Let’s start with what we know to be true: locally grown food is more nutrient-dense, fresher and generally yummier than its supermarket counterparts. Anyone with a Netflix subscription and a penchant for documentaries knows that.
So now the question becomes: do you grow your own food or do you have a standing Saturday morning date with the farmers market? The answer is that it depends on your love of the outdoors and ability to provide the time and labor required.
| Homegrown | Farmers Market |
| Nutritional Value | |
| ✔️ | |
Homegrown barely squeaks out the win here, since the food is eaten immediately upon harvest.
| Freshness | |
| ✔️ | |
Farmers market freshness is extremely high as produce is picked at peak ripeness. But farmers market produce travels across town while homegrown travels across the yard.
| Immediate Gratification, Part I | |
| ✔️ | |
Tomato plants typically produce their first ripe fruit 60 to 100 days from when the seeds are planted. Hens need to be four to six months old to lay eggs…you get the picture! But most farmers markets occur weekly during the growing season (see the box for local farmers market dates and times!)
| Immediate Gratification, Part II | |
| ✔️ | |
Have a hankering for salsa? Check the tomatoes and jalapeños in the pots outside your front door. Baking cookies and need three eggs? Walk across the backyard to the coop.
| Cost | |
| ✔️ | ✔️ |
This one is a little trickier. There are a lot of upfront costs when starting a garden or homestead, such as acquiring plants/livestock, fencing, building housing, etc. But once all the needs are acquired, growing food at home is generally cheaper over time, though it requires significant time, labor and space. We’ll call it a toss-up.
| Quality Control | |
| ✔️ | |
You control pesticides, soil quality and fertilizers in your own garden.
If time is limited, farmers markets offer the best balance of quality and convenience. If you enjoy gardening, homegrown produce the best possible nutritional value. And neither is the wrong choice!
Gwinnett Markets:
Braselton Farmers Market
9924 Davis Street, Braselton
4:00 p.m. -7:00 p.m., March 13, April 17, and every Friday May-September
Duluth Farmers & Artisan Market
3142 Hill Street, Duluth
2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., 1st & 3rd Sundays of the month March-May
Lilburn Farmers Market
1400 Killian Hill Road SW, Lilburn
4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m., Fridays, May-August
Peachtree Corners Farmers Market
5140 Town Center Boulevard, Peachtree Corners
9:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m., Saturdays May 16- July 25
Snellville Farmers Market
2342 Oak Road, Snellville
9:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m., 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month through May
Suwanee Farmers Market
421 Main Street, Suwanee
9:00 a.m. -11:00 a.m. March 7, March 21, April 4, April 18
Saturdays 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. , May – October