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  • From: Mike Brabo <mdbrabo AT att.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Tomatoes go from shortage to glut
  • Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2010 08:09:59 -0500

Last week someone had tomatoes labeled "Florida" grown.  I appreciated the honesty.

One market where we sell has STRICT standards requiring you to produce everything you sell and enforce it by "on-farm" inspections.  Others are much more lax... 

How are other growers handling this at your markets?

Mike
Vesterbrook Farm - http://www.vesterbrookfarm.com/

Clarksville, Missouri
Mississippi River Bluffs region, zone 6
   
      Certified Naturally Grown
http://www.naturallygrown.org/



On Jun 18, 2010, at 7:44 AM, Road's End Farm wrote:


On Jun 18, 2010, at 5:36 AM, Owsley lucy wrote:





Saw sweet corn, giant tomatoes & pineapple at a St Louis market this afternoon. Apparently all locally grown. Too sad to get mad...
Sent from my U.S. Cellular BlackBerry® smartphone


When I see things like that I like to hang out around the stand and tell people that these items are no local and you can buy the exact same thing more cheaply at Kroger's.  Than I point out to them who does have locall seasonal food. This is an excellent opportunity to educated people about locally grown seasonal produce



Lucy Goodman
Boulder Belt Eco-Farm
Eaton, OH




I know growers with tomatoes ready here that are genuinely locally grown. They're greenhouse grown, of course; and I've never personally tasted a greenhouse tomato that I thought had full flavor; but they are local.

"Early" is a steadily moving target, here at least; greenhouses, hoop houses, row covers, and yes, what does indeed appear to be a changing climate, all contribute to lots of things being available in June that didn't use to show up till August.

The pineapple is a different matter, of course. And I'd be highly suspicious of the tomatoes of anyone also selling pineapple out of its area. Try to teach the customers to ask where they came from (some resellers will be honest), and also to ask questions about variety and growing conditions that may trip up the resellers who aren't honest; or better yet ask if they can come see the farm -- sometimes the family member who sits at the stand isn't the one who orders seed; I've known people who actually did grow the stuff but didn't know what variety they had.


-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale



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