the OP should remember is that the climate here is not like in CA or FL where there is almost a year long window of grow time

You'd think Florida has a lot more fresh produce because of that .. but it's just not true. We lived there for many years (south east and later central) and moved to this area in June. I'm OVERJOYED by the assortment and quality of fresh produce in the stores here. Whether it's Kroger, Sprouts or Whole Foods. We used to not buy the one thing you could find plenty and fresh in FL: locally grown tomatoes. They were so loaded with pesticides that even Publix wouldn't carry them. In general, produce in Florida looked tired unless you went to Whole Foods or Greenwise (much more expensive) What I can't figure out is why we paid $5.99 for hydroponic lettuce in FL and only about $4.00 in Texas (maybe even less) That's locally grown stuff .. should not differ that much. Not that I'm complaining

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by Matt2010

I looked at many of the grocery stores which carry fruits, greens and vegetables most of them come from outside of Texas (I am not trying to compare Southern CA and Texas); I tried to look for "you pick" places, very little choices with plenty of Pecans.

Honestly what does really grow here in Texas? (I am not talking about cotton or livestock which Texas leads the nation) any thoughts?

Referring to a point made in another discussion about Cost of Living CoL, does this mean grocery cost has to be re-calculated for vegetarians in Texas?

You can not base what grows in an area based on what produce you see in the chain grocery stores. True story: A few years ago on one of our trips along the coast of S. Carolina, Georgia and Florida (Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Savannah, St. Augustine) we had stopped at a fruit stand in Savannah and bought some fresh Georgia peaches. Of course by the time we got to the part of our trip in St. Augustine we had eaten them all. While at the Publix grocery store I thought I'd buy some more. No can do. The peaches they had for sale came from CALIFORNIA!!!! Here we were right in this great peach growing area and the fresh peaches at the grocery store came from clear ACROSS THE COUNTRY!?!?!?!

You can grow a ton of fresh veggies and fruits in Texas. I have grown or my grandparents, parents or in-laws have all grown at some point: tomatoes (look for East Texas tomatoes), squash, zucchini, cucumbers, corn, peppers, watermelon, cantaloupe, purple hull peas, green beans, pears, peaches, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and much more.

Pecos Cantaloupes are AWESOME!!!!!!! mmmmmmmmmmm

[Lakewooder]

Did we leave out potatoes? My great-uncle used to grow those, then he switched to peanuts.