The Price of Produce

My husband called me today and said that there was a gentleman selling Texas grapefruit on the side of the road. (Long-term readers may recall that we live in Idaho.) Our conversation (s)--there were at least two-- went something like this:

Me: Really? Does he have a license plate from Texas?
Him: I don't know. I can't see it from here.
Me: How much does it cost?
Him: I don't know--he's selling it by the box, though. What would be a good price?
Me: I don't know. I really just don't know. I probably wouldn't be willing to pay more than, oh, say, $15.00. But I really don't know. Remember the e-mail from Florida where it said that the price of tomatoes was $3.00/lb, and peppers were the same? So...I really don't know. Maybe $20 for the box? Maybe I should call someone who would know. (Long-term readers may surmise that in all likelihood that would be my best source, aka Mom. Those long-term readers would be correct.)

Yeah, so I basically wasn't that much help. And then, I couldn't reach my best source. My husband was on his own. And it turns out that he didn't really need my help anyway... Our third conversation went something like this:

Him: Well, I bought a box. 40 lbs. for $25.
Me: That's not too bad. Less than $1.00/lb, and oranges I know are like $0.99/lb right now, so that's really good. (One calculation later on a calculator indicated that it was between $0.62 and $0.63 /lb for the grapefruit) So did he have a Texas license plate?
Him: No, somewhere in Idaho.
Me: So did you ask him how he got ahold of Texas grapefruit?
Him: No.
Me: (Disappointed) Ahhhh...... I would have asked....
Him: He did open one up for me, and they were really juicy...

Did I mention that I love as in looooovvvve grapefruit? Somewhere up there by curry in terms of favorite flavors. So I am happy that we now have some in the house...and at a good price. It's best to grow your own produce if you can, but Idaho isn't really suited in terms of climate to grow that much grapefruit. Love the deals we can get on potatoes regularly here, though...

So here is my question to anyone who is willing to answer: How are the produce prices where you live? We know people in Florida, hence the e-mail information cited above. It must have been on my other blog that I mentioned not too long ago that peppers (as in green and other assorted varieties) were on sale for $1.50 each. My children are not big fans of green and other varieties of peppers, so I don't pay that much attention to the prices because they are not a frequent purchase, but to me that seemed really high.

Due to the wonder that is caller id, my mother called me back and we talked about the logistics of having Texas grapefruit in Idaho. Came to the conclusion that growers in Texas most likely sent a truck up and local people sell it at a bigger profit for them and a nicer price for us....got to love the free market...

As an aside, I had a sample taste at one of the grocery chainstores not too long ago of what was called a "Cara Cara " orange. They were also $0.99/lb. I got some because to me they tasted like a cross between orange and grapefruit, (did I mention that I love grapefruit? ) and they were delicious. I even went back for more because one of my children liked them particularly. Haven't seen them since, but they are one of the reasons that I could remember the price of oranges today, and I would highly recommend them if you can find them near you...

So I would appreciate any input on produce costs in different areas. And if you are still here after this somewhat rambling post, thanks for reading! :)

The raspberries are leaving, and the pumpkins are coming

Well, we finally got a new camera, so here goes an attempt to brighten up the old blog. (Because everyone knows that pictures make a blog more exciting, right? :)

Anyway, our raspberries (pictured are some of the few remaining stalwarts) have decided that their season is over--but hey, it was a good run. They arrived late, but once they were here, they were here in force. We enjoyed them, as we imagine and heard that the people that we shared them with did. They were a little hard to keep up with, and that is all good.

We now turn our attention to the pumpkin patch, whose plants this year appear to have taken on the opinion that it's fashionable to have produce in all kinds of stages of growth, as evidenced by Exhibit A, a picture of one of the flowers:



Exhibit B, which we have decided to label "baby pumpkin":



And Exhibit C, who has been voted "most likely to be ready by October":



And yes, these were all taken just this evening--there was no time-lapse photography involved.

It's been a little strange this growing season weather-wise, but it's exciting to see some of the produce coming around. We did just get some yellow squash and zucchini and corn from our neighbors over the fence, which we appreciate greatly. Their corn turned out better than ours did, and it's wonderful of them to share.

Having seen so many great things on other blogs, I think our variety of produce will increase next year--growing fresh food is a great source of food storage. Seeds start out small, which is ideal for storage, but when things work out, there's a tremendous yield that just keeps giving. Just remember to use and store non-hybrid seeds whenever possible so that you can try and try again... :)