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American farmers’ market shoppers casted their votes for their farmers’ market.

Last month, farmers’ market goers across the nation entered their picks for their favorite farmers’ markets as part of a contest by American Farmland Trust. 

“Over 50,000 people from across the country voted for their favorite farmers’ markets this summer,” says Jane Kirchner, senior director of marketing for AFT. “And in the last three weeks of the promotion, we’ve seen the top 20 markets in each category change positions, sometimes daily.”

AFT designed the online contest to promote the economic and social value of farmers’ markets in communities and to bring attention to the need for consumers and communities to recognize the necessity of local farm and ranch land for the existence of fresh, healthy and local food.

“Customers can visit our website and learn the top 20 markets in each of contest’s four market categories,” adds Kirchner. The top markets for each category are:

• Boutique Markets (15 or fewer vendors): King George Farmers’ Market, King George, Va.
• Small Markets (16 to 30 vendors): Champaign County Farmers’ Market, Urbana, Ohio
• Medium Markets (31 to 55 vendors): Falls Church Farmers Market, Falls Church, Va.
• Large Markets (56 or more vendors): City of Rochester Public Market, Rochester, N.Y.

“This contest is a win/win for every farmers’ market that enters because American Farmland Trust keeps the focus on farmers, farmland and farmers’ markets,” says Randii McNear, executive director of the Davis, Calif., farmers’ market. Davis Farmers Market won in the large category in August 2009, the first year of the contest. “We’ll always be honored to have won the title of ‘America’s Favorite’ in the contest’s first year. I’m sure every farmers’ market that placed in the top 20 in their category is feeling the love of their community today.”

The top four markets will each receive a shipment of personalized “No Farms No Food” recyclable tote bags along with other prizes, including free printing services from igreenprint and free graphic design services from Virginia-based design firm SQN Communications. 

“It’s been great fun to watch this promotion unfold,” says Kirchner. “We hope that all of the markets have seen increased interest in and visitors to their markets as a result of the promotion and that they will participate in next year’s contest.” 

AFT will announce further information on the winners and ongoing efforts to support and promote farmers’ markets through its website and other media.

“We hope farmers and foodies will participate in AFT’s next campaign, Dine Out for Farms, the week of Oct. 10 to 16, and continue the momentum of support for farms by dining at participating restaurants around the country,” Kirchner says.

Photo by Rick Gush

I like to eat the figs that grow on my terraces as snacks while I’m in the garden.

Fall means the figs are ready to pick and preparations for the huge olive harvest here are just starting. I don’t actually harvest the figs and bring them in the house, because my wife doesn’t like the little black figs that we have. Instead, I use the figs as my snacks for the short season that they are available. I ate six or seven this morning, when I first worked in the garden, and then I ate another handful after my second stint.

Here in Liguria, Italy, it’s traditional to grow figs not as upright standing trees, but as crawlers that grow in the rock walls that make the terraces. Having a fig in a wall is sort of considered a requirement, so almost every new construction or wall rebuilding project includes the planting of a fig in a wall somewhere.

Our fig follows this convention and is rooted in our cliff, about 15 feet above the ground. I have the tree pruned sort of flat, in such a way that the bottom half is harvestable from the ground and the top half is harvestable from one of the terraces above. 

I tried drying some figs last year, (I make great raisins in the oven.) but, while they were edible, they weren’t the succulent morsels I had hoped for. I was too busy to try drying figs again this year, but next year I’ll try to be more selective and use only the sweetest figs for my dried-fruit experiments.

Photo by Rick Gush

Making olive oil is a big part of the fall season. Here, an olive grower rakes olives to be pressed for oil.

The big news is that the annual olive harvest is just starting. The whole area here is covered by olive trees, and even as we walk in the forests behind our home, we pass thousands of old olives that were abandoned many years ago.

The crop of olives is very important to all the homeowners. Wherever homes are constructed, the old olives are refurbished by a severe pruning. We don’t have any olives on our cliff, but I do spend a lot of time helping my friend, Richard, with his trees. He has around a hundred trees on his terraces and produces an average of a hundred liters of oil per year. 

It’s great fun going to the olive pressing facilities to have the olives mashed and the oil extracted. All the equipment in these places, (and there are perhaps 30 olive mills within a half-hour drive from Richard’s farm) is ancient and looks like it could have been running during the 19th century. But it works great, and all the farmers and homeowners make reservations and line up with their bags full of olives to have their crops processed. 

Almost everybody allocates 50 liters a year or so for their own kitchen use, and then they sell the rest of their production to non-olive-owning friends. The price for good homemade oil from a friend is about 10 Euros per liter. The higher price for homemade reflects the general impression that the homemade stuff is preferable.

Read more of Rick’s Favorite Crops »

Photo by Stephanie Staton

Worm exchange programs help people who vermicompost obtain red wiggler worms for free.

Worms are taking center stage in the fight against food waste.

Worm composting, also known as vermicomposting, is becoming more popular in urban settings where gardeners lack the space for traditional compost heaps. Housed in small bins, red wigglers digest food waste and turn it into rich organic compost. In an effort to promote vermicomposting, a small number of grassroots organizations have launched worm exchange programs.

Worm exchange programs work like old-fashioned swap meets: Enthusiasts gather to trade stories, exchange knowledge and share resources—all with a focus on helping others establish and maintain thriving worm bins.

Colin Anderson started the Toronto Worm Exchange in 2008. The group doesn’t have meetings or membership requirements, and there are no fees; it’s just an informal group of compost enthusiasts who share information—and worms.

“One of the biggest complaints about some environmental initiatives is the expense associated with getting started,” Anderson explains. “We thought a worm exchange was a good option to make worm composting more accessible without huge startup costs.”

According to Anderson, worm composting can be done without spending a red cent on red wigglers. In fact, in an established worm bin, red wigglers can double their numbers after a few months, giving composters an excess of worms to share. In Baltimore, those excess worms can even be traded for fresh veggies.

Students at the Maryland Institute College of Art founded a worm-exchange program in 2009 to help encourage Baltimore residents to compost. In order to meet the demand for free worms, students started offering produce grown through the campus Sustainable Food Project called Buddha Garden in exchange for worms. The program has become so popular that there is a long waiting list for free worms.

The worm exchange program in Fort Collins, Colo., has had similar success. As part of an ongoing effort to help divert food waste from the landfill, Susie Gordon, a senior environmental planner with the Fort Collins Natural Resources Department, was charged with promoting worm composting.

Inspired by the community exchanges happening through websites like Craigslist and Freecycle, Gordon launched an online group through Yahoo to connect residents who were willing to share information about vermicomposting and offer worms to others who wanted to start worm bins.

“We’ve loved seeing the positive reaction to the program,” notes Gordon.

Since its inception in 2005, the Yahoo group has grown to 315 members, but Gordon believes the program has a much broader reach. Anderson echoes the sentiment, noting that the Facebook fan page for Toronto Worm Exchange has just 27 members; he is aware of a much larger number of participants who are taking part in worm exchanges.

“It’s an informal group, and we’re not tracking numbers, but there has been a lot of growth since we got started,” he explains. “It’s one really simple way to connect to the community and change the world without spending a lot of money.”