Canberra's Top Farmers Markets: What To Buy This July

Canberra's farmers markets are drawing their strongest winter crowds in years, with vendors at the Capital Region Farmers Market reporting near-sellout conditions on root vegetables and brassicas by 9am most Saturdays. The message from growers working the Southern Tablelands and Monaro plains is consistent: July is quietly one of the best months to eat well in this city, and most residents are sleeping through it.

The timing matters. With household budgets squeezed — the property market churning uncertainty and cost-of-living pressures biting into discretionary spending — nutritionists and dietitians across the ACT have been pushing seasonal, locally grown food as one of the most practical ways to eat well without blowing a weekly grocery budget. Seasonal produce bought direct from growers at a farmers market typically costs 20 to 40 per cent less than equivalent items on supermarket shelves, and it hasn't spent days in a refrigerated supply chain before it reaches your kitchen.

Where to go and when

The Capital Region Farmers Market at EPIC — the Exhibition Park In Canberra, off Flemington Road in Mitchell — runs every Saturday from 7:30am to 11:30am and is the largest regular market in the ACT. Around 100 stalls operate through winter, and the mix covers everything from biodynamic growers out of Bungendore to egg producers based near Gundaroo. Parking is free and the market runs year-round, including through the July school holidays. Arrive before 8:30am if you want the pick of the leafy greens.

The Gorman House Markets in Braddon, operating on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month on Ainslie Avenue, run a smaller but tightly curated weekend offering. Several stalls there specialise in fermented and preserved foods — kimchi, sourdough, lacto-fermented vegetables — which align well with what dietitians describe as a practical winter gut-health strategy. The Old Bus Depot Markets in Kingston, running Sundays on Wentworth Avenue, round out the main options, with a strong showing from ACT-region honey producers and small-batch condiment makers through the colder months.

For anyone willing to drive 35 minutes, the Braidwood Farmers Market on the fourth Saturday of each month pulls in growers from the Eurobodalla and Tablelands regions who don't make the trip to Canberra. Prices there tend to run slightly lower again.

What's actually worth buying in July

Right now, the produce hitting peak quality in the region includes cavolo nero, purple sprouting broccoli, celeriac, Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, kohlrabi and multiple varieties of winter squash. Warrigal greens — a native leafy green that several Southern Tablelands growers have begun cultivating commercially — are appearing at the EPIC market and are worth seeking out. They hold up well in soups and stir-fries and carry a concentrated mineral profile suited to colder-weather cooking.

Citrus is also at its best. Navel oranges from growers in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area near Griffith, about three hours north-west of Canberra, make regular appearances at the Capital Region Farmers Market through July and August, typically priced around $4 to $5 per kilogram loose. Blood oranges, when available, tend to sell faster. Stone fruit is months away — anyone being sold peaches at a Canberra market in July should be asking hard questions about provenance.

A 2024 survey by the ACT Government's Health Directorate found that fewer than 8 per cent of ACT adults were meeting the recommended daily intake of five vegetable servings, a figure consistent with national data. Nutritionists contacted by The Daily Canberra note that winter is often when vegetable consumption drops furthest, partly because people default to convenience foods when it's cold and partly because they don't realise how varied local seasonal produce actually is in July. Anyone looking for personalised guidance should consult a registered dietitian through their GP or via the ACT Health directory.

The practical starting point is simple: get to the EPIC market before 9am this Saturday, bring a reusable bag and a rough list anchored around whatever is cheapest and most abundant. In July, that almost always means something in the brassica family, something root-based, and citrus. Cook them simply. The Canberra winter does the rest of the work.