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Eat Raw Turnips at the Final Jamaica Farmers Market of the Season

By Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska | November 18, 2014 1:43pm
 The Jamaica Farmers Market will close for the season this weekend.
The Jamaica Farmers Market will close for the season this weekend.
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Down to Earth Markets

QUEENS — If you want to stock up on some fresh vegetables before winter, this is your last chance to hit the Jamaica Farmers Market.

On Friday and Saturday, the market will set up for its last two days of the season, offering free samples of root vegetables.

During the event, market-goers will get to try several raw vegetables that are currently in season and do not require cooking, including turnip, watermelon radish and kohlrabi, a sweeter kind of cabbage heart, the organizers said.

“We want people to try something new, like kohlrabi,” said Dagmar Kostkova of Down to Earth Markets, which recruits farmers for the market. “It’s delicious and very juicy, but people don’t know it very well.”

Kostkova added that the goal is to make people “more aware about the season and what they can eat in the winter, as the season of root vegetables is starting.”

Locals will also be able to buy the usual produce, including other vegetables, herbs, cider and dairy products.

The market, founded in 1974 and sponsored by the nonprofit Greater Jamaica Development Corporation, is one of the oldest farmers markets in New York.

Residents who receive the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits can pay for produce using Electronic Benefit Transfer cards.

The market will reopen in June.

The market, located on 160th Street off Jamaica Avenue, will be open on Nov. 21 and 22 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free tastings will take place between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.