I don't recognize several of the things you describe, Lars. I live in New England. Remotely, on Cape Cod. Our farmer's markets are mostly in the summer and overrun by tourists - pricey produce. I once spent a breathtaking amount for some yellow wax beans. We live not too far from a nice organic fruit and vegetable grocery that is open year round and that's where I tend to shop for produce. They sell as much locally grown as possible.

LOL!! Only in California :)) Farmer's markets here close up shop at the end of October - selling pumpkins and squash in time for Halloween is their last big hurrah! And I have to agree about the pricing........while ours are not intended primarily for the tourists, they are mostly boutique-style booths with highly priced jams and jellies, baked goods, artisan cheeses and pricey organic produce. I mostly shop the cut flower vendors :-))

I am fortunate to have a local, excellent, high-end and very big grocery that sources much of their produce and meat from local farms with a big emphasis on organically grown products so I can get farmer's market quality food pretty much year round, although seldom at bargain prices.

I don't go to our local Farmers Market.

I support our CSA every other week.

I have known the people from Talley Farms Fresh Harvest for three generations.

I am never disappointed.

You could be talking Chinese, Lars lol. I can hear how happy your haul has made you so, whatever you're eating, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

LA has the most amazing farmers markets. I have been to a few of them. I don't remember their names. I was driven to them.

Tropical fruits! Oh yeah! Also, I remember there was a guy selling white truffles, about 1/2 the size of golf balls. Obviously he was not going to tell me where he got them from

Here in NYC, I go to the big Union Square Farmers Market, not to buy anything, because I can't keep up with my own garden's output.

dcarch

No farmer's markets near here, only in the summer and then for a very few hours on Sat. morning. It is not very big either. It is held in the parking lot of the city building.

Sue

Sigh. I, too, am envious. Our farmers markets are just gearing up for the season, but even though I'm only about two hours north of Miami and all the tropicals grow here, I never see mamey or guanabana for sale in any form around here. Not even sapodilla, which grows so profusely it's considered invasive. And of course all the apples and other northern fruits aren't local.

We have a lot of excellent organic farms in this area, but they sell all they can produce to the restaurants in Palm Beach county, never to us local yokels.

And thanks to all the storms I'm at least 6 weeks behind on all my winter veggies at home.

Around, even though they are very popular w/ many people, I find fresher, better quality produce & items like cheeses @ the stores. Maybe it's the refrigeration; the sun is intense here, even in winter months & stuff sitting out w/ no refrigeration wilts pretty fast.

& I recognize the tropicals; many are grown here. I'm wondering if peach habs might be a marketing ploy? I grew yellow/orange ones last spring & they had a peachy blush.

Maybe it's the refrigeration; the sun is intense here, even in winter months & stuff sitting out w/ no refrigeration wilts pretty fast.

Partly that, but around here, it's also because all the first-quality stuff goes to restaurants and they only bring what they've rejected. We did have a big non-organic farm that always had excellent produce for sale, but people didn't like that it wasn't organic. I believe they're in the process of switching over to getting ready to grow medicinal marijuana right now. No more produce.

I can find guanabana in the local markets here, but it's nice to find already made into a licuado. When I do find it, I freeze it into a sorbet or make it into ice cream. Mamey ice cream is becoming more common here, and so I don't have to go to East L.A. to find it.

My white sapote tree has flowers on it now, but from what I've read, I won't get fruit until about six months from now. I should be getting quite a bit of fruit from it when I do, however, and I'll have to freeze some of that as well. I'll be getting cherimoya fruit by January. My papaya trees are doing well also, but it will probably be another two years before I get from from them, and still there is no guarantee. I have four of them clustered together, and I will have to have both male and female trees to get fruit. I have one large avocado on my avocado tree (which I got recently), and I'm hoping to get more than that next year. There are several avocado trees in this neighborhood, and so I don't have to worry about mine getting pollinated.

People bring guayabas to work to give away free, and I will eat some of them, but they really have too many seeds - much like pomegranates. I used to have a guayaba tree, and I only made juice from the fruit.

Incidentally, white sapote is not tropical and can handle temperatures as cold as 26°F.

There is another farmers' market here in Westchester on Wednesday, and I plan to go to that one to get tomatoes, as I forgot to get them in Mar Vista yesterday. The Wednesday Westchester market is very small, but it is good for vegetables and the more common fruits.

I was unaware that some farmers' markets did not sell in November. It's a big month here for produce, and the markets are open all winter as well, to sell winter vegetables. Lettuce is cheaper here in the winter than in the summer.

I went back to the same farmers' market last Sunday (Dec 3) and found even more to buy - but no okra. The chili woman had a much larger variety of chilies this time, and I bought a variety of them to use in my chili sauce. She even had chocolate Habanero chilies this time, and so I got some of those as well. She had another chili with the same chocolate color that was long like a banana chili, and I think she said it was called Trinidad, but I'm not sure. If it is like the Tobago chilies, it won't have much flavor, however, but she told me it did have a lot of flavor, and so I will have to see. I've cooked with it already but have not tasted it by itself. I also bought a bunch of green beans because they looked especially good. They had all different colors of cauliflower and carrots, and so I bought some purple carrots but already had enough vegetables, and so I did not buy any cauliflower, even though I wanted it.

Today I picked the one avocado on my tree, and it will be a while before it is ripe, as it is extremely hard. However, it is quite large, and I do not want a squirrel or raccoon to steal it. A few nights ago I saw a raccoon in my sapote tree, and it just stared back at me. I have to assume that it will be back when the sapote fruits are ripe.