Whether you’re growing in your yard, a community plot, or just some pots on your deck or stoop, the farmers’ market is the best place to get your garden started. Plus, growing your own food and flowers from seedlings is an excellent way to save a few bucks, get to know your produce, and support the farmers who feed us. Here’s why:
Healthier Plants
A one-step supply chain from seed to market means less stress on the plant, minimal time in shipping, and better management of the plant’s growth. It also means that actual farmers are the one’s who have been taking care of it so far, and they know what care a baby plant needs to live a long, productive life in your garden. When you start with healthy seedlings, you have a better chance of gardening success!
Expert Advice
Farmers grow varieties that they know will produce well, taste good, and can thrive in our local climate. The seedlings they sell are often the same ones they grow for their own production.
Farmers can also give you advice specific to each plant you choose, from spacing, to pruning, to how to know it’s ready to harvest!
Selection
Small producers at Maine farmers’ markets have the flexibility to choose varieties they know you will love, because they aren’t growing at a massive wholesale scale, and don’t have to stick to just the most popular ones. Plus, every grower at the market has their own preferences, and you get to shop around and get advice from many perspectives! The farmers’ market is where you’ll find specialty varieties unlike anywhere else.
Transparency
When you buy directly from the person who actually grew the plant, you have access to its full pedigree:
-how the plant was grown and cared for
-what’s in its soil
-what was sprayed on it
-who the people doing the growing are, and how they are treated
Community Health
Plants shipped in from other regions, or from large growing operations, can spread diseases and pests that can not only ruin your garden, but spread to other growers in your neighborhood. In 2009, a fungus on plants from a big box store caused a potato crop failure for most of the northeast. Help keep your local farms healthy in more ways than one by choosing local seedlings, too.
Local Economy
When you buy directly from a producer in your community, your money goes to them and their business, not a CEO or shareholder. Your purchase strengthens local farms, and is an investment in their continued existence.