8 replies to this topic

[Free Wilma]

Today was strawberry day at the Mt. Vernon market...and they were beautiful! Asapargus was $3.00 and I got a bunch of Twin Springs tomatoes. Granted, they're not as perfect (or cheap) as heirlooms in August.....but for the end of May, they make a pretty tasty BLT (wiping the crumbs from the corner of my mouth!). The Buffalo meat guy was back again. He wasn't there the last time I went two weeks ago. I was sorely tempted by his cilantro chorizo pork sausages. I'll have to plan my spending better next week and include him in the budget!

Edited by Free Wilma, 31 May 2005 - 01:17 PM.

[Biscuit Girl]

The Farmer's Market in Mt Vernon opened for the season yesterday! Most of the same vendors are back. A few haven't returned and I overheard one vendor taking about a possible newbie coming later this season.

A majority of what was available were plants, herbs and flowers. Veggies included asparagus; sugar snap peas; spring onions; lettuce, spinach and more. I bought some green leaf lettuce that look lusciously tender and tasty.

Fruits included strawberries, expensive but very tasty - most were selling for $5 or higher. I bought two boxes so I could make some freezer jam (unless we eat them all first).

Also had not one but two places selling pie, bread and other baked goods. One of these two vendors even had farm fresh eggs in a variety of colors from white to cream to blue. I bought a round pan of bread pudding from one of the vendors and we had some last night, very tasty.

Parking can be tricky as the market is in the parking lot of the Sherwood Regional Library but I found that going early as in right after they open, parking is a bit easier.

[Robert Clair]

... as a former somewhat recent patient at the Alexandria/Mt Vernon/Inova hospital, and then the Hinson Farms rehab center, we really like starting to go to this. i mean what can we say, it's our neighborhood.

... anyway we're happy with the buffalo folks, and all the veg's, the breads and the pies. this is good, what's not to like.

... parking has not been remotely a problem, except maybe when you're "warding" off mommies in vans with child carriers, and you still have to use a cane

robert clair
alexandria, va 22308

[monavano]

My first visit to the Mount Vernon market was a real pleasure. I saw some familiar faces and a few new ones. It is a cooler alternative to the nearby Kingstowne market on Friday afternoons.
Prices were overall competative and it was especially nice to see an Amish vendor with all the baked goods and meats you would expect.

Berries and cherries of all sorts were plentiful. Apricots and Pluots were at their peak. Corn was fresh and plentiful. I bought half a dozen ears of white corn from Three Way Farm, but they were not as sweet and juicy as the "frosty" variety I've been getting at Kingstowne.

Here’s a list of the vendors and what they were selling.

Three Way Farm (Warsaw, VA)

~Corn, produce, fruits

Westmoreland Berry Farm- (Oak Grove, VA)

~Berries, fruit, produce

Pleasant Field Farm (Hanover, VA)

~The largest selection of produce, including bi-color corn

Valentine’s Country Meats (Orange, VA)

~Part of a Mennonite Amish Church, Valentine’s has meats that are grass fed, no steroids, no antibiotics, no growth hormones. They sell beef whole or half if you want to stock your freezer. Soup bones and organ meat of all kind is stocked in their coolers. Also, an amazing array of baked goods that you would hope to find from Amish vendors including whoopie pies and shoe fly pie and quiche. Free range eggs are $5.

Sunset View Farm (Riva, VA)

~Fruits, vegetables, baked goods.

Cibola Farms(Culpepper, VA)

~Buffalo, Pork, Lamb, Goat and some of the best jerky around.

Grace’sPastries(Herndon, VA)

~Breads, focaccia, pastries.

Twin Springs Fruit Farm(Orrtanna, PA)

~A wide array of berries, peache, apricots, plums and cherries. Tomatoes, corn and onions.

Laurel Grove Farms(Westmoreland Co. VA)

~Vegetables and many unusual herbs used for Latino cooking.

Potomac Vegetable Farms (Vienna, VA)

~Vegetables and fresh herbs.

[Crackpot Gourmet]

Next time you are there, go say hi to Linda and Richard Settle of Sunset View Farms in Reva, VA. Since you are such a fan of Allenberg, I'll point you in the direction of another AWESOME peach grower. I swear by peaches grown by both Richard and Henry (Allenberg). Richard also has some great apricots right now.
Smita

[lperry]

A friend and I dropped by this market this morning on the way to run along the river. Fall fruits are coming in, and I picked up a nice cantaloupe. What I found the most interesting, however, was that there were teachers with their students - first or second grade, maybe - walking through the market learning the names of the vegetables and looking at differences in roots that grew in the ground, fruits that grew on a tree, etc. They were asking questions and talking to the farmers. It was nice to see this type of community involvement.

[Biscuit Girl]

The Mount Vernon Farmer's Market is moving from Tuesdays to Wednesdays. First day is May 4 and runs through November 23, 8:30 to noon.
The change in days is a result of a change in Sherwood Hall Library's hours which hosts the market in its parking lot. They are closed on Wed mornings now due to having hours cut when the libary system's budget got whacked two years in a row.

But the result is library users and market shoppers will no longer have to compete for parking spaces since the library doesn't open until 1:00 on Wednesdays.
Here's the link to the FX County Farmers Markets http://www.fairfaxco...wp-farm-mkt.htm

[monavano]

^^^
Thank you for the post about the market being moved to Wednesday.
********
I went yesterday to the Mt. Vernon market. Got there a little after 9am and it was hopping! The produce is amazing and the prices are quite good compared to markets in or near DC. For example, I bought 2 bunches of purple basil for $1 each.
Westmoreland Berry Farm was flush with pie cherries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries. Also peaches. It was nice to not have to queue up in a line a block long!!
This is an amazing market, so check it out if you can.

[monavano]

Season opener today and thankfully, the rain held off for the overflowing tables. If you are in the area, do check this market out. The variety is good and so are the prices. My haul today included:
Kohlrabi
Sage
Strawberries
Purple-tipped asparagus
Vivaldi potatoes- 5lb bags selling for $.60/lb.
Red leaf lettuce
Valentine's pork tendorloin
Chocolate whoopie pie