What is in season right now, how to shop a market without overspending, how to spot a real one, and where to find the good ones near you. Everything below is free to use, save, and print.
The ripest, cheapest, best thing on any stall is whatever is in season. Browse the month, then add what you fancy to your list.
The questions everyone asks about farmers markets, answered. Add your own experience in the comments.
And how to shop one on a budget.
A calm, friendly first-timer's guide.
Spot the real thing from resold stock.
It is not just the food.
What vendors wish they had known.
Tick your way through it, it saves as you go, and print it to take with you.
Hold the Throne · Farm shops & markets
Everything a first-timer wishes they'd known, on one page. Tick as you go, it saves as you tick. There is no wrong way to do this, only a fresher, friendlier way to shop.
"Did you grow this, and where?"
At a real market you'll get a farm name and a story. At a tourist trap you'll get a shrug. Buy from the ones who can answer.
A scavenger hunt, a rainbow to colour, and a change-counting puzzle. Turn the weekly shop into a family morning out.
A grown-up shops. You explore. Let's find the food that grew in a field.
Real markets sell every colour of the rainbow. Colour each circle, then find one of that colour at the market!
You buy carrots for 60p and hand over these coins. How much change do you get?
What was the best thing you saw today? Draw it here.
Ask a grower this magic question:
"Did you grow this yourself?"
A real farmer will smile and tell you all about it.
Your shopping list keeps the farms you saved, this month’s produce, and a running total with a spend cap, so a market trip never blows the budget.
