You snooze, you lose. One minute those flats of raspberries are there, the next minute they're spoken for. This is the second week I assumed there would be raspberries all around. Now I know I should've planted myself firmly in front of the tent that sells the yummy purple raspberries I love to put in pies.
No dice, though. Even the regular red ones were gone. Gazumped again. Someone must be making jam, and lots of it.
The Mau Family Farm sells tasty heirloom tomatoes with a smile. Purple Cherokee's my favorite.
No one sells before the bell, or more appropriately for Minnetonka, the goose call at 3PM sharp. Then all bets are off. The competition for other fresh produce is no where as fierce as for the fruit. Farm-grown sweet corn, beans, carrots, tomatoes, herbs, flowers and more are now available without the drive downtown or west to Excelsior for us Minnetonkans.
This is the second year for this market, and while it starts later in the season than a lot of the popular produce places, it makes up for it in convenience and beautiful setting. You can even make a day or afternoon of it and enjoy the trails and nearby parks before you shop.
With the winding roads and wedged-in houses, the neighborhoods of Minnetonka are not always conducive to walk-by hellos or next-door friendships, so I find it great to see people calling out to those they know and striking up conversations with those they don't, and then realize they might live just across a pond or over the hill.
As for me, I plan to be better prepared to fight for the fall crop of raspberries.
Minnetonka Farmer's Market is on Tuesdays from 3-7, located behind the Minnetonka City Hall.
