Spotsylvania Farmers Market — Local services in Fredericksburg

I was very excited to visit this farmer’s market as I have heard such great things about it. My experience was pretty okay overall seeing as I did come closer to closing. I was disappointed with how my boyfriend and I were treated by the lemonade vendor. We arrived about an hour or so before close and the first stand we went to was the lemonade stand. We stood in line for about 5-10 minutes behind one lady. As she walks away and we begin to walk up to the stand, who I assume is the owner walks up from another area of the lot and tells us that they are now closed and will not be serving us. It was very matter of fact and not kind in the slightest. It was disheartening as we had been standing in line, the only other people waiting, and it was never once indicated that they were not going to serve anyone after the lady in front of us. It made the entire experience of the farmers market kind of upsetting, however the mini donut vendor did make our experience much better as he went above and beyond to serve us and even gave us a discount on our order just as a kind gesture. I will return and try to experience the market during the earlier hours but unfortunately will not be returning to the lemonade vendor based off of the poor...

Update to response: I'm not asking for certified organic, I'm asking for organic, no herbicides or pesticides used, even if 'just the recommended tiny amount'. That's WHAT a farmers market is for. To grow food organically to sell. It's not to do what the big farms do. Farmers are supposed to care about the soil, food they grow. I don't buy to support others' way of life. I buy to support my life. IF it's organic, I'll buy, if it's not, I'll go to the grocery. It's disengenuous to say groceries ship thousands of miles with preservatives. Preservatives are all alike. It makes no difference if they're shipped that way or carted in a local truck.

They've got lots of stuff. You HAVE to go thru it before you buy something. One vendor has plants at 4 bucks each, three or four doors down, a vendor has plants for $2.50 each.

What puzzles me is farmer's markets in the West grew without 'cides. I haven't found ANY organic produce in a farmers mkt in Virginia. They ALL say, "yes we use herbicide, just a tiny bit." Well yeah everyone uses just the minimal amount. The point of a farmers market over a grocery store is supposed to be organic. Why am I paying $5 a pound for tomatoes that have had herbicide/pesticide...

They had Rhubarb, which I haven't seen in any of the stores, including Wegmans. I would recommend going through the entire market before purchasing anything because prices and freshness vary quite a bit from booth to booth. I did this with my plants, but bought the rhubarb first and I'm glad I did, because when I went back to the same booth after we were almost finished with the whole market, the box rhubarb was gone. It was $7.00 a lb. I overspend on a small stuffed cookie for $5.00, but that was my own fault for buying before looking at everything. They had a huge variety of eggs, fresh produce, and plants. The eggs sold out quickly, so get those first of you want them. Its open from 8am-1pm on Saturdays, but it was winding down around noon....