Farmers Market Alternatives (Miami, Sarasota: buyers, cost, eat)

[davephan]

Originally Posted by newtovenice

It's one of the most disappointing issues Florida has. No 'real' farmers markets. I miss real tomatoes.

What's your definition of "real" tomatoes? I've seen tomatoes all the time at the "farmer's markets / flea markets". Some of the food that's sold is grown by the sellers or people that the sellers know. The "farmer's markets / flea markets" are good places to buy plants to grow your own produce, at a much lower cost. Try going to the "farmers market / flea market" at the Showtime Racetrack in Pinellas Park, and find out if your opinion changes. Most of the sellers at the England Brothers Park location, moved to the Showtime Racetrack location. There were a lot of Vietnamese sellers England Brothers Park location and now at the Showtime Race location. We've found that the best "farmer's market / flea markets" are not close to where we live, so it's a longer drive to get to that one. We used to go to the Wagon Wheel flea market, where they also sold produce and plants, but that closed down about a year ago, after a run of about 70 years. That flea market was a longer drive too, on the north of the Sunshine Skybridge. The more you restrict the distance you drive, the more you will limit your choices of the best "farmers market / flea market" locations. We've gone to other "farmers markets / flea markets" that are much closer to Bradenton / LWR / Sarasota area, and we've been disappointed by the selection of items sold, and the very high prices.

Other option for tomatoes is to grow them yourself. Tomatoes will grow in pots. I grow tomatoes hydroponically.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by newtovenice

It's one of the most disappointing issues Florida has. No 'real' farmers markets. I miss real tomatoes.

Florida is a BIG state - plenty of "real tomatoes." But possibly not where you live. Plenty of real tomato farms in Ruskin.

[newtovenice]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

Florida is a BIG state - plenty of "real tomatoes." But possibly not where you live. Plenty of real tomato farms in Ruskin.

Farm tomatoes like they get up north during the summer. Juicy, flavorful, great with just a slice of cheese on a sandwich. OR a little salt and pepper on a plate. By itself.

I've tried to find good tomatoes. No luck. Just plastic, hard, tasteless tomatoes.

If anyone knows of anyplace local, you have my ears and my gratitude.

[beach43ofus]

Originally Posted by newtovenice

Farm tomatoes like they get up north during the summer. Juicy, flavorful, great with just a slice of cheese on a sandwich. OR a little salt and pepper on a plate. By itself.

I've tried to find good tomatoes. No luck. Just plastic, hard, tasteless tomatoes.

If anyone knows of anyplace local, you have my ears and my gratitude.

The local tomatoes are genetically engineered, so still taste like nothing. Our only hope is to find a neighbor who grows their own using a old strain that hasn't been genetically altered...good luck with that.

[davephan]

Originally Posted by newtovenice

Farm tomatoes like they get up north during the summer. Juicy, flavorful, great with just a slice of cheese on a sandwich. OR a little salt and pepper on a plate. By itself.

I've tried to find good tomatoes. No luck. Just plastic, hard, tasteless tomatoes.

If anyone knows of anyplace local, you have my ears and my gratitude.

You can grow tomatoes yourself. It does take some space to grow tomatoes. I grow tomatoes hydroponically in five gallon buckets. I grew tomatoes in the basement, in Minnesota, in the long, cold and snowy winter, under grow lights. I grew tomatoes outdoors only during the very short summer in Minnesota, both in soil and hydroponically, to test the difference in growth and the taste. The hydroponic tomatoes grew significantly faster and larger. Each hydroponic tomato plant had much high produce output, and dramatically less waste than the soil grown tomato plants. The taste was the same between the soil and hydroponic tomato plants.

But you’d need some space to grow the tomatoes. In your yard, a deck or on a lani that gets sun, or inside somewhere under grow lights. Not the low light output grow lights, but the professional grow lights, where it’s bright indoors, like your outdoors with the sunshine. I’ve thought about setting up a hydroponic grow area in my Florida garage, which would work in the wintertime, but not in the summertime, unless I add air conditioning to the garage. Hydroponics works great outdoors in Florida, but not in the summer months, because the nutrient liquid gets too hot. I’ll solve that problem with a liquid chiller that I’ll buy next summer.

[joshan]

Originally Posted by AaronDavidSchultz

I'm a reader of the past posts and I certainly was not insulted! maybe there is an inside joke??

You truly have to wonder about the mental health of a person that goes to the effort of making multiple accounts just to agree with them self. I hope one day you find what you need and begin to actually celebrate life. Negativity is not conducive to happiness.

Tip: correcting spelling error is even below you... try harder please.

[gosouth01]

I noticed a few of Skyper's posts in this thread have disappeared, so I assume he must have deleted them. At least that indicates some small progress.

[Sunshine Rules]

Heirloom tomato seeds can be bought from various seed catalogs (most also have web sites). There are a number of varieties, I've had success growing some in large pots behind my lanai in the past, and they definitely have a nice tomato taste.

[Variable]

Originally Posted by newtovenice

Farm tomatoes like they get up north during the summer. Juicy, flavorful, great with just a slice of cheese on a sandwich. OR a little salt and pepper on a plate. By itself.

I've tried to find good tomatoes. No luck. Just plastic, hard, tasteless tomatoes.

If anyone knows of anyplace local, you have my ears and my gratitude.

Florida grown tomatoes are in-season in around March and April. Yoder's in Sarasota gets them and so does Detwiler's. Probably a lot of other places have them too. The sign usually indicates they are from Florida. FL tomatoes are excellent. Once FL tomatoes are out of season, GA and TN come next, then Ky and the other states.

[gosouth01]

I tried Yoders Produce Market as suggested upthread. It was a good suggestion. The quality of the produce at Yoders was good - much better than Publix and only slightly lower quality than the downtown farmers market. The prices at Yoders were generally lower than the downtown farmers market.