A few posts ago, I lamented the fact that I was to be a garden blogger without a garden. Imagine my delight, though, when I read in the local paper that Oakland Park, FL, has a weekly Farmers Market. In fact, it’s just one of the many towns in south Florida with a Farmers Market. Suddenly, I’m a garden blogger among gardeners.
Join me for a sunset stroll among the stalls, when the warm light and aromas helped turn what’s usually a vacant field into a painter’s palette of home-grown, home-made, organic food.
The first vendor that caught my eye was Jeff’s Produce. It was a banquet of vegetables and fruit in the most brilliant of colors. Sadly, there is no website for the farm — just a sentence from one of the men behind the tables that the farm is located on the Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Tables of plenty.
Tomatoes.
Beets.
Radishes.
Yams.
Now that we’ve had our fill of produce, are you in the mood for something sweet? How about some raw Florida honey?
Honey.
For me, I’ll have some of the homemade jams and jellies, which take on jewel-like tones in the setting sunlight. These were produced by Crafted House.
Jams and jellies.
We may have sampled the sweets, but it’s never too late to plan for tomorrow night’s meal. Just beyond the Crafted House booth is Pappardelle’s, which features a huge assortment of variously shaped and colorful pastas, many of them gluten-free. The company is so new there is not yet a website.
Pastas.
Pasta shapes and colors.
After strolling through the stalls, can you think of anything else that could make this evening even more memorable and enjoyable?
Farmers Market.
Remember that newspaper clipping that advertised this weekly Farmers Market? Well, there was another listing on that same page — the local garden club is holding its meeting (featuring a talk with the head of the local extension office), and the community center is just about a block north of here.
Interested in taking a walk and making it a garden of a night?
Nitty Gritty Dirt Man 
Another thing I see is….sunshine! everything looks wonderful!
It’s great that they schedule the market at the end of the day. They catch a lot of people heading home from work, or those who just want to nibble outdoors. And the warm setting sun also helped!
Love it! Hope the talk capped off an already wonderful evening. Enjoy the sunshine. xo
Hi Stacey! We learned all about proper hedges, pest infestations, and toxic plants! 🙂
Are you still missing your snow-covered garden? 😉
Ha Ha! Actually, I’m missing the hydrangeas and the thrill of seeing the first bits of green pushing up through the ground — but there’s still a lot of snow that must melt before they can be seen.
Everything looks so good including the green grass and sunshine and there’s a garden club too! Enjoy! 🙂
Hi Lee. There is something quite comforting about seeing green. It soothes the soul — and the garden club was the cherry on top of the sundae!
Oh!!! NGD!! Yay!! So glad you found this treat. And the extension office meeting sounds like a delightful field trip too! I hope this wonderful, sunny, happy experience put a burst of sunshine in your heart. I pictured you and Joe rambling happily up the aisles of the market.
Happy for you
Hi Miss Handy. It truly was enlightening — in a sunny garden kind of way! 🙂
Looks like you are going to be right at home and the gardeners will welcome you.
It can easily feel that way — but it is definitely a whole new way to think of gardening. Interesting!
The power of green, especially after so much white. Enjoy…Maureen
Hi Maureen. That’s so true! I’m not sure if it’s me or all gardeners experience this, but I feel a definite rush when a see green. It’s good for the gardener’s soul. 🙂
Hi Kevin. So glad to see that you are settling in! Sounds like you have the best of both worlds…..Florida for a while, then back up to your garden in the north. Enjoy!
Hi Mary! You said it! Now, if only hydrangeas could grow in south Florida. . .
It looks like you’ve found a happy place!!! Exciting things ahead and NO SNOW to shovel!! That tri-colored pasta looked delish. I’m glad you guys are settling in and discovering new places and people! 🙂
Hi Aunt Pat. It’s certainly safe to say that when I see green, I’m in my happy place! 🙂
those tomatoes look awesome !!! are all these veggies already RIPE ???? in Florida at the moment or do they come from abroad ?
In south Florida, we grow veggies (tomatoes, beans, squash, corn, etc. ) from November…into April. It is too hot (day and night), humid and rainy from mid-May through October to grow anything much other than okra and some tropical veggies.
Thanks Mary for your expertise. I’ve learned that there is a different grow cycle here, but I like how you spelled it out.
I’ve learned something new today, thanks !!
You’re welcome! I love learning something new, as well.
Hi Gwennie. You should taste them in a salad! Yes, the produce is all grown in Florida. This is the growing/harvest season.
Someone just explained to me that it is too hot and humid in Florida in the Summermonths to grow veggies such as tomatoes, I knew it was hot in Florida in Summer but I didn’t know it was also humid.
Have a great holiday there and have a lovely weekend !
Hi Gwennie — I wish you the same!
I’m so happy for you to have found a garden club! I think your world just expanded! New people, new broader community and many new experiences like this wonderful winter farmer’s market. I am going to enjoy seeing how you reinvent your interests and hobbies to suit a whole new environment! It’s quite exciting. Your hydrangea and the little green shoots will probably surprise you and do very well…they’ll wait for you! I think you’ll find that hydrangeas will grow year-round in Florida. I am sure you already know that, but it will be fun to see how differently many of your favorites perform with all that sunshine and humidity! I hope you have a good weekend. With all those great fruits and vegetables maybe you should start a cooking blog. LOL!
No, many plants require a cold period for dormancy. Hydrangeas, etc will not grow in south Florida. The palette of plants down here is entirely different from the rest of the continental U.S.
Hi Mary. Thanks for the info. I’m going to have to find a suitable alternative. Any ideas?
The only plants down here (Miami and south of there) that I recognize from the north are: poison ivy, button bush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), elderberry, and Acer rubrum, which can be seen growing in the central area of the everglades.
There is so much to learn — but I’m a willing and wide-eyed student. 🙂
Hi Debra. It’s been great meeting these people who are all full of south Florida gardening advice. For them, it must feel like they’re meeting someone from another planet — a frozen one! Sadly, hydrangeas do not bloom this far south. They need a winter rest — so I’m on a mission to find a suitable replacement. Enjoy the weekend — and if I should start a cooking blog, you’ll be the first to know. 🙂
I’m so glad you found some people! I’d never heard of an evening farmer’s market before. Did they say why or is that normal in some locations?
Hi Plumdirt. The Farmers Market ran from 3:00 pm – 8:00 pm. I’m no sure why that is. I guess it’s because it’s held on a weeknight — and by holding it later in the day, they get more people, especially those coming home from work who want to purchase something fresh and those who want to have a few bites before heading home. It’s a perfect time.
Ah, a week night! That makes much more sense 🙂 Thank you.
I think it’s a great idea!
Glad to hear things are going well with the move! I really wish the best for both of you.
Those vegetables really look almost too good to eat!
Surely there will be one or two plants that will make up for your missing hydrangeas, some people are even a little jealous of the frost free South Florida weather. If you ever start to get bored maybe you can squeeze in a visit and post on the fruit and spice park in Homestead? I visited several years ago and would love to hear your impression.
Hi Bittster. Thanks for the tip about the park in Homestead. I’ll be sure to visit. Right now, I’m in the homework stage of landscaping — and I spent the day yesterday at two nurseries, asking lots of questions, making lists, and thinking. It should be quite the process.
The 25th Annual Asian Cultural Arts Festival is at the Fruit and Spice Park on March 1 and March 2. It is in the middle of the Redland farming area. Oh, Fairchild has an orchid Festival on the following Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Hi Mary. It’s now official. I am putting you in charge of my garden social calendar. 🙂 I will do my absolute best to get there!
Kevin,
Wow! You have so many watching your adventures in your new “digs!” This could be awesome!
Hi Alesia. It’s all about moving forward, one step at a time. 🙂
I see photos of other peoples farmers markets and am instantly transported into paroxysms of jealousy – pure and simple jealousy! I’ll just make do with my turnip 🙂
🙂 And it’s a fine, fine turnip!
Union Square had an awesome Farmer’s Market on Saturday–just saying!!
Hi Maria. 🙂 I’m sure it did.