A Sad Adieu....

My Last Tomatoes, Sept. 2010

Here they are:  3 of the last tomatoes from my deck garden for the 2010 growing season. In my travels over  the past few days, I have been stopping in @ any farmer's market and farm stand that I can find. Chatting with farmers and gardeners and talking to them about what is happening. And what is happening is that it is now Fall. Summer is officially over and we are moving into the colder, darker part of the year. I am very happy to say that I made a real effort over these past few months to shop and buy local. The fresh produce portion of my grocery bill for the past 5 months was all spent @ local farm stands and farmer's markets.  I tried to get to the East Hampton market on Friday mornings when I could. That market was the biggest here and had the most variety of products. In addition to vegetables and flowers, there was fish, homemade bread and pasta, honey and other bee products and the Pickle Man. I first heard about him from people who were basically freaking out and talking about his pickles as though he were a drug dealer!  His New Pickles are something you could easily get addicted to and you probably won't get in trouble with the law for eating too many of them. 

Coincidentally, I am also just about to finish a wonderful book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. This is the tale of Ms. Kingsolver's family as they made their way through an entire year of eating locally (most of their food was grown or raised by themselves). It is brimming with information about how they did it, and about how you can do it. I am not far enough along yet to be canning and putting things up in the freezer. However, I was inspired enough to spend a good portion of  my grocery money on locally grown food. I was also inspired enough that I am considering growing more food on my deck next season (lettuces, herbs, scallions, etc.). 

So, as we move into Fall, I feel enlightened, for the first time really, about everything shifts from season to season.  I have a heightened awareness and respect for all things around me in the natural world. The farmer's markets don't just support local growers, they also serve as links to our neighbors. If I buy my lettuce @ the A&P, I might have a conversation with the checkout girl about her day, but chances are she doesn't know much about the origin of the food she just rang up for me. However, if I buy my lettuce @ the farm stand, I can have a conversation with the person who grew it, who is a neighbor of mine--a member of my community. So in addition to just purchasing food from local people, I have had an opportunity to make new acquaintances. I have been educated and inspired by them. I will say a fond farewell to the greens and tomatoes as the root vegetables move into the farmer's markets. And, as my food consciousness continues to evolve, I eagerly await next year's planting season with great visions of how to improve on this newfound knowledge I am so grateful to have acquired.

Expect good things....