Posted by Janet Harriett on Jun.04, 2010

©iStockphoto.com - vasiliki

In many areas of the country, farmer’s market season is shifting into gear. Here are some tips to optimize your farmer’s market shopping experience.

Bring a Big Bag

Farmer’s markets have a lot of produce inexpensively. Every year, I look forward to the 10-pound box of blueberries for $25, and the $5 half-bushels of tomato “seconds” that make great salsa, even if they don’t look so great. Even if you’re not buying a year’s worth of jalapenos, you’ll need something to carry around that bunch of leeks and an eggplant. While most vendors have bags, you can keep their overhead down by bringing your own.

Stock Your Wallet with Small Bills

Because you may only spend a few dollars at each stand, come equipped with small bills, rather than making a farmer make change for a $20 on a purchase of $3. As with garage sales, exact change is always appreciated. I keep my bills in my front pocket for quick transactions, with singles in the right pocket and fives and tens for larger purchases in the left pocket, so I can pull out exact change without looking. Have some quarters on hand, too, or offer to round up to an even dollar amount so you and the farmer don’t have to deal with coins.

Ask Questions

Don’t be shy about asking the farmer about production methods. You may find that the fruits and vegetables were grown without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, even if they aren’t labeled organic. Small growers in particular may use organic practices without getting organic certification, which can be expensive for a small farm. By asking, you can also find out what the farmer expects to bring in the coming weeks. I’m a weekly regular at a few booths, and the farmers make sure I know when they’ll have my favorites.

Preview First, Then Buy

Take a lap around the market before you start making any purchases. The preview circuit lets you assess which stands have the highest quality produce and the best prices, so you can make wise purchase decisions. The extra lap also works in a bit more exercise for you, along with the workout of lugging a week’s worth of produce.

Go Early

The good stuff goes quick. As the day progresses, the higher-quality produce gets picked over and farmers sell out of items. Latecomers get the smaller, lower-quality fruits and vegetables, and may miss out entirely on the first tomatoes or berries of the season, or the most popular vegetables.

Bring a Cooler

Most fruits and vegetables will be fine in the car on the way home, but some, like fresh greens, lose quality quickly when exposed to the hot interior of a car that has been sitting in a parking lot during your shopping expedition. A small ice chest with reusable ice packs keeps the farm-fresh quality on the ride home. Some larger coastal farmer’s markets may have fresh-caught fish in addition to the produce assortment, and you definitely want to keep that on ice.

Buy Extra

Farmer’s Markets are one of the best opportunities for inexpensive, local, in-season produce. If you shop the farmer’s market weekly, buy two week’s worth of fruits and vegetables, and freeze or dehydrate half for the off season (check out how to freeze and how to dehydrate). If a farmer has a particularly good deal on a large quantity of produce, consider canning.  Just be sure to use safe and tested canning methods, outlined by the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Improperly canned produce causes several cases of botulism every year.

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Posted under GDM Lifestyle, Living.