Farm Market Fresh
Summertime in a Basket
You can keep your chlorinated pools, air-conditioned resorts and jammed amusement parks.
For our money, the best place to spend a few hours in the summertime is at one of Northeast Ohio’s farmers markets.
Summer’s slog through our humid, hot weeks is almost perfectly measured through the colorful fruits and vegetables that show up in vendor booths each week.
The season starts with crisp greens, fresh flowers and strawberries in June, then moves to squash, raspberries and blueberries in July. August’s bounty comes in quick succession: tomatoes in odd and expected colors, zucchini, sweet corn, melons. Did I mention zucchini?
By September, we’re a bit jaded by summer’s plenty. That’s why it’s a perfect time for the season’s heavy hitters: fragrant, sweet grapes, bushels of apples and the look-at-me pumpkins and gourds with their crazy shapes and colors.
Careful observers, mindful of the season’s rainfall and temperatures, can guess within a week or so how far into summer we’ve gone and how close to autumn’s chill we’re getting.
If you’re not a seasoned farmers market shopper, we’ve got a few hints to get you started. An old hand? Consider checking out a different market or two in another community.
Despite its sprawling suburbs, network of highways and big time sports teams, Northeast Ohio remains, at its heart, farm country. Why not eat like it?
Your Guide for a Fruitful Farmers Market Visit
By Breanna Mona
Do you just squeeze the produce and hope for the best?
Wait, can you even touch the items at all? How do you know you’re picking the best? Is the professional shopper in the straw hat and yoga pants rushing you along?
Take a breather and take in these tips straight from the horse’s mouth — or should we say farmer’s?
The North Union Farmers Market is Northeast Ohio’s largest network of certified producer-only farmers markets (meaning there’s no brokers or resellers involved). Donita Anderson, the executive director and co-founder, gives us the inside scoop.
Why shop local?
Anderson says it’s all about cutting out the middlemen for the sake of those last-minute nutrients.
“Sometimes the farmers are picking the food at 3 in the morning before they come to market so that it’s at its highest nutrient value. That’s the difference (with) what’s at a grocery store, which has to go through distribution and possibly eight different owners. The farms, the pickers, the trains, the buses, whatever it is, to get it to that grocery store.”
Can you taste the difference?
Yes. You’re not only capturing the highest nutrient content but also the greatest flavor.
“The taste and flavor are the difference. It’s delicious and it’s healthier for you.” Anderson says.
How long does it all last?
Because the produce is coming from small farms and being picked at the last minute, fruits and vegetables tend to be more fragile than what you would find at a grocery store. So, it’s best to have a game plan with what you’re picking up before you buy.
“You have to either eat it in a couple days or freeze it or cook with it,” Anderson says. “The lettuces do hold in the refrigerator, but the berries in particular need to be handled in specific ways. If you get strawberries, they (have) about a two-day shelf life. If you haven’t used them in two days, just cut off the tops and stick them in a Ziploc and freeze them, and they’re delicious in smoothies.”
What’s in season?
It depends. In the sunshine-y states, seasons start sooner and last forever. But in the chillier provinces, for example, like here in Northeast Ohio, these harvest times can be late to the party and end more quickly. A seasonal guide from the North Union Farmers Market website was created to educate shoppers on what to expect to find and when.
“The chart is very important because it’s educating everybody on what to expect. it’s not like a grocery store, which will have strawberries from California in the winter.” Anderson says.
Let’s make a deal
Can you bargain with the vendors? You can take a stab at it. But the prices are usually already set with the farmer’s hard work in mind, Anderson says. “You can offer a different price if you’d like; that’s your prerogative.”
Usually, the more you’re buying, the more the farmers are willing to cut you a deal.
Tough crowd?
“Our farmers are real down to earth; they are not picky.” Anderson says. “They’re very hard-working people. Usually (they don’t get) much sleep because they’ve been up early picking. They’re very sweet. They like to talk about what they grow and why they do it. There’s always that opportunity for a conversation.”
Hands off or hands on?
Squeeze what makes sense to be squeezed. You wouldn’t need to squeeze a strawberry, for example.
“You can hold up a lettuce head and say ‘Hey, I like that one underneath,’ and pick one up and reach to the other one. There’s no problem. The farmers are very friendly,” Anderson says.
Help me
If you feel overwhelmed, fear not. “We have market managers at all our sites,” Anderson says. “New shoppers can go and ask questions and ask what’s in season, what’s good today, where should I go, et cetera.”
Cash or credit?
“We have a market ATM. It’s a dollar charge for $50. You can slide your credit card or debit card. Pretty much all the farmers take Visa,” Anderson says.
Fruity fun
The best way to shop? Anderson suggests that “going to every table first and then going back and shopping is always fun. You take a little look first. Always compare. It’s a fun community experience.”
Happy farming.
Breanna Mona is a freelance writer from Northeast Ohio.
Grab a bag and start your shopping with these popular markets. Go to NortheastOhioBoomer.com for more.
North Union Farmers Markets has nine markets throughout Northeast Ohio with varying days and times. Go to northunionfarmersmarket.org for details.
Here are some of our other favorites:
Battery Park Market
Wednesdays 4-7 p.m.
West 75th Street and Battery Park Boulevard, Cleveland
facebook.com/batteryparkmarket
Chardon Square Farmers Market
Fridays 4-8 p.m.
Short Court Street, Chardon
Mentor Farmers Market
Fridays 2-6 p.m.
Eleanor Garfield Park, 7967 Mentor Ave.
Medina Farmers Market
Saturdays 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Medina Public Square, U.S. Route 42 and State Route 18
Haymaker Farmers Market
Saturdays 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Franklin Avenue and Summit Street, Kent
Countryside Farmers Market at Howe Meadow
Saturdays 9 a.m.-noon
4040 Riverview Road, Peninsula
