Farmers' Markets

First of all, shopping at a farmer's market is fun. You're talking to the folk who grew the stuff and odds are high that less than 24 hours prior to your purchase it was still on the vine, in the ground, etc. Some of the stuff isn't as shapely or magazine-cover perfect as what you find in the grocery - but that's part of the fun, too. There's something so authentic about a turnip bearing a striking resemblance to Alfred Hitchcock's profile. (This also may help the kids eat the turnip.)

Second, it's tasty. This stuff is fresh - and cooks up well. I still remember the corn from that market over off of IH35South. And the big, fat tomatoes from the truck parked at the market next to the Archery, off McCullough Avenue. The melons!

Third, it's somewhat cheaper - but I find that is less true of the markets inside the city limits than the ones closer to the county line. Buying in big batches is better on the pocketbook, if you can gather a group to share.

How to find your local market? The USDA has a site that gives you a list of markets in your area, for example there is a USDA site for Texas where various counties and cities are listed, with links to the registered markets in the area. The USDA also provides lots of other information: for instance, there is a new Seniors' Farmers Market Nutrition Program where Seniors get coupons to use at the FM.

Life is good on a Saturday when you take a drive on a sunny morning, good music and maybe a glass of tea in the cupholder, tour the Market, chatting with the farmer folk, and then come home, finding recipes to match your finds, and then fill the house with good smells. The meal's always good. Always.

To me, it's one of the best examples of what simple living means - an abundance to be experienced in order to be appreciated. Go find your market - Spring is coming soon.

More For San Antonio Green Thumbs

Jerry Parsons recommends Manuel Flores' site be listed here as a San Antonio gardening reference. So, here it is. Actually, the site is useful even if you're not in Texas.

Why listen to Dr. Jerry Parsons? Not only is he a well-known, and well-respected, horticulture expert - this is a man who took the Texas Bluebonnet and turned it lavender (Barbara Bush Lavender), pink (Abbott Pink), and Aggie red (Texas Maroon ).

Give Cockroaches a Natural Death

The University of Nevada has a great .pdf file that provides lots of ways to win the war against cockroaches using natural methods. Safer and cheaper than calling the Man with a Truck ....

Written by Dr. Robert H. Stauffer, Area Extension Specialist, the tips include:

1. Sprays - such as 2 oz of Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Soap per gallon of water, or 3 ounces of rosemary oil per gallon of water. (Dr.Bronner sells his peppermint soap for $1/oz at his site. You can make your own rosemary oil, an online recipe appears at RecipeSource.)

2. Repellants - roaches apparently hate okra, so putting raw or stewed okra around will repel them, as will stewed cucumber peel or crushed bay leaves.

3. Dusts -- boric acid kills those suckers though it may take 10 days for them to die. Good news - if the boric acid powder stays dry, it remains effective for years. Don't pile it, layer it. The Doc recommends mixing it with food the roaches like: he reports that "they are especially fond of beer" and are quite fond of sweets, grease, and the like. (He provides a long list here.)

Boric acid takes no prisoners: it also kills termites, carpenter ants, palmetto bugs, waterbugs, ants, fleas, and silverfish. For more info on boric acid, Al's Home Improvement Center has lots of detail. There, 2 gallons of boric acid are sold for $16.50.

(I've been told that Boric Acid is essentially what the expensive Sears treatment involves, where they take off all the light switch covers, etc., and spray a white powder behind the walls -- but I don't have confirmation of that.)

4. Baits -- recipes provided include a bowl of epsom salts: once consumed, the roach's digestive system is impacted and it dies. Other baits are provided, they include boric acid and a cute one where you get the roaches drunk on beer and then stomp them to death.

5. Traps -- good one with a greased Gatorade jar filled with temptation for the roaches, others with shaving cream or electrical tape.