Marion Square Farmers Market, Charleston, SC
The farmer’s market in Marion Square has been up and running for three weeks now, and it is lovely. I have made my way downtown the past two weeks, and though my first impression wasn’t great and I was a bit disappointed by last week’s picks, I was happy with what I found this week. My green beans were terrible, the collards were wilting on the table and there really weren’t many local offerings, most of the veggies had been trucked up from Florida.
This week was more of a success, partly because I arrived earlier, and it seemed like there was a lot more that had been grown locally. I bought organic asparagus that is two feet long, a huge bunch of collards that I dread having to wash, a head of cabbage, some beautiful okra, and local honey to help with my allergies.
One of the things that had thrown me off about the farmer’s market the week before were all of the other vendors, I’m sort of embarrassed to admit that. After years of the Union Square Green Market, the outdoor markets in Florence, Prato and Rome, the other vendors taking up space where there could be more tomato stands made me feel like I was at a county fair. Who am I?
The crowds also made it seem like a county fair, which is a good thing. These people didn’t come out only to sell their okra to me. Charleston is a city that thrives on tourism, and tourists staying in the local hotels aren’t going to be buying a 2 pound bunch of collard greens to bring back to Teaneck New Jersey, they want to grab a bit to eat, buy a sweetgrass basket and a necklace from a local jewelry designer. It’s all about contributing to the local economy and buying from local vendors at a market is the best way to contribute.
Italicious 
You may have already washed the collards by the time you get this comment, but I’ll leave my suggestion anyway. The best way I’ve found to wash the grit from greens is to fill a sink with cool water and soak the greens – for like an hour! Most of the sand and grit will fall to the bottom. Drain the sink and give them a good rinse. If they are really gritty you can rinse and soak twice.
Looks like your farmer’s market is picking up. Ours is limited to local farmers offering locally grown food only, which is good, but does mean we are sometimes limited to what is offered.
We are still getting mostly late winter and early spring produce here: lots of greens, some root vegetables (radishes, turnips), spring onions.
This post would be great for the Farmer’s Market Report. I hope you’ll consider submitting it: http://toeverymeal.blogspot.com/2009/04/farmers-market-report-april-27th.html