Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)

What is the Bedford Farmers' Market?

The Bedford Farmers' Market (BFM) is a non-profit, community-based, producer-only, farmers’ market, starting in the summer of 2008 by a group of volunteers.

What is a Community-based, Producer-Only Farmers’ Market and How is it Different?

A community-based, producer-only farmers’ market is not just another retail enterprise. It is part of a growing environmental movement trying to pioneer ways to save the land, provide small farmers and small producers a way to stay in business, and to educate ourselves and our children about the food that we eat. Best of all, the market is a place where we meet our neighbors, make new friends, and make our community stronger.

Why Buy Locally Grown?

People worldwide are rediscovering the benefits of buying local food. It is fresher than anything in the supermarket, and that means that it tastes great and is more nutritious. It is also good for our local economy—buying directly from family farmers and producers helps them keep their land. It is our hope that the Bedford Farmers' Market will help reconnect people with one another, the land, and the source of our food.

Why a Farmers’ Market in the Bedford?

There have been numerous markets in and around the Bedford area for many decades. We feel that members of the community want a place to purchase fresh, local produce and goods directly from farmers and producers in a congenial atmosphere. In addition, we believe the Bedford Farmers’ Market will provide a self-sustaining, social experience that will help build community and enhance the quality of life in Bedford.

What is Sustainable Agriculture?

Farming that produces abundant food without depleting the earth’s resources or polluting its environment. This type of agriculture supports vibrant rural communities and produces wholesome food for everyone.

Sustainable practices lend themselves to smaller, family-sized farms. These smaller farms are most successful within local food systems, selling at least part of what is grown directly to consumers at farmers’ markets.

What is Organic Farming?

Organic farming is a form of agriculture which excludes the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, plant growth regulators, livestock feed additives, and genetically modified organisms. As far as possible, organic farmers rely on crop rotation, green manure, compost, biological pest control, and mechanical cultivation to maintain soil productivity and control pests. Organic farming is often contrasted with conventional, or mainstream, farming.

Farmers who market their products as "organic" must be certified.

The overarching goal of organic farming is defined as follows:

"The role of organic agriculture, whether in farming, processing, distribution, or consumption, is to sustain and enhance the health of ecosystems and organisms from the smallest in the soil to human beings."

What is an Heirloom Tomato or Vegetable?

An heirloom tomato is an open-pollinated (non-hybrid) cultivar of tomato.

Open pollination is pollination by insects, birds, wind, or other natural mechanisms. The seeds of open-pollinated plants will produce new generations of those plants; however, because breeding is uncontrolled and the pollen (male parent) source is unknown, open pollination results in plants that vary widely in genetic traits, characteristics.

A cultivar is a cultivated plant that has been selected and given a unique name because it has desirable characteristics (decorative or useful) that distinguish it from otherwise similar plants of the same species. When propagated it retains those characteristics.

Another way of defining heirloom cultivars is to use the definition of the word "heirloom" in its truest sense. Under this interpretation, a true heirloom is a cultivar that has been nurtured, selected, and handed down from one family member to another for many generations.

What is Integrated Pest Management (IPM)?

In agriculture, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a pest control strategy that uses an array of complementary methods: natural predators and parasites, pest-resistant varieties, cultural practices, biological controls, various physical techniques, and the strategic use of pesticides . It is an ecological approach that can significantly reduce or eliminate the use of pesticides.