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Hi- I know Kublicks were selling sweet cherries this last Saturday too, but by the time I got there, they were long sold out. I am not sure how much they were asking for them. I titally trust Kublick's, and so I am sure that they were from their own farm. They would not sell Western cherries, and there is nobody else in Michigan they can buy cherries from this year. I won't mention any names, but there are a few growers that I could see buying Western cherries, and passing them off as their own. Firsts, Kublicks, and Koeningshofs I know personally, and they would never try to pull that trick. I trust Seedlings and Dongvillos too. From what I understand, some farmer's markets have given Michigan farmer's permission to sell shipped in fruit for this season only, as long as they market it as such. If you want sweet cherries this Saturday, you better get there early, because it is going to be really slim pickings. Hope this helps, Nancy

. . . which totally defeats the point of going to a local farmers market! What's next - mangos? Pineapples?

As we say on the Twitter, #SMDH

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Food & Flowers: Andre Jordan's sweet doodle for a cold winter's day; diary of an unhappy restaurateur, circa 1881; winter project - try a terrarium

One season only. Marketed as such. Seems pretty clear that it's a well-defined compromise. Sundevilpeg--does YOUR livelihood depend on seasonal fruit sales--if not, I'd say you have the right to decide what to buy but not what to sell. Just my opinion.

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“The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty sure they’re going to have some pretty annoying virtues.” Elizabeth Taylor

There was a good supply of cherries at the Andersonville market this past Wednesday.

I understand how you feel, but I'm also all for farmers markets selling a selection of shipped in fruit and vegetables (and restrict the percentage of what they ship in). A lot of times I buy almost everything I need to to make a meal at a farmers market, but then I have to do a second run to a grocery store for a few more items. Just being able to get lemons at a market would help me tremendously with that problem.

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Nonsense. It is simply unethical to re-sell fruit from a wholesaler at a farmers market as being 'local,' and charging the aforementioned sky-high price; it undermines every principle of what a good farmers market should stand for. The new market manager of the Evanston farmers market, a long-time City of Evanston bureaucrat, has publicly stated that she has no experience in the field nor knowledge of farming, and has unwittingly lowered the previously high ethical standards of the market. A vendor trying such nonsense at the Dane County Farmers Market would be banned from the market for doing so.

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Food & Flowers: Andre Jordan's sweet doodle for a cold winter's day; diary of an unhappy restaurateur, circa 1881; winter project - try a terrarium

Hi- I broke down and paid $6 for one pint pf sweet cherries this morning at the Evanston market. The farmer I bought them from, when asked if he was going to have any sweet cherries next week, it sounds like he does not have any more cherries, and he says that local sweet cherries are wholesaling for $4.50 a pound, and that is if you can find them. I think that all the cherries I saw today were homegrown, and they were all going for $6 a pint, or 2/$11. BTW the cherries I bought today were wonderful, but my budget will not allow me to buy more. One of the farmers there told me that he heard that another farmer there was selling Georgia peaches there. I asked him if they were marked as shipped in, and he did not know. I did not see the peaches myself. I did see one lone pint of apricots for $6 too. The farmer said that she only had a few. My sister's apricot crop completely froze out, but she only had a few trees. They might have blueberries starting next week. I've heard there is about 50% of a blueberry crop this year in Michigan. I would not be surprised if New Jersey has a smaller than usual crop of blueberries this season too, because my sister said that Pennsylvania got a lot of frost damage too.

The strawberries are winding down, with this hot weather we are having right now. I suspect that there are going to be a lot less strawberries next week, and they are going to sell out quick. Hope this helps, Nancy

Hi- You will not see lemons at the Evanston market. I think the only thing that the farmer's markets will allow you to sell this year shipped in are items such as peaches and cherries that are in extremely short supply this year. I have been to and have sold at the Eastern market in Detroit. It is the wholesale market for the Detroit area, and on Saturday's they open it up for retail. When you sign up for a stall there, they ask you if everything was grown by the person selling. I have been there a few times during the off season when I have seen people selling citrus and bananas.. I guess you could say that the policy is not enforced very well. Hope this helps, Nancy

EFM Update: I bought peonies today, Nancy. Same variety that I grow. Mine bloomed a month ago - and the vendor was one that I had another grower rat out to me well before the current regime took over. Draw your own conclusions as to where these came from.

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Food & Flowers: Andre Jordan's sweet doodle for a cold winter's day; diary of an unhappy restaurateur, circa 1881; winter project - try a terrarium

Hi- I think I know who you are talking about, because I saw somebody selling some really nice peonies, and the flowers were individually wrapped. That booth custom makes a bouquet for you too.

There used to be a gentleman that sold flowers there every week for $3 a bunch, including pussywillows, and then he would mark them down to $1 at the end of the market. I just knew that those flowers were not his own, and one of the Michigan growers that sells flowers along with a lot of fruits and veggies, confirmed my suspicions.

Today at the Wicker Park market I saw some sour cherries at Nichols (not too many) and none at Seedling.

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Hi- It sounds like Seedlings aren't going to be selling any cherries this summer. They don't know yet if they are going to be pressing any cider this fall.

What kills me is that people that never go to the farmer's market have no idea that the fruit crops in the midwest this summer are in short supply. I was in Aldi's Friday with a friend of mine, who does most of her shopping there, and they had peaches for 39 cents a pound. I am sure they tasted like cardboard, and that they either came from California or Georgia. Most Aldi's shoppers would refuse to pay the price Michigan peaches are going to command at the farmer's markets, and if Aldi's does not have peaches, then they will just buy $1.19 a carton strawberries from California. We get people who come into our upick and fruitstand all the time, who are shocked because we are charging more for peaches than Jewel is, because Jewel is lost leadering them. Neither Jewel or Dominick's ever carries local peaches anyway.

Michigan sweet cherries are going for $4.50 a pound wholesale right now when you can find them, and I saw Western cherries on sale at Jewel this week for $2.99 a pound.

Hope this helps, Nancy