Oooh! Farmer's Markets

I was just catching up on reading and I found an article about the neighboring town's farmer's market starting up for the season! This reminded me of when I used to go to the Hoboken Farmer's Market. It was a strange site; young yuppies in business suits hauling home bags of leeks and strawberries. I always felt a bit overwhelmed by all the selection and rather wilted-looking retailers. Despite these misgivings, I have some noble plans to haunt the local markets, in search of the perfect tomato (which might inspire me to actually grow my own).

This actually reminds me of a bizarre and kind of disgusting story... My sister, who has a magic green thumb, lives in Pepperell, MA and has access to town mulch from the sewer treatment plant (it's best not to ask too many questions). She gets ungodly amounts of this stuff for ridiculously cheap, and grows some gorgeous flowers in her front lawn. One day, she noticed a curious weed growing out front, and thought it looked suspicously like a corn stalk. Rather than pulling the weed, she decided to let it grow (it's foliage was pretty, in her mind), and lo, and behold, it turned out to be corn! Needless to say, I always wear gloves when I help her out in the yard.

-SG