Weekend Farmers Market Trip - March 17

We love the Farmers Market.

We try to go every Saturday.

It was pouring rain last Saturday and we still went.

The one we go to is usually super crowded and sometimes it's a challenge to find parking.

Not this time. Lots of open parking spaces and not crowded at all.

We were totally in luck, too. It pretty much stopped raining when we got there! :D

With my new t-shirt bag that I made the night before, we were ready to get some fresh food.

Here's H. and Y. at the farmer's market (too bad the t-shirt bag didn't make it into the picture)!

One of the things I learned from my friend is how the farmers get to put "organic" on their signs. My understanding is that the term "organic" can only be used by farms that are certified. In order to do that, you have to meet requirements set by the government for years (I forgot the exact number, but CA recently made it more years than before). Those that claim "natural" or "pesticide-free" are not certified organic growers because they haven't gotten their official certification. They may be growing their food naturally for years and years and are just months away from becoming certified organic or they may have just recently gone natural. Someone else told me that you can ask the farmers for their certification. California recently got a lot of press for fake organic farmers at the farmers market. Still, I feel pretty confident about buying produce at the farmers market.

ANYWAY, here's what we bought last weekend!

Strawberries

Kumquats

Grapes

Lemons

Swiss Chard

Brussels Sprouts

Beets

Onions

Asparagus

Mmm!

If you can give me some more insight about the term "organic" please share!