Grass Valley Growers Market

Today I am going to the Saturday-morning Grass Valley Growers Market at the fairgrounds. A place where local farmers can sell their products, and saps like me can freeze our butts off for some fresh strawberries. It usually starts at the beginning of May and lasts until November. I cannot tell you how excited I am to walk the rows of fresh vegetables, beeswax, meat, and fruit(hopefully?). Spring is a wonderful time of the year in most towns and cities because it means the start of the farmers markets. Coming from San Luis Obispo, I took for granted the famous and year-round Farmer's Market on Hiquera Street; treating it as an after-thought like a spoiled teenager treats allowance, unappreciative of its constant existence. The central coast, with its Mediterranean-esqe climate is also a wonderful growing place, full of fertile farmland and orchards so the market was always packed with vendors of fruits and veggies mostly unavailable in other parts of the country. Auburn, by comparison, has been very "seasony" which has taken a lot for me to accept. For example, we are quickly approaching June and have yet to break a low of 50 degrees. Needless to say, my pumpkins and tomatoes are not very happy right now. Last night the low was 30 degrees! Yikes! We will be putting paper grocery bags over the plants at night to retain the heat (or semblance of such). So I am going to the grower's market this morning before work to bring home some local faire grown by people who have more know-how or equipment in the gardening department (or both). I am also excited to see the faces of the people who are providing me with the flavorful produce and thank them whole-heartedly for their work. With pristine and well-lit supermarkets everywhere these days, we've created a disconnect from the people who actually brought the food to our plate and in doing so are hurting them by reducing their profit margins. Buy local or bust is my new credo!

Sorry if I got a little excited there, I am in the middle of listening to Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. It's a great book about a family that makes a pact to make everything they eat from scratch and/or buy locally. A person who eats only local fare is known, fashionably, as a locavore. While the romanticism of this movement has swept me up a bit, I don't have the cooking skills quite yet (or the support of my fast-food loving boyfriend) to take the plunge. Don't get me wrong, Justin loves his fresh produce and meat, but he will always be a fan of the dollar menu. However, I am going to conscientiously do my part for the local economy and buy all of my produce from local farmers. One thing I am very sad about is bananas. There are definitely none of those growing around here at this time of year...if ever. Those who know me well know that I don't like most fruit, except for bananas. But, I'll make it work.

On another note, on Monday and Wednesday I spent a good amount of time digging beds in the garden. It's slow work especially for this perfectionist. When Justin gets back from working at his ranch in the Sierras on Sunday I will tell him, emphatically that when we have our own farm I want him to build me beautiful, permanent raised beds! I can just imagine it now: sanded wood boards, about 3' tall holding in dark, rich soil. A place where I don't have to dig another damned ditch between beds ever again! Paradise.

Don't get me wrong, there is a wonderful freedom in not having permanent beds. You can reconfigure the beds and change sizes whenever you want. Ask me in July when the garden is going gang, busters how I feel about the beds.

Now, I must drink copious amounts of coffee to prepare myself for the drive out to the fairgrounds. I'll let you know about the haul later! Anyone have recipe ideas?