While the DCFM may be the apotheosis of the genre (it is the largest true farmers' market- meaning that the vendors cannot sell anything they themselves did not produce - in the nation), my re-adopted home of Louisville has its (albeit smaller-scale) analogues, one of the best of the bunch being the Bardstown Road Farmers' Market - held every Saturday from 8am to 1pm from early April through the beginning of November.
So this week when Jennifer and I set the alarm (you do have to get to a farmers' market early if you want the good stuff) and headed out, I took my camera along, to give my Gather friends a bit of a flavor of what this local institution looks like.
This tells you you've arrived - or, if you're going too fast, that you've missed it...
Competition for scarce resources is fierce. These folks are already starting to queue up for a diminishing supply of fresh asparagus.
But everybody gets a turn at the table.
Elsewhere at the market, fresh bedding and decorative plants are for sale...
while fiddlers entertain those less inclined to garden.
Our cats love these people (even if the cats don't know it) - they grow the pet salad (aka cat grass or wheat grass) we feed them to keep their tummies happy.
And speaking of happy tummies, it's time for some people-food. This stall brings home-baked goodies every week, while these guys
make omelettes on demand with their own produce - everything from the eggs on up.
"Look Ma! Fresh Garlic!"
We're not just about veggies and fiddles here in Kentucky though- some of the best goat cheese in the country is made at Capriole Farms.
This is their sales manager.
In addition to the fine cheeses and vegetables, there are three or four stalls at the market dealing in pasture-raised meats (lamb, beef, bison and pork) as well as a couple of sellers of their own pastries, jams and jellies, and herbs both dried and transplantable (I buy broad-leaf basil from one vendor here).
The complexion of the market changes from week to week - but that's part of the fun of a farmers' market, knowing what is in season and what's not. Get there too late, and the strawberries and asparagus are gone. Get there too early and the tomatoes aren't ready yet. It's a culinary and garden adventure every week- and I wouldn't have it any other way.
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Comments: 56
You raised a great point about vendors selling local food that they have produced. There is one vendor at our local market that carries veggies that are not grown in Michigan. We bypass those and wish everyone else would. If I wanted tomatoes from Arizona, I would BUY tomatoes from Arizona. Seems like it truly misses the point.
I agree completely about the "grow locally, sell locally" aspect of farmers' markets, and it's one of the things I always respected most about the Madison market (as large as it was). Why would you go to a farmers' market to buy tomatoes from California and apples from Washington, when the whole point is to a) support local growers, and b) get the freshest local produce available?
I'm envious of the fresh cheese at your's. YUM!
Congratulations for being featured on Gather's front page!
Nice essay. Thanks for sharing.
Flying by to say Happy Thursday.
Last day for Triple Points!
Do you have a new one starting, or do you live somewhere that it just hasn't opened yet?
Thanks for the tour - it's my kinda place.
And yes, he's quite the salesman. When I asked if I could photograph their wares, his first question was "Would you like me to hold one up?"
There's a great website called www.localharvest.org that has links and lookups for not just farmers' markets but CSAs, organic farms and other forms of access to good produce that you might be interested in.
weel ends. This is where I get some great lamb chops
that are sold by the people who have the lambs. They
are really nice people. I wanted to buy more stuff there
but I didn't have the funds. They are here up until the
first of October for pumpkin season.
You're right on about the good meat available at farmers' markets. I buy ground lamb and bison steaks at ours...
That along with the gas prices, making food transport more expenses, driving up prices, it makes sense to buy local. I think this is a growing national trend.