About a month ago, farmers markets made an appearance on the DC scene.  Produce was limited at first, and markets boasted mainly preserves, spring lettuces, and fruit from last year.  But things are picking up significantly, and as the weather continues to heat up, the selection of fresh fruits and vegetables is increasing.

Washington, DC is home to many farmers markets, and though some of the vendors overlap, each market has a slightly different feel.

My recent visit to the U street farmers market was a happy accident.  I hadn’t planned on going to the market, but I had just dropped my bike off for repairs, and found myself on foot only a few blocks away.  I got some things that I don’t ordinarily cook (turnips and collard greens), but they looked so tasty I couldn’t resist.  After getting unreasonably excited about an epazote plant, I wandered in the general direction of my neighborhood, thinking that I had already purchased as much as I could comfortably carry all the way back to my house.  But I didn’t quite make it out of the market…

I am an asparagus fiend.  Not only are they delicious, asparagus are one of the first vegetables to signal an end to winter, and the beginning of warm weather crops.  Yet in only a few short weeks, asparagus will be replaced with peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, summer squash, and then cherries, blackberries, peaches….

The great thing about farmers markets is that they remind us about seasons. We are accustomed to buying the same fruits and vegetables year round.  But when we buy asparagus in the dead of winter, not only do they come from thousands of miles away and take unreasonable amounts of energy to transport, they don’t taste nearly as good.  How could they, really?  I can’t imagine that countless hours on buses, trains, planes, and trucks do a whole lot for the freshness and flavor of a vegetable.

We rarely think about our food choices as having an impact on our energy consumption.  We think about how high our air conditioning is turned up, or how many miles to the gallon our cars get, but food choices also matter. Even if we can’t always buy produce from a farmers market, making an effort to eat produce that is in season reduces the amount of energy needed to get that food from a farm and onto our tables.

…I bought a bunch of asparagus, thinking that this could be my last bunch of the summer.  It would be untrue if I said I wasn’t a little bit sad that asparagus are phasing out, but it’s hard to be too down when I think of all of the other fruits and vegetables that are slowly ripening on bushes and vines in nearby farms.  Besides, when it finally comes time to eat asparagus again next year, the anticipation will make them taste even more delectable.

This Saturday, June 5th, check out the opening of the Columbia Heights Community Marketplace. In addition to food, there will also be speeches from Mayor and local politicians, live music, and other performances!

Which DC farmers market do you recommend?