Farmers Market Garden Nursery Landscaping Guide
Farmers Market For Fresh Produce
By Pixie Matthews
How often have you made a quick trip to the supermarket to pick
up something that you needed? It might be a head of lettuce for
the salad that you intend to serve with dinner. The point is,
that you have the luxury of simply running to the store to pick
up whatever you want and some places are even open twenty-four
hours a day.
It was not always this easy. In the not so distant past, the
only way to get those fresh vegetables was to either buy them
at a farmers market or grow them yourself. Most families depended
on their own garden for the food they needed to last the winter.
Piggly Wiggly Chain
Food and agriculture has always been around but it was not until
1916 that the first self service supermarket was introduced. Clarence
Saunders opened up his Piggly Wiggly chain in Memphis, Tennessee.
It was not the "total" supermarket that you find today
because fresh meat and produce were not sold, only canned and
boxed goods. The expansion to selling meat and produce came from
Michael J. Cullen in 1930. His King Kullen grocery stores were
a hit and many other companies adopted the same ideas for selling
everything that a family could need.
The Convenience Of Using A Grocery Store
Life would be more difficult had Saunders not created the grocery
store. But it came with a price, as the farmers market became
a rarity. More people wanted the conveniences of using a grocery
store rather than having to get out early to pick their produce
from the local farmers market.
In 1994, a survey was performed and there were only about 1,755
farmers markets in the United States. Today, though, that number
is more than 4,385 thanks to the organic movement pushing more
people to review their options and buy locally grown produce that is
pesticide free.
The Market For Fresh Organic Produce
Small produce stands and farmers’ markets cannot compete against
supermarkets. But that is not their purpose. The market for fresh,
organically grown produce is about safety and trying to keep the
environment safe while still enjoying locally grown vegetables
and produce. Small farmers find that they can sell their produce
for a fair, marketable price and keep their operation in business.
Missing out on a farmers market is a real shame. You can find
so many items at the market. It is not just for produce. You can
find crafts, jams, jellies and plants to bring home with you.
Your whole family will have a great time. If you do not know where
a market is located, you can check out the website www.farmersmarket.com
to find one located near you.
About the Author:
Pixie Matthews has written a number of articles on farming, gardening and
landscaping including
Organic Vegetable Gardening Products,
Vegetable Gardening Tips,
Spring Vegetable Gardening,
Compost For Your Vegetable Garden,
Vegetable Gardening Tricks.
Keep a lookout for more of her articles on this website.
Little Known Farming Facts....
How long has farming been in existence?
The earliest records of sowing and harvesting
plants have been pinpointed to the Fertile Crescent of the Middle
East roughly 10,000 years ago. By 7000 BC it had spread to include
Asia and other parts of the world. It was not until the Sumerians
that the domestication of animals took place. Sheep and cattle
were the first animals to be domesticated.
Before there had been organized net fishing
of rivers, oceans and lakes but it did not involve domestication.
These were busy times for people as more and more natural resources
were cultivated to be raised on farms. Farming at that point was
still crude but it was making great headway into feeding larger
numbers of people. As farmers began producing more crops and animals
than they needed, they would in turn trade them for other goods.
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