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Old 06-01-2011, 03:00 PM
 
Location: Northern Virginia
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Are some of these bigger than others? I went to the one at Wakefield today (off Braddock, in Annandale), and holy moly, it was tiny! There were maybe 10 tents? And only 3 or 4 had produce. I'm spoiled, coming from the land of 50 tent farmers markets that stretch 2-3 city blocks. Are any of the ones here approaching that size? Maybe the Saturday ones?

Also, are prices always significantly higher than the grocery store, or was I just looking for the wrong things at the wrong time? Apples were $2.50/lb!
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Old 06-01-2011, 03:14 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CaliTerp07 View Post
Are some of these bigger than others? I went to the one at Wakefield today (off Braddock, in Annandale), and holy moly, it was tiny! There were maybe 10 tents? And only 3 or 4 had produce. I'm spoiled, coming from the land of 50 tent farmers markets that stretch 2-3 city blocks. Are any of the ones here approaching that size? Maybe the Saturday ones?

Also, are prices always significantly higher than the grocery store, or was I just looking for the wrong things at the wrong time? Apples were $2.50/lb!
It's still fairly early in the season and folks whose crops haven't matured yet won't be coming in to the market.

Apples are a fall crop. If the grocery store has them now, they are either being grown south of the equator and shipped north, or they've been held in cold storage from last autumn.

For this general area, the fruits you will find in the markets now will be berries and cherries. There won't be much, if any, large "hand fruit" for another month to two months.
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Old 06-01-2011, 03:43 PM
 
Location: Northern Virginia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by weezycom View Post
It's still fairly early in the season and folks whose crops haven't matured yet won't be coming in to the market.

Apples are a fall crop. If the grocery store has them now, they are either being grown south of the equator and shipped north, or they've been held in cold storage from last autumn.

For this general area, the fruits you will find in the markets now will be berries and cherries. There won't be much, if any, large "hand fruit" for another month to two months.
Yeah, the strawberries looked to be past their prime--I believe they're really an april/may fruit. I was really hoping for peaches, but I guess I'm too early.

Hopefully in a few weeks there will be more farmers there!
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Old 06-01-2011, 07:19 PM
 
Location: Suburbia
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Originally Posted by smagid View Post
The one in Dale City is great as well.
The one in the commuter lot behind DQ? It is pretty good.
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Old 06-02-2011, 08:07 AM
 
Location: Manassas, VA
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I think that prices at our local farmer's market seem to be either less or on par with supermarket prices for the most part. I paid more for a green pepper last weekend....but it was super huge, much bigger than the ones in the store I had just looked at the day before for .25 less.
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Old 06-02-2011, 08:13 AM
 
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With the local farmers at the markets, you aren't paying for the economies of scale. If a farmer sells his entire crop to a food distributor, then he doesn't have market fees to set up a stand, gas to haul to/from each market, either his day's work out of the fields or pay for someone to either work the market for him or work the farm for him for each market he sells through.

The good news is that you know that you are supporting that farmer and his family as you buy, not some computer cruncher directing shipments of veggies all over the US from a cube in Moline, and helping keep some big rigs off the highway. That local farmer is also going to be more able to grow fruits & veggies that taste better than shipped supermarket products because he can choose taste over durability/packability.
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Old 06-02-2011, 08:17 AM
 
Location: Manassas, VA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by weezycom View Post
The good news is that you know that you are supporting that farmer and his family as you buy, not some computer cruncher directing shipments of veggies all over the US from a cube in Moline, and helping keep some big rigs off the highway. That local farmer is also going to be more able to grow fruits & veggies that taste better than shipped supermarket products because he can choose taste over durability/packability.
And that's exactly why my husband and I go to the Farmer's Market every Saturday to get the in-season produce. A lot of the fruits and vegetables in the store come from other countries according to the labels.... I'd rather buy here in the U.S. and even more - I'd rather buy local.
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Old 06-02-2011, 08:21 AM
 
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Originally Posted by vermonter16 View Post
I think that prices at our local farmer's market seem to be either less or on par with supermarket prices for the most part. I paid more for a green pepper last weekend....but it was super huge, much bigger than the ones in the store I had just looked at the day before for .25 less.
That's great! Whenever I go to the farmers market at Kingstowne, I shake my head because the fruits and vegetables are so much more expensive than at Giants or Safeway right across the street from the farmers market...
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Old 06-02-2011, 10:13 AM
 
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I lived in Dupont for many years before moving to NoVA. They have a farmers market on Sundays with excellent variety. Check it out sometime: FRESHFARM Markets - Dupont Circle, Washington, DC Farmers' Market (http://www.freshfarmmarket.org/markets/dupont_circle.html - broken link)
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Old 06-02-2011, 01:41 PM
 
1,751 posts, read 2,407,632 times
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If you go all the way into DC for veggies then check out the Eastern Market. Best farmers market in the area plus a lot of small business specialty butchers, dairy, fishmongers etc. This is centered in and around a historic market building. These were common in the US and Europe in the eighteenth and ninteenth centuries but this is the last one left in the area. It burned down in 2007 but was lovingly restored. Some really great restaurants and bistros in the area make Eastern Market a fun expedition for a lazy weekend day.

Farmers & Outdoor Food
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