I’ve just gotten to know the 3-4 vendors I visit. there is very little turnover or moving of stalls it seems, and folks are very happy to see friendly faces return week after week, so hellos, questions and asking for recommendations go a long way. Plus you sometimes get real treats by asking if there is anything they think is remarkable that week.
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Having grown them for the past few years in a quickly put together raised garden bed, I can tell you they are dead easy to grow and taste amazing that way. It’s pretty great to go “I want salsa” and then going out and picking the items to make the salsa…
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Yeah, there’s one big vendor at the weekly market down the road. I’m quite certain they grow very little, if anything, themselves.
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Seems to me there have been some mighty stiff criticisms about EWG.
… To which the inevitable response must be, “That’s all baseless slander from Big Ag trying to protect its own interests,” so whatever, I’m so very tired.
On that note, isn’t the “nutritionist” term (as opposed to “dietician”) of weighty concern?
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Very much this! Ask where their farm is, ask what else they grow on it, ask if you can visit (even if you don’t intend to) - that tends to weed out the “I go to the local grocery distributor and buy stuff from overseas to sell at this farmers market” crowd.
Also, don’t forget about CSA’s! (same things apply; email and talk to the farmers and confirm their practices.
Again, yes, it sucks that you have to do this, but a little effort upfront will go far. We did all of this in 2019 when we moved to TX and again last year when we relocated to FL.
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Worth noting that one’s own health is only one reason to buy organic foods.
Another reason is to support ecosystem health. Synthetic pesticides — particularly persistent ones — impact the insect base of our food chain directly, and herbicides both directly (many also harm invertebrates) and indirectly (by eliminating all non-crop plants in broad swaths of farmland, they eliminate key food sources for insects).
Some of the “clean 15” are likely low pesticide simply because they don’t require lots of pesticides to grow. Those may still be cool to buy even if ecosystem health is a concern. But others may be low pesticide residue simply because either the types of pesticides used can be readily washed off or because we don’t eat the part the pesticides touch. Note that all of the “dirty dozen” are foods we often eat whole without peeling, while many of the “clean 15” have outsides that we don’t eat, like banana, watermelon, onion, corn, and avocado. Some of those are likely still not great for our ecosystems when grown conventionally, even if they are OK for our personal health.
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IDK…Colin probably tasted the same as any other chicken.
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It’s interesting that corn and papaya are on various clean lists but US conventional production is mostly GMO (also zucchini but I don’t think that’s on any clean lists.) I mean GMO corn very well could have low pesticide exposure. From the outside. Also I believe she can’t find organic hot peppers in grocery stores easily, but those should be all over farmer’s markets.
Anyway, I have a certified organic farm. And for me it’s 2 things mainly. One is, as others have said, is marketing. Most people know (or think they know) what certified organic means so just seeing a sign makes it easy for people. How many people are walking past your stand or market and just not stopping because they don’t see a certified organic sign? And it is expensive, but it’s not that expensive and with USDA and state programs I’ve never actually had to pay the entire fee. The other thing is I sell a lot to certified organic grocery stores and it’s a pain for them to deal with conventional produce so they usually just don’t and only buy certified organic.
“No spray” or “I follow organic practices” is perfectly fine and I have plenty of peers who do that honestly, but there are also farms out there who say that and they’re just flat out lying to you. Or maybe some places pays their market workers a bonus or commission and some of them will say whatever you want to hear to make a sale. At least with certified organic there’s some extra and theoretically independent check on someone’s practices. You can cheat there too of course but it’s not as easy.
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When we visited Cuba a few years ago we learned about how the country has recently become one of the leaders in organic farming practices…after having almost destroyed their entire ecosystem with heavy fertilization in order to keep the cane sugar supply going to the Soviet bloc. After the collapse of communism and the continued western embargo, the importation of nitrogen fertilizers all but evaporated so farmers were forced to return to more natural methods or else the country would literally starve. Now they are the model for other developing nations. (another benefit of eliminating fertilizers is the coral reefs surrounding the island are recovering at an unprecedented rate).
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Having read the article responding to the dirty dozen as a lie - I don’t doubt that a person would have to eat an absurd amount of pesticide-heavy produce in a day to see effects, however that’s not to say there’s no effect to longterm exposure or build-up. It’s also not the only concern - there’s the environmental factors. I’m definitely skeptical of the way that article frames pesticides as no big deal.
Pesticide use and contamination is a reasonable consideration.
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Oh ye of little faith in our corporate gods!
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Worked out okay for Toxie!
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I can’t taste any difference between free-range and battery eggs (my sense of taste is not that good), but I’ve certainly seen a difference. Free range eggs (from backyard hens, so they’ve had plenty of insects and worms along with vegetable matter and commercial feed) have visibly more vibrantly yellow yolks than store-bought eggs.
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I grew jalapeno peppers and cherry tomatoes in the little sandy patch behind my Mojave Desert cinderblock shack. Whatever the cutworms and ants left me became fresh salsa. Yum.
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Cherry tomatoes are a great test of your growing ability and the soil, in my opinion. They grow pretty easily, require very little maintenance, and tend to be very productive plants. Plus they are absolutely delicious to simply pop off the vine, rinse quick, and eat.
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Agreed! And can highly recommend the “sun gold” variety. So yummy.
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There’s a “Japanese Black” i like because they get at least twice as big as regular ones. Big enough for sauces and such. And so many on each plant!
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All right you guys, take it to the gardening thread! 
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Er, um, hey tomatoes are nutritious! Any nutritionist would approve. 
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