Every Thursday outside the local library, there’s a farmer’s market. About a dozen farms come to participate and sell all manner of fruit, spices, vegetables, cookies, pies, breads, and almost anything else you can think of. It’s really a delight to walk over, chat with the proprietors, and pick up some produce (and some pies) on the cheap. Farmer’s markets are a great way to save money, support your local businesses, and help out the environment all at once. Here are four reasons why we shop at our local farmer’s market.

The Reasons

Supporting Local Business
If you want to complain about Wal-Mart closing down Mom and Pop shops, you’re the perfect candidate to shop at your local farmer’s market. Supermarkets have been shutting down local farms for years, so supporting local farmer’s markets is the best way for you to support your local farms.

(Click to continue reading…)

My wife and are planning on putting together a small little garden of potted plants that have had success with in the past. Our deck doesn’t get a tremendous amount of sun because of enormous trees behind our property but it gets enough that we’ve had pretty good success growing tomato and peppers in the past. This year, we’ve decided to give the garden project another go and document our progress.

This past weekend, we visited our local farmers market and picked up $29 worth of plants and potting soil and anticipate that will be the extent of our expenses besides water. Due to prior garden projects, we have a sufficient number of planters as well as some fertilizer, so we should be set in those departments.

For $29 we were able to pick up:

• Cayenne Pepper (2)
• Eggplant (2)
• Thai Basil (1)
• Hot Pepper – Kung Poa (1)
• Sweet Basil (1)
• Orange Bell Pepper (2)
• Patio Tomato (1)
• Oregano (1)
• Super Steak Tomato (6)
• Green Sweet Bell Pepper (6)
• Roma Tomato (6)
• 40 lbs. Country Boy Potting Soil

As they grow, we’ll compare them to the grocery store prices and see if the whole garden process is “worth it.” My hypothesis is that the financials will come close and the real value is in being able to say you’re somewhat self-sustainable (and gardening is fun!).

Right now, tomatoes on the vine are going at $2.79 a pound, orange bell peppers were $2+ a pound (by far the most expensive of the bell peppers), and green bell peppers were under $2 a pound. While I don’t see us getting ten pounds of tomatoes, they’re certainly the most valuable of the vegetables we purchased.