Why You Should be Going to Farmer’s Markets This Summer
Farmer’s markets are almost everywhere, and even those in remote areas are all that far away from one or two in neighboring communities. There are a number of benefits to making the effort to shop for your fruits and vegetables in these places other than supporting the local economy. Let’s take a look at some reasons why you may want to think twice about passing them up on the way to the supermarket.
Fresh and Local
Most products that you will find at a nearby Farmer’s market is grown locally or in the same region. This means that the time between harvesting and selling is decreased, and growers are familiar with renewable techniques that are tailored for the area. You can learn a lot from talking with growers to see what methods, crops and techniques will work for you if you were to start your own self-sufficient garden. Furthermore, you will get a better understanding of what fruits and vegetables are available at certain times during the season. All of this is important information, especially if you will be relying on these crops to sustain you during a crisis if you had to plant your own or barter for some.
More Natural
More often than not, Farmer’s markets are loaded with fresh, organic vegetables that are harvested and meant for immediate sale. This means that growers bring them directly from their farms or gardens to the market each week. Chances are that these products have not been treated with pesticides, and they were grown using things like compost and vermiculture to add nutrients to the soil. This matters in terms of the nutritional value of the crop. You will get more good things from healthy and organic crops than those on an industrial scale that have been treated with pesticides and growth sprays.
Good Starters
Farmer’s markets are also excellent places to find starter plants and seeds as well. In many cases, you can be using the same seeds that the growers are. You can also use certain vegetables they sell to plant in your garden as well. The possibilities are endless, but these markets are the perfect place to go in order establish a garden that can produce similar crops.
As mentioned before, you can also meet and talk to growers, and these folks are full of good advice. You can network and get introduced to people who can help you to get yourself on the road to self-sufficiency a lot sooner than you think. Not only can you learn what works, but you can also learn from their mistakes in order to avoid making the same ones as you build your homestead.
At the end of the day, you get fresher produce, better quality, the ability to start your own garden and a lot of helpful insights from experienced growers. Farmer’s markets represent a gold mine that all of us can tap into simply by remembering the dates and getting in the car.
