Following on from our recent blog post about Yarn Bombing in Portimão in the small but pretty Largo December 1 gardens in Portimão, we were contacted about an organic produce market that takes place there every Saturday from 9.30 to 2pm. We were intrigued, and so the next free Saturday morning that we had, we went over to Portimão to have a look.
We were greeted by two small but thriving stalls set up in the middle of the gardens – a perfect setting under the trees in the dappled shade.
Welcome signs and a bustling sense of quiet pride in the stalls and the produce greeted us – there were lots of people coming and going – mostly locals, with a few tourists:
The produce was beautifully presented, with clear pricing and a very wide selection of organic or ‘bio’ produce for sale:
Lots of fruit and veg, and also nuts, seeds, bean-sprouts, soft fruits, and dried fruits:
The stalls were nice and busy – we have been told that they often have jams and preserves as well – but there was certainly enough selection here for us to enjoy:
Pricing was very reasonable for organic food, and compared favourably with supermarket organic ranges – it was also nice to be able to pick exactly how many of a product you wanted – we bought 6 large tomatoes for 1.29 Euros and a nice lettuce for 0.60 cents.
We also met the two owners of the stalls, the quiet and very polite Miguel:
And the bubbly and lovely Carla, whose sister made all the posters for the events:
Carla represents the Horta da Torre organic farm in Silves, and is passionate about promoting organic produce to the Algarve:
We were so impressed with this little market and its ethos – and it’s amazing range of fresh produce:
It was so nice to meet such passionate and friendly people promoting good honest organic produce – which also tasted delicious! – we will definitely be back for more! And thank you to Maryanne for letting us know about it and taking the time to send us the flyers and information.
Carla also has another market stall on Wednesdays in Almancil – the details can be found in the poster below:
And those of you in and around Albufeira need not miss out as she also has an organic basket service on Thursdays:
We wish them all every success with this venture.
Algarve Blog 
Thanks very much once again for an interesting blog , with the usual fabulous photos. We’ll be in Portimao in September so will pay a visit if the market is still on.
Ayr, Scotland
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thank you Margaret – glad you are enjoying the blog – and thank you for taking the time to comment too!
I would love to shop there!
it’s lovely isn’t it!
What an ambitious venture to cover so many different delivery methods. I love to support local farmers and I think worldwide we need to do our best to eat local–wherever “local” is to us. 🙂 The photos tell a lovely story.
thank you – you are so right too – I’m always horrified when you find out where some of our fruit and veg and other produce actually comes from in supermarkets
What a wonderful article, Alyson and Dave! You have captured the spirit of this little market.
And I am sure Carla and Fatima are delighted.
Thank you.
Maryanne
you’re welcome! thank you for letting us know about it!!
Marie Callender’s organic cornbread is to die for…. I’ve used this mix for several years and everyone in my family loves it!! Now, it’s sort of a tradition for me and the little ones to have weekly baking sessions with MC’s cornbreads and muffins. You should visit their website today http://www.mccornbread.com to purchase your mixes. I’m sure you will enjoy the great taste!
thank you so much! we might have to try that!
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It is many years since we visited Portugal and we are planning on visiting early next year. You have addressed one of our greatest concerns ie Organic food. I can easily tell that you are both Brits, like ourselves, though we live in GMO land here in the US. My question to you concerns village markets. In France virtually every town/village has a farmers market. Does this not exist in Portugal? Also I notice from your fabulous photos that many of the signs are in English! This was a shock to me but I suppose that there are so many expats who speak English in the Algarve that it behoves the locals to advertise in English?
We are not really interested in flashy tourist areas so is it possible to buy a small 2BR cottage in a small village with about 1/2 acre land to grow our own veggies and, most important, access to clean, pure water? Would that be only possible north of Lisbon?
Thanks for a great Blog site. Maybe we will meet up down in the algarve. Your knowledge would be well worth tapping into.
hello and thanks for your message .. most villages and towns have local markets that sell fruit and veg and fish .. sorry our post didn’t mention them as it was specifically about the organic market .. there’s also a company based in Portimao that deliver fruit and veg boxes every week if you want them …
and yes many of the signs here in the Algarve will be in English as well as Portuguese – in most tourist areas English is widely spoken .. which is great but annoying if you are trying to learn Portuguese! 😉
you can easily find a cottage like you have described to buy .. away from the main holiday resorts you are into rural quiet countryside with reasonably priced property for sale – we have friends near Foia that are almost self-sufficient for fruit and veg .. and friends that live in Pera village that are almost completely off-grid – it can be done!