Montgomery Farmers' Market

New Website!

2011-04-23T12:19:00.003-04:00

For updated information, please visit Montgomery Farmers' Market at our new website! This blog will be coming down soon, and that will be our home on the web!

2011 Events at Market

2011-04-04T11:00:00.026-04:00

Date	Demonstrations	Musicians	Community Groups	Artists/Crafters	Montgomery Businesses
May 7	Sampling of Organic Brewed Root Beer by Root Naturals	TBowlin	Kindervelt 22	Karen's Aprons	WesBanco
May 14	open	A Side of Taylors	open	Recyclabowls	open
May 21	Kimberly Peet of Travelessence	Herb Beck	open	open	open
May 28	Domenico Germano of Germano's Restaurant	Finish The Day	open	open	open
June 4	open	TBowlin	open	Clicks Unscripted	WesBanco
June 11	open	Finish The Day	open	Recyclabowls	open
June 18	Elyse Jarard from Venus Fitness Studio	Blue Caboose	open	open	open
June 25	open	A Side of Taylors	City of Montgomery	open	open
July 2	open	open	open	open	WesBanco
July 9	open	A Side of Taylors	open	open	open
July 16	open	open	open	open	open
July 23	open	open	open	open	open
July 30	open	A Side of Taylors	open	open	open
Aug 6	Elyse Jarard from Venus Fitness Studio	open	Blue Ash/ Montgomery Rotary	open	WesBanco
Aug 13	open	A Side of Taylors	open	open	open
Aug 20	open	open	open	open	open
Aug 27	open	A Side of Taylors	open	open	open
Sept 3	open	open	open	open	open
Sept 10	open	A Side of Taylors	open	open	open
Sept 17	open	Finish The Day	open	open	open
Sept 24	Domenico Germano of Germano's Restaurant	A Side of Taylors	open	open	open
Oct 1	open	open	open	open	open
Oct 8	open	open	open	open	open
Oct 15	open	A Side of Taylors	open	open	open
Oct 22	open	Finish The Day	open	open	open
Oct 29	open	A Side of Taylors	open	Karen's Aprons	open

If you are a musician, artist/crafter, local chef, local business, or community group who would like to attend one of our market days, please see the links in the left-hand column!

Information for Chefs, Restaurants, Caterers, Home Cooks and Artisan Food Producers

2011-03-05T11:50:00.002-05:00

We look forward to your participation at market!

For our second market year, Montgomery Farmers’ Market will be operating this summer in the parking lot of Montgomery Elementary School (9609 Montgomery Rd) on Saturday mornings 9am through 12:30 pm from May through October.

Part of our mission is promoting Montgomery businesses and encouraging local residents to patronize those businesses. We would love to have you or a member of your staff conduct a food or cooking demonstration or do sampling one morning during our market season. We can provide a shelter, gas grill/cooktop, and table, and we also have access to electricity if needed. In the past, chefs have shopped the market, then come up with a recipe on-the-fly using the seasonal foods available that morning at market; this has proved very popular with our market shoppers. We’ve also found that including this new recipe (along with the chef and restaurant name) in our next week’s market newsletter adds to the benefit you get for spending your time and energy participating at the market.

We're also very interested in cooking demonstrations by local home cooks; if you can demonstrate anything from homebrewing to canning, we'd love to have you!

Please find our information sheet here.

If you have other ideas for participating at market, we’d love to talk to you about them, too! Email us so we can discuss!

Information for Musicians

2011-03-05T11:43:00.001-05:00

We're hoping to have acoustic music each market day. We are currently seeking sponsors for our music, but unfortunately until we identify them funds are very tight and what we have we must spend on promotion. However, we will link to you from our Events page and our weekly enewsletter, and musicians are welcome to put out a tip jar, hand out promotional materials for upcoming gigs, and sell CDs/tapes of their music.

Read our 2011 Musicians Application.

Information for Farmers and Cottage Producers

2011-03-05T11:39:00.000-05:00

Interested in joining us? Montgomery Farmers' Market is the closest Saturday market to 55,000 households with an average income of $97,000. We are a densely populated area with easy access from three nearby highways.

See our 2011 Vendor Rules and 2011 Farmers/Cottage Producers Application.

Information for Artists, Crafters, and Artisans

2011-03-05T11:35:00.000-05:00

Each week one booth is set aside for a local artist, artisan, or crafter. Please see our Vendor Rules and Artists/Artisans/Crafters Application for full details on how you can participate in one of our market days!

Information for Community Groups

2011-03-05T11:32:00.001-05:00

Montgomery Farmers' Market invites nonprofit groups in Montgomery and surrounding communities to reserve booth space to set up a shelter and/or table and connect with area residents. Fundraising at the market is prohibited except by preapproval from market management, but groups may provide education, promote their organization, and distribute materials.

Find our application here.

Information for Local Businesses

2011-02-12T09:58:00.000-05:00

If you are a Montgomery-based or other local business and would like to participate at market, please email Valerie Taylor to discuss.

2011 Season

2011-01-14T17:26:00.003-05:00

We are gearing up for our 2011 Market Season. For more information or to obtain an application, please email montfarmersmkt@gmail.com or call Debbie Miller at 513-791-0898.

October 30th Market Newsletter

2010-10-28T15:35:00.003-04:00

Last market of the year! Read the newsletter here.

Montgomery Farmers' Market 2010 Events

2010-10-27T10:00:00.001-04:00

Date	Demonstrations	Musicians	Community Groups	Artists/Crafters
June 5	Chef Mark Bodenstein of Chalk Food+Wine	Herb Beck	TriHealth Get Moving Montgomery	AmazMinerals
June 12	Elyse Jarard of Venus Fitness for Her Cognitive Fitness and Triathlon Training	Lynore	open	Remembrance
June 19	open	Profoundly Yours	open	Love Pats
June 26	open	Muzik Therapy	open	Life in Pictures by Melissa
July 3	Chef Mark Bodenstein of Chalk Food+Wine Foraged Foods	Herb Beck	open	open
July 10	Alex McDuffie Vermicomposting	Lynore	open	Remembrance
July 17	open	open	open	open
July 24	open	Tom Freel	open	open
July 31	Elyse Jarard of Venus Fitness for Her Back-to-School Fitness and Sensory Training	Snoopy Visit!	open	open
Aug 7	Chef Mark Bodenstein of Chalk Food+Wine Foraged Foods	A Side of Taylors	open	open
Aug 14	open	Tom Freel	open	open
Aug 21	open	A Side of Taylors	Montgomery Boy Scout Troop 258	Marni Cummings' Photography and Photo Cards
Aug 28	open	Finish The Day	open	Karen's Aprons
Sept 4	Chef Mark Bodenstein of Chalk Food+Wine Foraged Foods	Tom Freel	open	open
Sept 11	Alex McDuffie Vermicomposting	Mitch Ruth	open	open
Sept 18	Mark Zeiner of Waggle Dance Farm Beekeeping	A Side of Taylors	open	Marni Cummings Photography
Sept 25	Rip Sidhu of Bombay Brazier	open	Montgomery Boy Scout Troop 258	The Picket Fence Dried Flowers
Oct 2	open	Tom Freel	Indian Hill Cub Scout Pack 163	The Picket Fence Dried Flowers
Oct 9	Document Shredding Service/City of Montgomery	Kelsey Skaggs	open	Love Pats
Oct 16	open	TBowlin	Kindervelt 22	Bretz & Pfaffl Greeting Cards
Oct 23	Barbara Zeh of BZ Catering	open	Sycamore Schools Levy Committee/Yard Sign Distribution	The Picket Fence Dried Flowers
Oct 30	open	Tom Freel	Sycamore Schools Levy Committee/Yard Sign Distribution	open

If you are a musician, artist/crafter, or community group who would like to attend one of our market days, please see the links in the left-hand column.

Free Document Shredding at Market 10/9/10

2010-10-09T04:18:00.002-04:00

Newsletter for October 9.

September 25th Newsletter

2010-09-24T13:40:00.000-04:00

Click here for the current newsletter telling about events this week at market and what vendors will be bringing!

June 26th Newsletter

2010-06-24T15:24:00.000-04:00

Hi, all! After a quick shower last Saturday the weather turned beautiful and we had a great market with a great crowd! This coming Saturday is looking like perfect market weather!

Our newest booth, My Little Red Haus, was a huge hit with all the kids! Heike and her crew will be back each week with children's activities.

Events at market this week:

Musician: Muzik Therapy (Neo-soul/R&B)

Crafter: Life in Pictures (Photography by Melissa Sideris)

Kids' Activities: My Little Red Haus will have a variety of activities for kids!

Vendors:

Martin Hill Farms: Asparagus, beets, bok choi, broccoli, carrots, kale, romaine lettuce, looseleaf head lettuce, mizuna, mustard greens, asian greens, radishes, kohlrabi, English peas, snap peas, zucchini, flying saucer squash, scallop squash, zephyr squash, eight ball squash, bush beans, pole beans, asparagus beans, Chinese red noodle beans, eggplant, bell peppers.

Crisenbery Baked Goods: Challah, country white and lemon rosemary breads; banana pecan and banana no nuts breads; chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin coconut cookies; cakes for one including: lemon pound cake, Irish cream cake and our special family recipe "Mamaw's chocolate cake with devil's fudge icing"; strawberry rhubarb tarts; bumbleberry tarts (What? You've never heard of a bumbleberry? Bumbleberry is a true berry lover's dream! It is a combination of blueberry and red and black raspberries. YUM!!!) Our barista, Julia, will be squeezing organic lemons and making fresh lemon shake ups and pouring organic black tea.

Wilham's: Tomatoes, green tomatoes, grape tomatoes, peppers, some hot peppers, banana peppers, eggplant, candy onions, squash, zucchini, GOLDEN zucchini, carrots, maybe black raspberries.

Cedar Lane Farm: Fresh pork chops, sausage and ribs along with fresh chicken, boneless breast and other cuts and our brown eggs. We also have free samples of our solid lotion bars and some new
handmade soap.

Salatin's Orchard: Peaches, apricots, gooseberries, red currants, raspberries, blueberries, squash blossoms, summer squash, sweet corn, green beans, cucumbers (regular and burpless). I look forward to seeing ya'll this weekend!

Vanishing Premium Granola: Freshly made granola in our two flavors, Original and Orange Pistachio Spice. Come sample both (BYO yogurt). We can chase that granola with cold brewed iced coffee, too.

TS Farms: We will have our beef for the first time! NY strip, filet mingon, sirlion steak, rump roast, ground beef, liver, stew meat, ribeye steaks, chuck roasts. Also our wheat berries and stone ground whole wheat flour, strawberry jam, mint jelly, grape jelly, strawberry rhubarb jam. Pork sausage, both mild and sage.

Hilltop Farms: Sweet Corn, Beans, Squash, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Cut Flowers, Onions

Donna's Gourmet Cookies: We will be there rain or shine this week! 15 varieties of Cookies, Chocolate Croissants, Ham and Cheese Croissants,Blueberry Muffins, Lemon Tea Cakes and Zucchini bread.

Pine Lane Soapers: Goat's milk soap, Puppy Suds (goat's milk shampoo for all the cute pooches), and brown eggs

Goodlife Farm: Red & green lettuce, swiss chard, kohrabi, summer squash, greens mixes, radishes, pac choi and a few sugar snap peas.

Waggle Dance Farm: Local raw honey to try on homemade honey wheat bread (while it lasts!)

Taste of Belgium: Authentic Belgian waffles (aka Liège-style waffles) and savory crêpes. We make our savory crêpes with organic buckwheat flour. Great for breakfast or a light lunch. We will have two options: traditional: egg, ham, cheese or vegetarian: roasted red peppers, goat cheese, baby spinach. We will also bring an assortment of other pastries.

Fab Ferments: an assortment of raw cultured veggies, beet kvass and kombucha tea. All of our products are handmade using organic and/or local sustainable produce.

Donna's Gourmet Cookies: We will be there rain or shine this week! 15 varieties of Cookies, Chocolate Croissants, Ham and Cheese Croissants,Blueberry Muffins, Lemon Tea Cakes and Zucchini bread.

June 19th Market

2010-06-17T15:05:00.006-04:00

What a monsoon last week! We're here rain or shine unless and until we see lightning, so come on down this week.

New This Week: My Little Red Haus art studio has joined us! They'll be setting up an area for kids' activities each week!

Events at Market This Week

Musician: Profoundly Yours (Acoustic Rock)

Crafter: Love Pats: Handsewn girls' dresses, baby bibs, adult cooking aprons, girls' headbands

Vendors will be bringing:

Taste of Belgium: Everyone's favorite Leige waffles; crepes

Ohio Brush Creek Cooperative: Kale, boc choy, korean cabbage, collards, chard, leaf lettuce with or without roots (you can stick the ones with roots into a bowl of water and they'll live for several days while you harvest fresh greens daily), broccoli, red tomatoes FIRST OF OUR SEASON, spring onions, beans FIRST OF SEASON, little red potatoes FIRST OF SEASON, zucchini FIRST OF SEASON, cabbage, summer squash, baby pickles, wild garlic, cauliflower, green onions, beets with tops, frozen free range chicken, corn meal, sorghum, radishes (probably easter egg), rhubarb

Pine Lane Soapers: Goat's milk soap, Puppy Suds (goat's milk shampoo for all the cute pooches), and brown eggs

Wilham's: Tomatoes, zucchini, golden zucchini, green tomatoes, beets, jalapenos, banana peppers, maybe other peppers, maybe eggplant

Fab Ferments: An assortment of raw cultured veggies, beet kvass and kombucha tea. All of our products are handmade using organic and/or local sustainable produce.

Goodlife Farm: Red & green lettuce, swiss chard, kohrabi, summer squash, greens mixes, radishes, pac choi and a few sugar snap peas.

Donna's Gourmet Cookies: Ham & cheese and chocolate croissants, blueberry muffins, brownies, pecan bars, 13 varieties of cookies, lemon tea cakes, and no rain!

Waggle Dance Farm: Local raw honey to try on homemade honey wheat bread (while it lasts!)

Vanishing Granola: Nice dry granola in nice dry bags! Original (coconut almond cranberry) and Orange Spice (vegan, with pistachios, dates and golden hunza raisins).

Salatin's Orchards: Early peaches! Also gooseberries, raspberries, red currants, summer squash, squash blossoms, cucumbers (burpless and regular), cabbage, green tomatoes, greens, spring onions, garlic, and maybe green beans.

Martin Hill Farms: Asparagus, beets, bok choi, broccoli, carrots, kale, romaine lettuce, looseleaf head lettuce, mizuna, mustard greens, asian greens, radishes, kohlrabi, English peas, snap peas, zucchini, flying saucer squash, scallop squash, zephyr squash, eight ball squash, bush beans, pole beans, asparagus beans, Chinese red noodle beans.

Crisenbery Baked Goods: Challah, country white and lemon rosemary breads; banana pecan and banana no nuts breads; chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin coconut cookies; cakes for one including: lemon pound cake, Irish cream cake and our special family recipe "Mamaw's chocolate cake with devil's fudge icing"; strawberry rhubarb tarts; bumbleberry tarts (What? You've never heard of a bumbleberry? Bumbleberry is a true berry lover's dream! It is a combination of blueberry and red and black raspberries. YUM!!!) Our barista, Julia, will be squeezing organic lemons and making fresh lemon shake ups and pouring organic black tea.

Cedar Lane Farm: Brown eggs, cut up chicken, whole chickens, beef roasts and ground beef, bacon and pork roasts. Handmade soap and lotion bars, with some free samples.

June 12th Market

2010-06-11T05:12:00.000-04:00

Montgomery Farmers’ Market Newsletter
Saturday June 12th
9am – 12:30pm
Shelly Lane between Remington & Cooper
(1 block west of Montgomery Inn)

Events:

Musician: Lynore (Acoustic Folk/Indie)
Demonstration: Elyse Jarard of Venus for Her will be talking about cognitive fitness and triathlon training and doing some demonstrations of technique.

Vendors:

Cedar Lane Farms: fresh young chicken packaged in parts, boneless breast, thighs, legs, wings and quarters. There will also be a few packages of livers and gizzards mixed. We will also have our delicious large brown eggs. We plan to bring along some frozen bacon, pork chops and whole roasting chickens. We will have some beautiful handmade soap to offer and several new lotion bars as well in convenient sizes. This week we will have samples of the soaps and lotion bars to try.

Vanishing Granola: Original, Orange Spice, and nut-free granolas, iced coffee. Lisa Burke’s cookies and other home-baked finger treats, mostly organic and vegan.

Crisenbery Baked Goods: Country White, Lemon Rosemary and Challah breads. We will also bring Strawberry Rhubarb tarts, Irish Cream and Lemon pound cakes, and Banana Pecan and Banana No Nuts bread. Julia will be shaking up fresh organic lemon shake ups and organic iced tea too. We will try to get some cookies and carrot cake there too.

Fireside Pizza: Breakfast!

TS Farms: In addition to our wheat berries, flours, and meats, we will be bringing mint jelly sugar free strawberry jelly and whole wheat bread with all ingredients but the salt, baking soda and yeast being grown or made by us.

Salatin’s: yellow sweet cherries, and tart pie cherries. We will also have more raspberries, cucumbers, summer squash, greens, lettuce, onions, and squash blossoms.

Pine Ridge Soapers: In addition to our goat’s milk soaps and lotions, we hope to add dog shampoo to our products and goat milk fudge.

Ohio Brush Creek Cooperative: Strawberries, rhubarb, leaf lettuce, loose leaf head lettuce, Asian greens, chard, kale, collards, spinach, boc choy, beet greens, Chinese cabbages, broccoli, snap peas, radishes, potatoes, green onions, wild garlic, garlic scapes, cilantro, basil, catnip, sage, eggs, maple syrup, corn meal, spelt meal.

Waggle Dance Farm: Honey, Homemade beeswax Lip Balm, and Homemade beeswax soap.

Branstrator Farms: Strawberries

Martin Hill Farm: Asparagus, beets, baby bok choi, broccoli, carrots, kale, romaine, looseleaf head lettuce, mizuna, mustard greens, Asian greens, radishes, kohlrabi, English peas, snap peas, zucchini, yellow squash, flying saucer squash, scallop squash, zephyr squash, eight ball squash, bush beans, pole beans, asparagus beans, red noodle beans.

...and of course all our other vendors!

For more market information, please visit http://montgomeryfarmersmarket.blogspot.com

Montgomery Farmers' Market June 5 - October 30 2010

2010-05-08T04:58:00.011-04:00

Montgomery Farmers' Market opens on Shelly Lane between Cooper and Remington (one block west of Montgomery Inn) on Saturdays 9am - 12:30pm starting June 5th, 2010. Vendors include:

Alex's Wormiculture: composting worm and vermicomposting supplies
Backyard Orchard: apples, pears, peaches, plums
Cedar Lane Farm: pastured chicken, beef, pork, & rabbit, chicken eggs, tallow soaps
Cox Family Farms: pastured beef, produce, herbs, flowers
Crisenbery Baked Goods: cookies, brownies, pies, turnovers, cupcakes, muffins, cakes, breads, tortillas
Dolce Vita: gelato
Donna's Gourmet Cookies: cookies, muffins, croissants, granola
Fab Ferments: kimchee, sauerkraut, pickles, kombucha, beet kvass
Fireside Pizza: woodfired pizzas and other ready-to-eat foods
Fisher Farm: tomatoes, peppers hot and sweet, eggplant, summer squash, sweet corn, cucumbers, green wax soy and lima beans, pumpkins, winter squash, gourds, Indian corn, parsnips, beets, turnips, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, herbs, melons, lettuce, Brussels sprouts, collards, kale, okra, tomatilloes, kohlrabi, cabbage
Goodlife Farm: vegetables and fruits, bedding plants, cut flowers and herbs, squash, gourds
Martin Hill Farms: amaranth, beans, beets, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, cucumber, eggplant, gourd, greens, hops, kohlrabi, lettuce, melon, okra, onion, parsnip, peppers, potatoes, radishes, salsify, spinach, squash, swiss chard, tomatillo, tomato, turnip, watermelon, sunflowers, roses, salsa, jams, dried fruits and vegetables, jerky
Ohio Brush Creek Cooperative: lettuce, herbs, greens, tomatoes, green beans, mushrooms, sweet corn, mizuna, arugula, beets, radishes, peppers, beans, eggs, carrots, onions
Pine Lane Soapers: goat's milk soap, lotions, lip balm, eggs
Salatin's Orchard: cherries (sweet and tart), grapes, English walnuts and chestnuts, apple cider & apple cider vinegar, cucumbers, gourds, indian corn, tomatoes, squash, peppers, berries, melons, plums, peaches, apples
Taste of Belgium: Liege waffles and crepes
TS Farms: flours and whole grains: oats, wheat, flax, barley, spelt, buckwheat; honey, eggs, wool, feverfew, jellies, pastured beef, pork, chicken, lamb, goat
Vanishing Granola: granolas, iced coffees
Walnut Ridge Acres: microgreens, sunflower shoots, wheat grass, watermelon, canteloupe
Waggle Dance Farms: honey, beeswax lipbalms, beeswax candles, beeswax lotions
Wilham's Farm Market: produce, bedding plants and potted herbs

Can't wait

2010-05-07T07:06:00.001-04:00

I'm very excited about this new Farmers' Market in Montgomery. Another great treasure that will be made available to our region. Can't wait for the market to open on June 5th!!

How You Can Help

2010-05-06T05:07:00.013-04:00

Montgomery Farmers' Market, LLC, is a nonprofit organization run by volunteers and supported in part by donations from the community. Your help is crucial in developing a successful market.

Volunteer
If you are interested in volunteering to help, please email our volunteer coordinator. We need help developing an actual REAL website, help at each market running the place, and help with such things as business sponsorships, marketing, and fundraising. And if you really want to get involved, our 9-member board includes community members, vendors, and local business owners; each year three new members are elected.

Donate
Donations from the community are crucial for us, especially this first year. In order to attract quality vendors for a Saturday market, we kept the vendor fee very low. In order to pay our expenses, we need support from the community. If you'd like to donate, you can do so at one of the markets (just stop by the Market Manager's booth -- we'll be absolutely thrilled to see you!) Or you can donate through PayPal:
Other ways you can help:
If you're on facebook:

Find our facebook page and "like" it.
Suggest it to your friends who live in the area.
Share a link to this blog/website.

If you're on twitter:

Find us on twitter and follow us.
Reply to or retweet what MontFarmersMkt tweets (within reason, of course) about the market.
Reply to or retweet what other folks tweet about the market.

And of course most importantly: come to market regularly and shop with our vendors!

Thank you!

About Montgomery Farmers' Market

2010-05-05T07:03:00.007-04:00

The market operates Saturdays 9am - 12:30pm May through October in the Montgomery Elementary School parking lot (9609 Montgomery Rd) in Montgomery OH 45242.

The farmers' market developed as a class project of the Montgomery Citizens' Leadership Academy Class of 2010. Members of the class donated time, funds and volunteer hours to develop this market from the ground up.

The 2011 Board:
Mike Collins
Erin Crosby
Janet Farist
Ron Hoying
Debbie Miller
Mehul Parikh

Russ Speiller
Valerie Taylor
Stuart Zanger

(Click on name to email that person.)

Our Generous Sponsors, Donors, and Volunteers

2010-05-04T07:23:00.011-04:00

Montgomery Farmers' Market thanks our sponsors, donors, and volunteers. Without all your help, the market would never have become a reality.

2010 Sponsors

CK Consulting
Riedmiller & Associates
Foot Solutions
Krombholz Jewelers
Whedon-Armstrong, Inc
Montgomery Lodge #94 F&AM
Montgomery District Business Association
City of Montgomery

2010 Donors

*Charlie Armstrong
*Debbie Erdman
*Jane Garfield
*Terri Hornback-Torres
*Deborah Hutchins
*Leah Levy
*Mehul Parikh
*Dennis Riedmiller
*Russ Speiller
*Sharon Stengel
*Valerie Taylor
*Andrea Wilson
*Bill Wingo

2010 Volunteers

Erin Crosby
*Jane Garfield
*Terri Hornback-Torres
Connie Kash
Debbie Miller
*Mehul Parikh
*Dennis Riedmiller
Eric Roth
*Steve Schmidlin
*Ann Scranton
Derek Scranton
*Russ Speiller
*Sharon Stengel
*Valerie Taylor
*Pete Tietelman

* MCLA Class of 2010

Special thanks also to Amber Morris and Frank Davis of the City of Montgomery, who weren't exactly volunteering but who went above and beyond for us this year. Thanks also to the entire city staff and City Council for making the market possible through a lot of hard work on the market's behalf.

Want to donate or volunteer?

How to Shop at a Farmers' Market

2010-05-02T05:49:00.000-04:00

Shopping at a farmers' market is not the same as shopping at a supermarket. You'll enjoy the experience more and get a lot more out of it -- more than you're expecting, perhaps -- if you keep a few things in mind.
Get in the zone. The farmers' market is not Kroger. Knowing how your food was raised and buying fresher, tastier, sustainably-raised food that supports your local farmers is balanced with some things you might at first see as disadvantages: it takes longer, some items might be more expensive (especially at certain times of year), and you can't always find exactly what you're looking for. But after a while, if you're in the right frame of mind, you'll see that these are actually advantages, too. When you spend more time shopping, you tend to get to know the farmer and the food better. When you pay a fair price for food, you tend to start eating in a way that is sustainable (and healthier.) When you don't find what you were looking for, you tend to broaden your food choices and discover new food items you may not have used before. Shopping the farmers' market is part of an entirely different way of looking at your food, one that allows you to become part of the process rather than simply being the end-consumer.

Show up early. Especially if you're looking for something early or late in its season, as many farmers will run out right away as early birds snap up the less abundant items. Plus lines are likely to be shorter and farmers will be able to spend more time with you talking about their offerings.
Or, come late. Often late in the day is a great time to get deals on stuff the farmers don't want to take home, especially anything more perishable or difficult to transport.

Be prepared to spend some time. This isn't a supermarket where you zip up and down the aisles throwing boxes and cans into your cart. Here, you can ask about the items. The grower or producer of the item knows more about it than you might imagine -- after all, if they're growing it, they're almost certainly eating it. And the people in front of you want to ask some questions, too, so try to be patient.

Accept the seasons. You won't find apples or tomatoes at the farmers' market in May, or asparagus in August. One of the joys of eating locally is that the start of each item's new season is a cause for celebration. In May at the farmers' market, that gorgeous bunch of asparagus was probably in the ground a few miles away last night or maybe even this morning. During asparagus season you can have asparagus every night for a week and not get tired of it because you know you aren't going to see fresh local asparagus again until next year. Come September, an apple that was picked yesterday will spoil you forever for what you can find at the supermarket in June. You may just decide that picked-yesterday-ten-miles-from-here apple is worth waiting for.

Be flexible. If the spinach is all gone, consider kale or chard, which can often be used interchangeably in recipes. No Granny Smiths? Ask the farmer which of his varieties will make a Granny Smith eater happy.

Try something new. At a farmers' market, you'll often see things you'd never see at the supermarket. Pea shoots, garlic scapes, squash blossoms, green garlic, chive blossoms, sorrel -- for the most part these are too perishable or too difficult to transport to show up anywhere but at a farmers' market. Pick up a bunch and ask the farmer, "How do you use this?" He'll be happy to tell you how he likes to prepare it, and he may even have a recipe copied off.
Don't expect perfect beauty. The blemish-free produce at the supermarket was raised in a monoculture, sprayed to kill every possible threat whether present or not, chemically fertilized to encourage growth, and the variety was chosen for beauty and ease of transport, not taste. At the farmers' market you'll find varieties the farmer chose because they grow well in his particular conditions and he thinks they taste good. Most don't spray, or spray only when disease or insects are actually present. Most fertilize only with compost, not with chemicals. The end product doesn't always look exactly like the perfect produce you'll find at the supermarket, but it tastes better and is fresher, better for you, and better for the environment. There's a beauty in that imperfection.

Ask questions. Where is your farm located? Do you grow or raise what you are selling? (If you don't feel comfortable asking a farmer this, ask the market manager whether there are rules about this for farmers at their market -- there often are.) What are your growing methods? Can people visit your farm? Why did you choose to grow a particular variety? What's good today? Do you have any cooking tips? Do you know if anyone else here today might still have some radishes? Will you have tomatoes next week?

Develop relationships. If you visit a market regularly, you'll see the same farmers over and over. Some of them will be happy to save things for you next week if you've become a regular and they know you'll show up. Some farmers change their planting plans in response to requests from regular customers -- one farmer I know has developed a specialty in Japanese vegetables because he's developed relationships with several transplanted families. If you'd love to be able to find a certain item at the farmers' market, tell a farmer! You'll be much more likely to see it in his stall next year if you've developed a relationship with him this year.
Be prepared to pay the true cost of producing your food. It's not a garage sale, where you can expect to pick up stuff cheaper than at retail. Most farmers at farmers' markets are not producing on a large scale. They're not receiving subsidies on their products to help lower the price. They're operating small diversified farms, which is better for the environment. They are trying to do the right thing, but they still need to make a living. You can help by being willing to pay a little more for your food, especially early or late in the season. It tends to balance out in high season for produce. In August and September when everyone has tomatoes coming out their ears, you can buy tomatoes cheap. In late June, not so much. But for certain items -- mostly animal products -- you'll almost always pay a little more at a farmers' market. That's because raising animals on pasture without subsidized grain and water costs more than conventional CAFO'd meat, dairy, and egg operations. Learning the true cost of meat has encouraged my family to treat it as an ingredient rather than as the ingredient in our meals. It's better for us and better for the environment.
Bring a friend. Know a foodie who doesn't shop at the farmers' market? Or maybe just someone who is always saying, "Wow, I really should check out the farmers' markets, too." Offer to take them with you. Last time I took a friend she bought so much food I ended up with a dinner invitation.

Become part of the process. When you shop at a supermarket, you're simply an eater. You have a very limited part in the process of bringing food to your table. When you shop at a farmers' market, you have an opportunity to become part of the process, but only if you take advantage of that opportunity. If you treat the farmers' market like Kroger, you'll probably be disappointed.
Reprinted from Cincinnati Locavore. This post was featured at Vegetarian Carnival, Carnival of Improving Life, Make It From Scratch, Festival of Frugality, Homesteading Carnival and Carnival of Tips.