I may have returned to Arkansas a few nights ago, but the adventures from our trip still need to be shared. This one is one of my favorites.

The local Farmers Markets are always a treat. It's a chance to get some amazing fresh produce, taste some incredible food, and meet some interesting people. I cannot wait until we start running our own booth at a Farmers Market one day. We used to frequent this market when we lived in this town, and our reasons for coming were many.

This particular one happens on Thursdays and Saturdays and features a good variety of produce and other items. Of course shopping for food was the main reason that we came, and we really appreciated the option to purchase food from markets like this. Not only does it provide us with food that is more fresh than what is often available at the local grocery stores, the fact the the food is locally grown is also beneficial.

For one, it means that a lot of bacteria that the food was exposed to as it grew is a lot of the same bacteria that the locals are exposed to as they live. There are both "good" and "bad" bacteria, but local bacteria is easier to deal with in general, since your body is already accustomed to dealing with it. When you are exposed to "foreign" bacteria that your body has not encountered before, this is often when illness will occur. Many people will get sick during or after vacationing for this reason.

These local markets are also good for the local economy. It puts money directly into the pockets of local growers and that money will likely be spend in the same community as well. Another advantage to the local market can be variety. Personally, I like a lot of variety. Any strange or uncommon food that a local is growing can be sold at a market like this.

In the Wisconsin Rapids area, many of the local growers are Hmong people, which came to the area from places like Laos and Vietnam a generation or two ago. Not only do they grow a lot of their own food for their own families, they often grow extra to sell, which gives me the opportunity to diversify the produce that I eat.

Each table at the Farmers Market almost becomes its own little world. You can also get a general idea about the farmer from the table as well. If the table is covered in peppers and salsa, you can guess that it is the type of booth that guys like @papa-pepper and @noganoo have probably spent some serious time at. We've definitely met some of these growers frequently over the years and some have become more than just acquaintances.

I enjoy how inviting some of the booths are as well. The combination of colors and sizes can be attractive. Once we begin to run a booth one day, I plan on combining the traditional with the fantastic. I plan on carrying the staples like Green Bell Peppers, Tomatoes, Carrots, and Squash. However, many booths feature those same items. If I also have things like Kiwano, Chinese Red Noodle Beans, Figs, Pitaya, and GAC Fruit, I'll definitely attract some additional attention. If I can draw them in with the interesting, perhaps they will also choose to purchase the regular from me as well. We will see.

Since I also will purchase fruits and vegetables as a way of obtaining seeds, it is excellent to have such a variety of the same produce as well. In a way, you are free to "interview" the farmers about where they get their seeds and how they grow their produce when it comes to things like pesticides and fertilizers.

I prefer those who grow as naturally and organically as possible and save their own heirloom seeds. Since the same method is my goal, those farmers have helped get the process started for me. If you are a local at a local market and purchasing produce to get your own seeds as well as some food, another benefit with locally grown heirloom varieties is that they are already acclimated to your area, which can be a huge bonus when considering things like disease resistance and yields.

It is so enjoyable for me to watch my children respond to some of the different things that they see. The sizes, shapes, and colors of pumpkins and gourds always seem to attract some attention from the little ones. Some have become representatives of the fall and harvest season.

We like to pick some up for decoration, but unless the ornamental gourds are really cheap, we usually pick up edible ones for the purpose of decor. That way we can look at them and enjoy them visually for a while, but still eat them eventually as well. I really don't like to just purchase something and watch it rot, so we prefer this method a lot better. Multipurpose produce is great!

Variety in peppers is another specific benefit that @papa-pepper appreciates about the local Farmers Market. In Wisconsin Rapids, the market is blessed to have growers from several pepper-appreciating ethnic groups including those originally from Asia and Mexico. I'm always down for enjoying some new varieties or getting to taste a familiar pepper from the garden of another. Many will fall into that category that lies between the mainstream common varieties and the incredibly rare ones. Many of these peppers I am already growing, but it is still nice to see others doing likewise.

Because many peppers can be similar in appearance, it is good to make sure that the pepper you are purchasing is the pepper that you think it is. The heat range can really vary even within a certain kind of pepper, so always ask the grower. Also, varieties like "Suave" peppers can throw you off. A "Suave" Habanero has the size, shape, color, and aroma of a regular Habanero; it just lacks the heat.

These are the peppers that I ended up coming home with. Some were purchased and some were gifted to me, and I'm still sorting through them, both eating them and saving the seeds.

Though there were not many people selling crafts at the market this time, a couple were selling bouquets of flowers. I remember having our house in this town, which we wrapped in perennial flower gardens. Whenever we so pleased we could make wonderful arrangements of fresh cut flowers. I suspect that many of these were not home-grown, but that does not take away from their beauty.

My children enjoyed watching the process of selecting different varieties, cutting the stems to length, and arranging the flowers in an attractive manner. Not only did these flowers give those shopping at the market more options of things to purchase, they sure added a little more color to the market.

These fingerling potatoes are among some of the great produce that I had to pass up this time. If I had been living in town, I would have bought some and made and excellent stew, but we were on vacation and on the road with limited space in the vehicle. Note their size in comparison to the Baby Reds on the right. Even Baby Reds are smaller than the traditional Russets, so these fingering potatoes are much smaller.

Edible winter squash varieties are another great option. Once we provide a lot more of our own food and build a root cellar, we will be depending on a good harvest of foods like this every fall to help us make it through the winter. Acorn, Butternut, Spaghetti and Delicata are some of our favorites.

Many of you may be familiar with the Daikon Radish. It is not the biggest variety, but it is much larger than the little salad varieties. When building up and working a soil, Daikons are often used. Since they grown deep, they can be used to break up and aerate a hard, rocky soil. This helps prepare the soil for growing other types of plants. Since I like to eat them too, they will be a multipurpose plant that we will be growing.

Here are some pictures of the pile of produce @papa-pepper picked and purchased. It is such a blessing to consider how many of these foods were only available in certain locations around the globe. Many people would never be able to see or taste those varieties, and if they wanted to, they came with a big price tag. Personally, I'm glad such days are gone and plan on taking full advantage of many of the varieties available to me these days.

These Eggplant varieties are one good example of the diversity available within a specific kind of food. The big, purple, traditional eggplant is mostly what you will find at the grocery stores in America. So many other shapes, sizes, and colors exist, but many never get to experience these. I'll be eating these ones and saving the seeds. Hopefully I can one day offer all these varieties and several others from a booth in a Farmer's Market around here. Once we do, I'll be sure to blog about the experience. Perhaps it will even happen next year!

Of all the wonderful things that I experienced at the Farmers Market, it was the generosity of the people that impressed me most. Time and time again, farmers chose to give me a sampling of their produce. I'd pick out a few items, we'd talk a bit, and then out of nowhere, free gift.

Everything you see in this picture was given to me. Time and time again after talking for a bit, a grower would choose to bless me. Many times, I went back to the truck and grabbed some peppers like the Chocolate Ghost and Carolina Reaper and gave them a gift in return. Sometimes, they even wanted to pay me! Of course, I refused. I know that those peppers that I gave them will be enjoyed, the seeds will be saved, and next year they may even start selling those varieties. They know that may family will be enjoying their gift and we will appreciate their generosity when we get to eat it.

If you ever really need some great food for an excellent price, I'd suggest making your purchases right about closing time. Many of the growers are eager to make a few more bucks and have less produce to pack up. When they are willing to offer this option, I don't really think that it is taking advantage of them. It's their choice to offer and your choice to accept. I've never intentionally tried this, but it has happened to work out that way, so I thought that I would mention it.

My favorite free gift that day was these Jicamas. I had never eaten them before. One man sliced one up when we were at his booth and gave each of my children and me a slice. We all ate the whole thing. Before I could even purchase some, he had already given us a bunch. I was very pleased to finally meet this food, and we plan on growing our own in the future. What a blessing!

It was also here at this Farmers Market that I received the phone call from my wife notifying me that we were pregnant with out fifth child. Now, there is another special memory for me and my family specifically tied to this Farmers Market.

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As always, I'm @papa-pepper, and here's the proof:

proof-of-market

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