MY FARMER MARKET PRODUCTS

Illustration by: Dennis Heil

Find us at the downtown Sarasota Farmers' Market every Saturday from 7 am to noon, and until 1pm from November through April.  The market is at Main Street and Lemon Avenue, downtown Sarasota.  My booth is located about four booths SOUTH of Main Street, on the EAST side of Lemon Avenue.  I am the only vendor who has been selling here since the market began in March of 1979!
 
We carry only produce and plants which are BOTH local and organic...and I have a strict definition of "local".  From November to June, we emphasize lots of different leafy greens, both the salad type and the cooking type.  Various lettuces, arugula, spinach, fancy kale, and baby bok choy are examples of some of the most popular.  When it gets too hot for the cool season vegetables in June, we still have honeys, some of the herbs, other plants, and fruit (see below).  All the produce is either grown by myself or other local organic growers.
 
We also have a variety of in-season fruits, from common types of citrus, to unusual citrus, to rare and strange tropicals.  Summer brings wonderful treats like lychees, mangos, and avocados. These are constantly changing, each week usually being different from the last.
 
In the plant department, we feature the most well-known culinary herbs, along with a few other novelties from time to time.  We have 5 to 6 hot months here when many of these herbs don't grow well and during those times I don't carry them.  So the herb selection is also seasonal.  I grow these myself using organic methods.
 
Our other featured department is honeys and related products like beeswax and no-sugar jams.  I produce some of the honey myself and obtain others either from the beekeeper or from the distributor.  We try to always have local honey, with everything else coming from within the state of Florida.  Our normal selection includes orange blossom, palmetto, tupelo, and wildflower types.
 
You can also purchase signed copies of my book The Real Dirt, an Organic Grower's Journey and the Values that Inspired it at this market.