Farmers' Market Shopping Made Easy

1. Know Your Seasons

If you know a bit of what to expect when you get there, making decisions at each stall is much easier. Learn what grows in your area when and talk to the growers about what will be coming to market in upcoming weeks.

• General Produce Season Guide
• Find Produce By Season
• Find Seasons By Region

2. Go Early or Go Late

For the best selection, go early. The best goods go first. Popular-but-limited items may even sell out before the day is done. It’s as simple as that.

For the best deals, go late. Farmers and other vendors usually prefer to discount products instead of loading them back up and schlepping them home.

Use these listings to locate a market--and its hours--near you.

• Farmers Markets Listings

3. Bring Big Bags and Small Change

Some vendors offer bags, but they tend to be thin and flimsy plastic ones that groan under the pressure of any substantial produce purchase. Make sure everything gets home without crashing onto the sidewalk or spilling onto the floor of your car by bringing your own sturdy canvas or nylon bags. A backpack can make the hauling easier—especially for weighty or bulky items.

Although vendors will make change, purchases will go easier and faster if you have exact (or close to exact) change. Depending on your area "small change" may mean dimes and nickels in larger urban areas many products are sold in dollar- or fifty cent-increments.

4. Sketch Meals Ahead of Time

Since you know what you’re likely to find at the market, you can do a bit of meal planning and shop accordingly. For example, if local asparagus has just come into season and you can’t get enough, you know you’ll want to eat some steamed, some cooked into a soup, and some sliced raw in a salad. So you’ll know both how many bunches of asparagus to buy and that you’ll also need some spring onions or herbs to add to the soup and some salad greens.

Gather inspiration and recipes below.

• Spring Recipes
• Summer Recipes
• Fall Recipes
• Winter Recipes
• Seasonal Cookbooks

5. Plan For Spontaneity

Yes, you’ll fair better if you plan your trip to the market. However, you need to leave a bit of wiggle room for those cipollini onions you didn’t know would be at market so early, or the golden raspberries you’ve never tried before. Trying new things is part of the fun of going to farmers’ markets.

6. Work In Volume

The best deals at the market are had when you buy in bulk. You’ll enjoy the best flavors and the best prices when you buy lots of whatever is at its harvest peak. How to use it all up? Try new recipes with favorite vegetables or learn the lost art of preserving food. Freezing, canning, and drying are just some of the ways you can save seasonal tastes for later in the year.

7. Think "Whole Foods"

No, not that “Whole Foods.” We mean think in terms of how food grows and comes to the markets without being processed first. Carrots come whole and unpeeled. Beets still have greens (and dirt) attached. Learning to handle just-harvested produce can take some getting used to, but the superior flavor is worth the adjustment.

• How to Clean & Store Lettuces and Greens
• How to Trim Artichokes
• How to Shell Fava Beans
• How to Hull Strawberries
• More Preparation Tips

8. Get Advice

If you find a vegetable that’s new to you and want to give it a try, ask the farmer how to prepare it. For the best tips specifically ask how they like to eat it.

9. Invest in Wheels

If you buy a lot every week, consider acquiring a wheeled cart or wagon (strollers make wonderful conveyances for fruits and vegetables) to get your haul in one trip. (But please, oh please, pay extra attention to fellow shoppers and the stalls as you push or pull your wheels through the market!)

• Great Wheels for the Market

10. Keep It Simple

You’re buying ultra-fresh produce, let its natural flavor show when you cook it. Keep preparations simple. You’ll make cooking easier and you’ll be likely to try (and eat) even more local foods next week.