The Capital Region Farmers Market wants your feedback

damien, you’re trolling right?
Otherwise there are certain requirements that need to be met to acquire organic certification such as use of natural growing methods, IE no chemicals, pesticides herbicides etc.

all fruit and vegetables are organic. what did you expect them to say – no my potatoes are made of quartz.

its strange people have told me all the stall holders at the market are organic or chemical free or low spray. so when I found that only one was organic it made me wonder why people think otherwise?

G’day Damien.. What rock do yoou live under? Is it in Canberra or on another planet?

all fruit and vegetables are organic. do you think they are made from stainless steel or some non-organic material ?

went to the farmers markets today and was supprised to find that there was only one (1) vendor selling certified Organic Veg, I thought there would be a lot more givin it is supposed to be a growth industry.

I asked a few other vendors who all said they use” minimal chemicals” what ever that means. I guess I would not use more than I have to of anything.

Don’t forget the warm inner glow you get from sticking it right up Woolworths!

They should install some ‘shop here and stick it right up Woolworths!!’ signs to enhance that feeling.

Shopping is a social activity – think about why ‘Malls’ were built if not to bring people literally closer together with a common purpose [to spend money] in an environment which may, for some these days, represent their ‘community’…?

The Farmers Markets is a collection of stallholders who have grown their products and / or value added to them and enjoy a relationship with the people who purchase their goods. This is definitely a social activity and the sort I really enjoy…rather than trying to hold a conversation with a bored and brainless shop assistant who cares more about what colour they’ll next dye their hair.

There may be the odd charlatan amongst the stallholders but they are soon exposed and, dare I say…….weeded out!

For anyone who has actually grown some of their own food, you will understand what is required to continue producing high quality, nourishing and delicious food week-after-week……I am so grateful to have a market of excellent quality stalls, produce, variety, tastes, characters and FUN…….yep…..being at the Market at 0700 each Saturday is a highlight of my week……just wish I had time to sit and have a coffee!

johnboy it seems the email is a fake, so i will have to rely on my own experience.

the markets are great if you want boutique food stuff, but they have difted from the original idea that was brought forward by one farmer who had had enough of the Bus Depot markets. The canberra farmers markets are now very simular to the bus depot soon they will allow in craft items to keep the stall numbers up as less and less real farmers go.

I go to the Southside market as it’s closer to home. The stall holder that I get bananas from tells me they swap a case of their local produce for a case of bananas with a Coffs Harbour grower when they meet up once a fortnight. Fine by me, saves me going to the supermarket just to get bananas (skipping the bananas is not an option – toddler loves them).
I also like the purple carrots and cauliflower from the heritage vegie grower – great way to entice kids to eat vegies is get them in a different colour.

It’s nice to have famer’s markets around. I hate going to the mall, market vegie shopping is much more pleasant. Oh, and it’s fun to play spot-the-sling – I bump into other parents with babies on their backs more often than I would in the mall.

I wish they would extend it thru to 12.00 and start serving lunch.

And for the inner north people, EPIC is closer than Belco or Fyshwick anyway.

I once bought a bag of tomatoes that were not home grown (unless they were hydroponic rubbish), but otherwise I’ve been happy.

And you can get all sorts of things that you can’t get at woolies – asian herbs and veg, and windfall apples for cooking, mini beetroot etc etc. As well as the organic/free-range meat.

pepmeup said :

I’d go to the fyswick or belconnen markets the stuff all comes from the same place.

This is not true. There is definitely stuff which is the same as fyshwick or belconnen — some it identified as such, some not.

But there is a bunch of stuff there that is simply not on sale at the other markets. That’s what I go there for, and what I wish they would focus on.

I’m not convinced that the coffee shops etc add much – but maybe they increase attendance enough to make it viable.

Its a load of effort for them to have to police the growers, but unfortunately that is what is required.

It’d be great if the excellent regional meat suppliers were joined by a fresh fish stall!

Never been to the one at natex. But I do use the one at Woden, weather and motivation permitting.

But on the stuff white people like reference, I assume the Canberra equivalent is a Greens voter ie I’m being concerned for the environment despite owning a number of plasma tvs, surround sound system, a toyota kluger, a coffee machine, disposable nappies on the kids…

Oh god, not the week for secret emails!

johnboy I also have an email implicating people all the way up the ladder.

No truley my other evidence is going to the market each week and checking it out. there are about 5 or 6 people selling only veg they grow, there is more legit fruit there than veg. have a talk to a few people and take the blinkers off people.

I also woundder how long it will be before the tax office start asking questions, not many invoices floating around ou there!

So pepmeup your evidence is one vendor, who was caught by the compliance program?

Not exactly compelling.

sepi, there was one stall holder from gundaroo selling veg at the markets, they had red caps and eggplant about a month ago, when the organisers said they were going to visit there magical farm in gundaroo the stall holders said “don’t worry we wont come back” ask the macadamia nut man about them.

but yeas there may be some local growers but they don’t seem to sell at these markets, or if they do they add in a lot of other stuff.

It’s also good that small producers can have a regular outlet for selling their stuff, rather than having to sell it for pennies to the big markets/wholesalers. And I like the pickle and bread makers that start up… markets allow these people to have a useful, reliable outlet.

Let’s have more! (like in Qbn… nag nag).

I think the veg is better at the Epic markets. Why wouldn’t most of it be local – there are plenty of local producers – have you ever been to Gundaroo or any of the local producers?

I like the music and the value added cakes etc too.

Yes I am white – so what??

And naturally I am beautiful.

Canberra doesnnto have a farmers market, a majority of what is available at the markets at epic are not grown of produced any where near Canberra. Its a place that the “beautiful people go to be seen(and non of them are very beautiful on the outside anyway). Save your time and money and go to the fyswick or belconnen markets the stuff all comes from the same place.

snikers I checked out the Stuff white people like, classic.

It is very true of these markets, in the start they were great customers would get there and buy heaps of great fresh produce, then it became cool to go to the markets, the organisers started getting bands and buskers in, people started going to the markets to catch up with people for a coffee.

A lot of the stall holders now dislike it and believe that it is becoming another old bus depot markets.

But the fruit sellers and value adders (read sauces, jams and oils) love it because people still buy this kind of stuff there. Also the flowers fresh doen from the sydney flower markets seem to do well, and we cant forget the fish straight from the bega co op (no not the fisherman the co op)

If the markts do extend there hours it will be the very and of them as a farmers markets and the final step in the evolution to a tourist market.

I love the farmers’ markets – but the early rise is very off putting on a Saturday Morning! Sometimes it seems the stall holder are even starting to sell out at 8 (the markets only officially start at 8!) because of all those eager beavers who are obviously getting ther at 6 am!

I used to be proud to go to the farmers’ markets – however after reading the entry on Stuff White People like – I feel a little ashamed.

To acquaint yourself with what I’m talking about check out http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/01/18/5-farmers-markets/

PS i note that the Canberrans like to arrive at the farmers markets – not with their expensive strollers, but instead on expensive (or cheap) bikes with child-mobiles (usually expensive) attached to the back. Recyclable shopping bags are a must!

If it’s anything like the Southside ones, longer hours won’t work as lots of stallholders sell out before it’s time to shut down.

Eggsellent!
I’m going to suggest longer opening hours, for those of us who can never make it there (up the road) by 10.30.

http://shop.realchai.com.au/

What can I tell you? I’m addicted!

I wish they’d come back to Qbn. They used to do the mornings at Epic, and then come to the Qbn showgrounds, and it was excellent. Then for soem reason they moved to the bird-poo park next to Riverside, and it went downhill and then closed.