This is what I picked up on Monday, from Wayne's garden. About 9lbs. of tomatoes, 3 lbs. squash, 3 quince, 2lbs. green apples, 1 asian pear, and some amyranth. (I passed on the Indian Blood peaches, since I don't make desserts, but I think next week I'll get some and treat myself to a peach crisp!) I think I spent $25.00!It all started last year.....I have a friend that lives in a "hilly" neighborhood and we met once a week go on an hour long hike, returning one morning from one of those hikes, I spotted this sign in front of the house of one of her neighbors....
... of course I didn't hesitate to quickly retrieve my wallet and buy up all the fresh, vine-ripened, tomatoes I could carry! (The picture above shows Romas, yellow pear and cherry tomatoes that Wayne and I just picked, minutes earlier!) My friend, who doesn't cook much, didn't understand my excitment, and still doesn't take advantage of this offering...hard to believe!
But anyway, if I see any kind of sign or stand selling fresh fruits or veggies from "home gardens", you better believe, I'm stopping to buy whatever is being offered. I routinely buy from Wayne, but all summer long I stop and by green beans, figs, plums, peaches, apricots (apricots are a big time score!), cucumbers, peppers, squash, apples, grapefruits, etc.. Not only are things fresher than store bought, they're cheaper!! Wayne sells his heirloom tomaotes @ 1.50lb., his squash @ .70 lb., and some things like quince, you can't even get at the store, not to mention the different varieties of veggies, (I think Wayne grows at least a dozen types of tomatoes)
This is Wayne standing with the excess from his garden that he so generously offers for sale to friends and neighbors.
This season Wayne invited me into his garden to pick my own tomatoes! Now I only need to get his wife Carolyn to give me a canning lesson!
I have the highest respect for anyone that knows how to garden....it's an incredible amount of work, not to mention talent. I think it's only a fantasy of mine to one day have my own small garden, but with generous, talented, hard working, home gardeners, like Wayne, I can enjoy the fruits of their labor!
8 comments:
Please tell Wayne that I'm amazed with his skill and wish he lived closer to Rocklin!
Wish Wayne lived near me. We have our farmers market but this sounds way more fun! I've never tried quince. I don't think I've seen it here in San DIego.
Leslie,
I'm going to e-mail him this post, so hopefully he'll read your comment!
Lauren,
Next year keep your eyes out for signs, and ask around...specially clients.
Quince is interesting! lol, It's like an apple,(a dried apple), but it has to be cooked, you can't eat it raw. This is the first year I've ever had one!
Tracy, you sound like me when I was in my cooking hay-day! Good times! LOL!
Fawn, Yes, I seem to be having cooking hay-days!
That's awesome! We have a farmer's market here, and I can drive out to farm country in Lancaster... but I don't actually know anyone. Plus the farmer's market is full of shoo fly pie and moon cakes, etc.
Christine,
I know about all the crap, (bread/pastries, etc.) available at Farmers Markets, luckily they "group" all of those booths together at one end of the market...I stay away from that side, lol!!!
Get some good tomatoes, at least, before it's too late, and roast them, they're mighty tasty!
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