Welcome to the Oakton, Virginia Farmers Market

by Andrea Milstein, Guest Blogger

The Oakton Farmers’ Market is in its 2nd year at the new Oak Marr Rec Club location on Jermantown Road. There are multiple ones of us who take turns as Market Masters, Pam and Jane, Jon and me. We are open for business every Wednesday from 8 to noon all the way up until Thanksgiving. There are 5 stands selling fruits and vegetables, a plant vendor, a baker, a stand selling grass-fed meat and eggs, a cheese stand, an ice cream vendor and a chef selling his fresh pasta, sauces and jams as well as a lady selling Middle Eastern sweet and savory individually stuffed pockets.

Farm Markets Have High Standards for Freshness, Food Safety

Everyone selling at a Fairfax County sponsored Farmers’ Market needs to be within a radius of 125 miles. All fruit and vegetable vendors practice integrated pest management, a method which helps manage pests and insects, disease and weeds with methods that maintain ecological health and keep environmental risks as low as possible.

Peak Produce Season is Upon Us

We’re about to reach the peak of summer produce. Peaches and tomatoes have just started their season and plums and apricots had their introduction last week. There is an abundance of zucchini and squash, many different varieties of eggplants, green beans, wax beans and even purple beans, broccoli and cauliflower as well as a terrific looking and tasting crossbreed of the two. Leafy greens don’t do too well during the hot season but Marvin Ogburn sells a fantastic and very fresh lettuce mix which he grows in well ventilated and shady hoop houses. Dana Boyle, a graduate of V-Tech is not just a farmer but an expert on anything relating to the human condition and her humorous advice comes free of charge. Bill and Bob are two retired guys who needed an outlet for their highly developed social skills and are selling vegetables for Lois’s Produce.

How to make more of your visit to your local Farmer’s Market

In case you are like me and always looking for high quality but affordable food, here are some money saving tips when heading to your local Farmers’ Market: Try to buy in larger quantities. A half bushel of tomatoes or potatoes can be had for around $10 – $12. Store potatoes in a cool, dark and dry place (but not in the fridge) and make a delicious roasted tomato soup (freezes very well) out of most of your tomatoes while saving some for other purposes. Come fall, I buy my

Support your Local Farmers

sweet potatoes (around $12) and apples ($around $21) by the half bushel. Talk to your vendor about optimal storage methods. Peaches are $26 per half bushel and if you don’t like canning you might want to check with your friends to see if they want to split a half bushel with with you. The price per pound is drastically lower if you buy in bulk.

Believe in Buying Sustainable? Tell Your Friends About Your Local Farmers Market

Farmers’ Markets offer the perfect venue for direct interaction with the producer of your food. Take advantage of the fact that you have direct access to the expert who knows everything there is to know about growing methods, soil health, best time to harvest, etc. Local and seasonal are not just buzzwords but values more and more of us are adopting and living by.

This post is part of the Real Food Wednesday blog carnival, see more tasty morsels here.

Andrea Milstein is a wife, mother, homemaker and cooking instructor in Oakton, Virginia. She is an active member of the Weston A. Price Foundation and the Northern Virginia Whole Foods Meetup group. She is a market master of the Oakton, Virginia Farm Market. Andrea has agreed to be a regular contributor to Hartke Is Online! Check out her recipes by searching in the search box. Please let us know in the comments if you try one of her delicious recipes!

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4 Comments

lo

Posted July 15, 2009 at 3:56 pm | Permalink

Great tips. Especially around buying in bulk.

I don’t have trouble with the concept, generally. However, I have HUGE trouble with (untreated) potatoes, like you find at the farmer’s market, sprouting — seemingly no matter where I store them. What’s the best place to put them to prevent spoilage and/or sprouting??
lo´s last blog ..Pizza with Figs, Bacon, and Blue
Andrea Milstein

Posted July 15, 2009 at 5:21 pm | Permalink

Absent a root cellar I keep my potatoes in a carton box in the (air-conditioned) basement. Cover them with an old towel to shield them from light. Humidity and light will eventually coax every good potato to sprout an indication that your food has some life in it which in my humble mind is much preferable to the chemically-treated-prevented-from-sprouting version.
Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship

Posted July 15, 2009 at 9:08 pm | Permalink

Can we have the recipe for the tomato soup? Yum!
Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday: Guess What we Found on our Walk?
Shannon

Posted July 17, 2009 at 10:06 am | Permalink

What a great post. I am always looking for good deals on bulk produce for preserving. I am dying for some peaches and may have to make a trip to the “other” farmers market on the other side of town this week to see if we can get a bushel of them.

Thanks for participating in Food Roots and sharing your thoughts and tips. I hope I will see you back there again!
Shannon´s last blog ..Food Roots – July 16: where does your food come from?