Another small step to a smaller footprint.

Looks like my neighborhood is getting a certified Farmer's Market. While the article talks mostly about food stamps and nutrition for those using them, I see it says it will stock locally grown food. This is the big beef I have with my local large chain grocery stores; You don't know where the food is coming from.

So...looks like I can start to eat seasonally and locally. I hope it's successful.

BTW ate my first tomato of the season yesterday. Delicious. (Okay, I've been snacking on the grape tomatoes because they're only ripening 2-3 at a time.) Still watching my apple ripen. Not yet. Not yet.

 

I've got some lovely terracotta toad houses in my yard that will never see tenants. The dog will see to that. Besides....I think we're too arid.

Went to the Farmer's Market today. Very disappointed. Only a few booths with produce and mostly oranges, lemons and avocados. I can get oranges and lemons free from my parents. I bought a bag of unripe avocados. There was a booth with native regional plants and I bought a "Sunset" manzanita and some sort of plant that has a flower that looks like a giant white oriental poppy. I have the perfect place for them in the corner of the back yard. I'll plant them right after I repair the fence (and pull the weeds) this summer.

There was a booth with hand made ceramics. One with African ethnic clothing. Several booths with food, African, Filipino, Mexican and some smoothie drinks. Info booths on building and maintaining your own bicycle, natural organic pet food, fresh flowers, community gardens and farmer's markets, healthcare and...food stamps.

There were mariachis and a raffle going on in Spanish.

All in all I was disappointed by the lack of produce, since that is what they were heavily advertising. But it was a good start. We'll see if in the coming weeks the market grows...or peeters out and dies.

I'll go back to get a scarf from the ethnic clothing lady and check out the new native plants.

But looks like I'll have to either grow my own produce or continue to shop at the grocery store.

The farmer's market we had years ago at the bank parking lot has a lot more variety of food and plants and a lot less commercial stuff. I suspect whatever the organizers are charging for merchants to have a booth is keeping the produce vendors away.

Meanwhile in my garden....my apple is getting more of the blush but still not ripe, I have more tomatoes and one of the citrus trees has a little green ball. I'll have to look to see if it's the orange or the tangerine. My goal is to get the rest of the planter cleared of grass, plant the last citrus tree, leave a place for the apricot tree for next year, and then plant more vegetables and herbs. (Something is eating my basil!)

I really need to get a chart of what to plant when. I used to know them by season but don't anymore.

 

I'm considering going heirloom next year, sending away for seeds rather than just buying whatever the local nursery has. And I'm going to allow a little "reseeding" this year rather than doing a good clean-up in case I can get some volunteers.

I'll continue to check out the Farmer's Market for the next few weeks. If I see some growth, I'll be going at least once a month, more often if they have more produce. If it starts to die, there are others in the city. But the point is not only to buy local, but not have to drive to a farmer's market in some other area of the city. But...I will if I have to.