How much are you paying per pound for tomatoes

at your local Farmer's Markets? I was blown away when I bought my first sack of tomatoes 2 weeks ago (mine are just starting to ripen) and it was $30.00. They are charging $4 per pound at our Saturday market. Other veggies seemed over priced too. It is not unusual for me to spend $50.00 weekly at our market for my fresh produce. Many of the grower's are organic but not certified, because of the cost of certification. So it seems to me if all the middle men are cut out of the delivery, why are they so high? The grower's pick, and deliver them to market. They unload them off the back of their trucks to tables and sell. Now, the weeks I buy the olive oil, the almonds we love, and bread, that cost goes up considerably. I have been hearing folks talk about having to choose what they would buy that week....I've never heard this before. Can't wait until I can pick my own, everyday.

$3-4 per pound for the good ones sounds about right from last year, although tomatoes haven't yet begun at our local market this year.

I'm no expert on farming but my understanding is that it is a tricky and expensive proposition when you do it on a small scale like most of the folks who probably sell at your market. They probably can't afford to shop at the market either, despite the 'profits' it seems like they are making.

Well, I paid $2/lb for a fairly bad non-organic, non-local tomato. Thick skin, tough, cardboard tastes better.
The folks who sell at farmer's markets go look at the supermarket prices, and probably price at about supermarket "premium" prices.
Oh, BTW, Community Market, a co-op store a block from my house, had some tomatoes last week at $5.49/lb. This is a "non-profit" store. The tomatoes didn't look all that good - so I bought one at the supermarket that looked better (but it wasn't very good).
It'll be a while before my tomato plant starts spewing tomatoes.

John

About the only tomatoes I buy any more are cherry tomatoes. I picked my first tomato yesterday from my garden. I've a dozen plants that are loaded with green orbs of various sizes. I can't wait until I'm eating home grown tomatoes evary day..

We paid $3.60 per pound for four beatiful greenhouse raised and ripened tomatoes at a local farm that we sliced for our Father's Day feast yesterday. So, I guess it's still "slightly higher west of the Mississippi."

[Robin Garr]

Farmers' market tomatoes are here - mostly early-maturing hybrids - at $3 to $4 per pound, but we're waiting for Mary's forest of Italian heirlooms (a lot of Oxhearts and some San Marzanos) and beefsteaks (Mortgage Lifters). We've got about 100 green babies, just watching and waiting for the first to come ripe.

Humm, it seems we are in the ballpark, but I recall last year folks complaining about paying #3.00 a pound and were searching for the stalls with $2.00 toms. We are getting the fabulous Sungold cherry in abundance, along with a few
yellow and red pear variety at the market. Early Girl and Shady Lady are the usual large ones. Our heirloom grower has not started participating, but when he gets there, I will be his first customer. Heirlooms are not the best grower in my garden, and not very prolific, so I stick with the tried and true varieties.

Went by the farm agin this morning and picked up a seven pound bag of "seconds" for $12. There were no bruises, just a few "funny looking scabs" like you see on tomatoes in a super market. There were twelve vine rippened tomatoes in the bag in all sizes, for an average of $1 apiece!

Incidentally we have our own Early Girl and Summer Gold on the vine at this time.

Last week I found a booth with beautiful tomatoes for $2.50. She drives several hours to come to our market. She told me she is in the middle of farm country, Dairyville, and everyone there expects to get free produce from neighboring farms. No one will pay for her tomatoes. She is the least expensive at the market right now.

Discounting the cost of a couple of seed packets, we are currently getting the tomatoes for "free". The heat wave, which thankfully has at least temporarily subsided, has taken a toll on the plants, so we shall see how long we continue to have a viable harvest.

Discounting the cost of a couple of seed packets, we are currently getting the tomatoes for "free". The heat wave, which thankfully has at least temporarily subsided, has taken a toll on the plants, so we shall see how long we continue to have a viable harvest.

I have 8 tomato plants that are loaded and beginning to ripen. We are heading towards 107 - 108 this week. I can see signs of scalding already. Time to get out the shade cloth. I've been buying a fair amount of tomatoes each week from our Farmer's Market. What is left at the end of the week goes into making roasted tomatoes which I turn into sauce, paste or eat for lunch! Sometimes I put them into pasta. My neighbor just made a killer roasted tomato salad dressing al la Martha Stewart.

I had cause to stroll through the Wednesday edition of the Union Square Greenmarket today. $4/lb.

$3 for heirloom organic at the farmer's market in Pleasanton, Calif.

[Robin Garr]

Now that we're well into July, we're getting all ours free now. This baby, an Italian Oxheart heirloom, just came off the vine weighing in at 17 5/8 ounces.

I was also shocked to pay $10 for 2 tomatoes at the Farmer's Market in Pleasantville, NY this past weekend. $4/lb the two tomatoes weighed 2.5lbs (duh)

I was also shocked to pay $10 for 2 tomatoes at the Farmer's Market in Pleasantville, NY this past weekend. $4/lb the two tomatoes weighed 2.5lbs (duh)

Guess I just picked ~$25-$30 worth from the garden this morning at that tariff. Now what the hell do I do with all those sweet banana peppers? I fry them, I grill them, I stuff them, I freeze them and I give them away to the point neighbors run and hide when I come to their door. I guess that next year I don't really need 10 plants for the two of us.

20/20 Winger

I was also shocked to pay $10 for 2 tomatoes at the Farmer's Market in Pleasantville, NY this past weekend. $4/lb the two tomatoes weighed 2.5lbs (duh)

Guess I just picked ~$25-$30 worth from the garden this morning at that tariff. Now what the hell do I do with all those sweet banana peppers? I fry them, I grill them, I stuff them, I freeze them and I give them away to the point neighbors run and hide when I come to their door. I guess that next year I don't really need 10 plants for the two of us.

20/20 Winger

Ten plants of sweet banana peppers? Holy cow! I planted 4 last year and pickled 22 pints of them. This year, I only put in two and I'm having a hard time keeping up. Today, I made an Italian veggie soup, and put 4 into the soup. I also made cucumber and onions in a champagne vinegar, safflower oil, and herb mix. I added 4 sweet banana peppers to that dish, as well. I like to sauté them with the globe zucchini until everything is caramelized. Then drizzle with fresh lemon juice. So good. They are good is scrambled eggs, Mexican dishes, tacos, even some pasta dishes. Yours must be bigger than mine, because I don't think the size makes them worth stuffing.

I taste (and sell) wine at a local farmers market. At the end of the day, I've been trading what's left over for local produce. We don't have a whole lot of tomatoes yet here in MA, but I've been getting a lot of other stuff. The tomato guys have promised me some really nice heirlooms soon. We do have some tomatoes, like Better Boys and such, but I'm waiting for the good ones like German Pink, Zebra, Costoluto Genovese, etc.

Harvested our first Summer Gold today. True Love inhalled it!

I taste (and sell) wine at a local farmers market. At the end of the day, I've been trading what's left over for local produce. We don't have a whole lot of tomatoes yet here in MA, but I've been getting a lot of other stuff. The tomato guys have promised me some really nice heirlooms soon. We do have some tomatoes, like Better Boys and such, but I'm waiting for the good ones like German Pink, Zebra, Costoluto Genovese, etc.

Now that's a civilized market! We have a guy who sells his wine at ours but he's not allowed to pour.

Mike, I think to pour or not to pour out there, as here, most likely depends on local regs. The winery I pour for does 14 markets, and pours at all but one. That one is in a town that has a by-law prohibiting alcohol consumption on town property.

[Jenise]

Paid $6/lb for beautiful locally-grown heirlooms in the Canadian Islands over the weekend, including some late varieties like green zebras. Funny, the Island I was on was only about 20 miles west of where I live and at about the same latitude, but we're not even close to getting tomatoes.

Paid $6/lb for beautiful locally-grown heirlooms in the Canadian Islands over the weekend, including some late varieties like green zebras. Funny, the Island I was on was only about 20 miles west of where I live and at about the same latitude, but we're not even close to getting tomatoes.

Do you suppose they are grown under row covers? I know that several of our growers here, especially if they are in the foothills, use row covers.

They're finally getting good in our farmers' market. $3/lb for heirlooms today.