This Saturday will be the last full market of the season at the Midtown Farmers Market. Rain or shine - don't miss! The winter market hours continue through the next five months with limited vendors attending, from 10am - 12 noon. Yes, we will be there! We only cut produce to order through the winter, if you have any questions about the process, stop by our tables this weekend and ask away. There will be one more somewhat-full pre-holiday market on Saturday, November 21, from 10am-1pm.
Our available produce is still fairly heavy on the leafy greens, but that should change in the near future with the addition of lots of roots and brassicas. We put all of our fall and winter crops in at the usual times this year, but growth seems to be lagging a bit more than is typical. As the days grow shorter throughout the course of the season, plant grows slows markedly. While we've seen fairly mild temperatures of late, I suspect that the unusually high number of wet, overcast days this fall have slowed things down beyond their normal growth rate for this time of year...one of those things a farmer just can't predict when assigning a planting date in August to November or January's crops. For those of you who've been inquiring, YES the beets and carrots, broccoli and cauliflower, spinach and celery will be here eventually! And most of all, I'm tickled that you like our carrots and such so much to keep asking every week :)
I've also been getting a slew of questions about why our sweet potatoes are so small. The sweet potatoes are harvested all at once in late summer. No matter when we dig them up, some will be small, some mid-sized, and some larger. After they are cured, I roughly grade them by size. The smallest potatoes do not store as long as the larger potatoes, so we try to sell those first. I love these little potatoes...you can roast them whole or halved in no time, pop them in the microwave for two minutes for a quick and nutritious snack, or halve them and get them done on the grill in no time. Enjoy the little fellas while they're around; the potatoes get larger as the winter wears on. If you absolutely must have larger sweet potatoes right now, please let us know ahead of time, and we'll dig out a few of the bigger specimens.
Thank you very much for your business, eat well, and have yourself a great week!