a trip to the farmers' market

i love a good farmers' market. there is just something about a saturday morning, local foods & farmers that really gets me. i'm sure you have similar feelings.

this weekend, we made a trip to the fayetteville farmers' market. this market is an hour north of us & the best in the area. although the trip to the farmers' market is very different from the bike ride to the market in our old town, it is exciting to know that an abundance of fresh food is so close, especially in this area of the country.

i was charmed by the pale white onions covered under the shade of a tent.

& the fennel stacked neatly for the taking. i purchased one & look forward to roasting it alongside a whole chicken tonight.

the textured leaves of this gourmet-variety cabbage are beautiful.

while we are still waiting for our bounty from the garden in our own backyard, we can thankfully rely on our farmers & their hard work.

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in other news, i wanted to share something interesting happening around here. deep into the month of july, arkansas is usually brimming with fresh tomatoes of all varieties. at the farmers' market in fayetteville, though, we noticed only a handful of farmers selling green tomatoes & only a couple with small, ripe tomatoes. this is also happening at the research & education farm, the kerr center for sustainable agriculture, where luke works. due to the high heats of 105 degrees lasting most of the day, our tomato plants are suffering & unable to produce. the knowledge that cold temperatures can damage tomato plants is also applied to very hot temperatures, too. flowers may bloom on the plants, but fruit never sets. in extreme conditions, blossom drop can occur.

thankfully, in our own garden, we have spotted two tomatoes. our nine plants are still holding onto their blossoms & growing by the day. it will be interesting to see what happens as this drought continues in the south.