Make sure to ask your vendor

By Rennie Phillips

There are literally hundreds if not thousands of varieties of vegetables we either grow ourselves or buy from local merchants or vendors. These range from heirlooms that are centuries old to hybrids that are being developed almost weekly. Most of these vegetables are beautiful, but just being pretty doesn't mean the taste will be as outstanding.

Probably the first test for me when I buy a vegetable is what time of year it is. In our area from about June 1 through September, most vegetables will be available, with many of them being locally grown.

One can buy most cool-season crops, such as broccoli or cauliflower, beginning about the first of June. A few locally grown tomatoes will be available during the first part of June as well. Normally, these will be greenhouse tomatoes and will be a variety specially bred for greenhouse production.

If I go to the store or farmers market and there are vegetables there that are too early for the season or the time of the year, I'm suspicious.

For instance, if there are beautiful tomatoes for sale the first part of June or even back into May, it sends up a red flag to me. That's too early for tomatoes. Most will be shipped in from Mexico or some of the southern states.

The second test for me is where I'm buying them or from whom I'm buying them. If I'm buying them from a big-box store, I am suspicious. If I am really hungry for that veggie, I'll buy a small amount and give them a try. For example, if it's a tomato, I buy one or two and try them.

If the sale is at a farmers market or vegetable stand, I ask the vendor where their products come from. Are they grown locally, or where are they shipped from?

If the veggie you are buying is tomatoes (especially tomatoes) and they are shipped from somewhere, they almost certainly will be fairly hard. They have to be firm to withstand the shipping.

When my wife and I buy tomatoes in the winter, we buy Romas. Romas tend to be the only tomato, in our opinion, with a decent taste during the offseason.

Cucumbers can be shipped without significant damage. During the offseason, we buy the English-style cucumbers, with most of them being individually wrapped. They cost a little more but are far better in taste and texture. Most of these are from Mexico.

One other test for me, and this is just my opinion, is to check out the display of veggies, especially tomatoes.

Are the tomatoes stacked two or three or four deep, or are they all in a single layer? If the tomatoes are stacked four or five deep, they have to be fairly firm tomatoes, or they would bruise. A ripe, good-tasting tomato will bruise from the weight of another tomato.

Are all the tomatoes the same size and shape? Tomatoes don't all grow the same size and shape. Check for blemishes. A homegrown tomato will have cracks around the stem end.

The most important test for me is simply asking the vendor. Talk to those who are selling the vegetables and find out where they are grown, how they are grown and what variety they are. I want to know whether the veggies I'm going to buy are grown in Illinois or Arkansas or Mexico or California or locally.

If they are grown locally, then where? Ask how they are grown. Are they grown in hothouses? Are they grown in high tunnels? Are they field grown? And, last of all, what variety are they? If vendors don't know the variety, they haven't done their homework.

If someone walks up to a counter with tomatoes or cucumbers for sale and asks questions about the veggies, the vendor should be able to answer them. If you ask about a tomato, the vendor should be able to say it was grown down by Scott City or over at Anna, Illinois.

The vendor also should be able to say whether it is a Jet Star or Brandywine or Beefsteak.

If you ask about a cucumber, the vendor should know whether it's a Straight 8 or Marketmore or Jade or General Lee. Ask if it's burpless or seedless. If they don't know, see if they will find out.

My wife helps me sell produce, and usually she doesn't know the specific variety I raise, but she will ask me for help. See if the vendor will find out.

The final and last test for me is, do you trust your vendor and/or grower? Get to know your vendor or grower and ask about their use of pesticides.

Do they regularly use pesticides or herbicides around and in their gardens? Do they use fungicides, and which ones do they use?

In our area of Southeast Missouri, one can get by without harmful pesticides, but fungicides are almost a must.

Do they use BT on their crops like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower or tomatoes? Check out BT. Know the danger of using Sevin or carbaryl.

Ask if there is a time you can visit the farm the veggies are grown on. See if the vendor would be willing to set up a time for you to visit and look at their growing veggies.

Some vendors or growers will not be accommodating, and I can totally understand this. The last thing a gardener wants is someone walking where they shouldn't be or doing something they have no business doing.

If they let you come and visit, be courteous, comply with the grower's wishes, and simply look at the garden. Don't mess with the plants or produce.

Until next time.