The Weblog

This weblog contains LocallyGrown.net news and the weblog entries from all the markets currently using the system.

To visit the authoring market’s website, click on the market name located in the entry’s title.



 
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Atlanta Locally Grown:  Available fir Saturday January 24


I hope this finds you all doing well. The market is open and ready for orders. We have some great produce available this week along with a nice selection of farm fresh pork products. We are also taking reservations for our next round of processing. They will be ready for delivery mid February.

Thank you for all your support. We will see you on Saturday at your selected delivery location, piedmont park, Brookhaven or Sandy springs. We will be in touch with you about delivery times at each stop.

Thank you again and please share us with a friend,
Brady

Conyers Locally Grown:  Available for Friday January 23


I hope this finds you all doing well. The market is open and ready for orders. We have some great produce available this week along with a nice selection of farm fresh pork products. We are also taking reservations for our next round of processing. They will be ready for delivery mid February.

Thank you for all your support. We will see you one Friday between 5-7 to pick up your orders at Copy Central, 1264 Parker road.

Thank you again and please share us with a friend,
Brady

Athens Locally Grown:  ALG Open for January 22


Athens Locally Grown

How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.

Market News

I’ve just arrived home from nearly a week in Mobile, Alabama, where I served on the staff of the annual conference for the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group. It’s one of my favorite events, where over 900 farmers from across the south and beyond gather to share stories of failure and success, learn from those, and inspire each other to return home and grow even more real food for their communities. The days there are extremely long, and I’m ready to drop into sleep as I type this, but it is always well worth it.

I haven’t gone over all the listings for the week yet, but there are about 850 items to choose from, including several new items. The winter has been cold and wet so far, and there is plenty more freezing nights yet to come, but our growers are doing a great job of keeping the food coming to our tables.

If you’d like to learn more about the business, there are several educational opportunities coming up for you.

First, there’s Sound and Sensible Organic Certification Workshop on February 5, 2015 from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., hosted by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT). This workshop is intended to enlist new farmers and ranchers and help them learn how to become National Organic Program (NOP)-certified. It will provide information and expertise to farmers interested in NOP and answer questions regarding organic farm practices and NOP certification. This day-long event is free, and lunch will be provided. Location: Athens-Clarke County Cooperative Extension, 2152 West Broad Street, Athens, GA 30606 http://www.ugaextension.com/clarke To register: Please visit https://www.ncat.org/events Questions: For questions and more information, please contact Rockiell Woods at 479-575-1385 or email rockw@ncat.org.

Georgia Organics is again bringing their annual conference, attended by people from all over the county, to Athens next month. You can find details of what’s to come at their website, http://conference.georgiaorganics.org/. It’s one of my favorite conferences anywhere, and there’s something there for everyone involved in the local food system, from growers to cooks to eaters.

Finally, in the past two weeks I’ve talked about the legal organization and considerations behind our market and then the financial operation that keeps everything running. I’ll wrap up my yearly primer on Athens Locally Grown this week with a few words about our growers and other market vendors.

First and foremost, let me preface everything by saying the decision to let a new grower into the market is always made by me alone. I know many farmers markets often get some press regarding one vendor or another feeling left out of the market and complaining that the committee running that market was a little too closed. Well, my efforts to run ALG in a cooperative manner aside, the responsibility here comes back to me. There’s no committee, and no formal application process. I’ve had some potential vendors that I’ve rejected get upset with me and complain that ALG is a “closed” market, and they’re right. It is a closed market, and it’s not open to just anyone to sell through. That doesn’t mean we have arbitrary standards, of course, and actually I think I’ve set the bar pretty high. A good number of our growers also go above and beyond to only bring “the best of the best”, and that pushes the de facto standards even higher. Here’s a summary of what it takes to be able to sell through Athens Locally Grown:

  • All growers must use sustainable practices and never use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. I’ll come back to this later.
  • All growers can only sell what they themselves have grown, made, or otherwise produced
  • All growers must be from the greater Athens area. Right now, this means within about 75 miles
  • All growers must be willing to be part of our ALG community, and not think of us as just a dumping off point.
  • All animals raised for meat or eggs must be pastured or sustainably wild-caught
  • Handicrafts must be made primarily from items produced or gathered on the farm
  • Prepared foods must use organic ingredients if at all possible, and locally grown ingredients if at all possible
  • All proper licenses, when required by law, must be obtained

That about covers everything, I think. When I’ve turned down requests to sell through ALG (and I turn down several monthly), the grower has clearly not met one or more of those standards. There are a few edge cases that I take on a case by case basis. Coffee is one. 1000 Faces was our first coffee vendor, and they offered direct trade coffees (they purchase directly from the coffee growers with no distributor or middle man) and did all the roasting and packaging themselves and to order. That set the standard, and other coffee vendors (such as GranCoffee Roasting Co.) have to match it. Mills Farm was a founding ALG member, but they buy in organic grains for their mill. We now have Sylvan Falls Mill in Rabun Gap as a vendor, and they primarily buy their grains from local (to them) organic growers. From now on, all future millers wanting to sell through ALG will have to meet that standard. And so on.

Let me get back to that first requirement: “sustainable practices”. There’s no set definition of that, and there’s really a sliding scale. For example, I sometimes use a gasoline-powered rototiller, and our no-till growers and the no-hydrocarbon growers would frown upon that. There is a generally accepted definition of what is “conventional” agriculture, and that includes the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, and confined and grain-fed animals. Those are easy to exclude. At the other end, there is the USDA Organic Certification and Certified Naturally Grown certification. Few small diversified growers can meet the expense of USDA certification, but a good number of our growers are CNG certified. This program uses the USDA rules as a starting point, made a few things more strict, and uses a system of growers certifying other growers to keep things honest. My farm had been CNG certified for nine years (though I dropped my certification the last few years simply because my garden got really, really small), and many others area farms have followed since then. If a new grower does not have a certification, then I talk to them, get information about them, and visit their farm in person when necessary. A good number of our growers were ALG customers long before growing for market themselves, so I’ve gotten to know the people and the decision to let them in was easy.

In short: the growers have satisfied my standards, and I personally have approved them for inclusion in ALG. However, I want you to not just take my word for it. We have farm tours during the warm seasons so you can go on-site yourself and see the farms in action. We have a semi-regular “meet the grower” table at the Thursday pickups so you can talk with the growers yourself face-to-face. We encourage them to take photos for their online photo album, to describe their practices, and to take care with their product listings. We want to facilitate communication between you and them, so when you place an order, they see your name and email address in case they need to clarify a request or offer a substitution, and likewise for most of our growers you can see their contact info when you view their grower profile (while logged into the site) so you can get clarification from them when needed.

I often wrestle with some of those edge cases. Doug’s Wild Alaska Salmon was one such case. The salmon and halibut they sell was caught in Alaska, but Doug and his family live here (well, just over the line in South Carolina). They own their own small boats, and catch the fish themselves. Their practices are certified sustainable by a reputable organization up there, and their products are high quality. They’ve worked out the logistics of getting fish to you every week (by keeping a supply at my house in a freezer they own). I have in the past talked with sugar cane growers from South Georgia, dairies from across the state, fisherman from Savannah, olive growers from Savannah, citrus producers from Florida, and other people making items we just can’t get from growers located right here. Often, the logistics of getting their items from there to here on a regular and timely basis is what breaks down, but I hope that over time we’ll be able to expand the items at our market without compromising our community of growers located right here.

Hopefully that explains how our growers get into ALG, what standards they have to meet, and so on. It’s a very important topic, perhaps the most important one for our market, but much of it goes on behind the scenes. I know you’ve put your trust in me, and I take that very seriously, If you’d like to talk with me in person about this or any other aspects of ALG, I’d love to do so. Just pull me aside when you come by to pick up your order.

Thank you so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you on Thursday at Ben’s Bikes at the corner of Pope and Broad Streets from 4:30 to 8pm!

Other Area Farmers Markets

The Athens Farmers Market has closed for the winter. You can watch for news during the offseason on their website. The other area markets are also all closed for the season, I believe. If you know of any winter markets operating, please let me know. And they might all be closed, but we’ll be here all year round!

All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

Joyful Noise Acres Farm:  The market closes for ordering at 8:00pm.


Please remember to get your orders in. We have so many wonderful foods and personal care items to choose from.
I want to remind everyone about our upcoming Cultured food and Fermentation class. You will be so blessed by this class. Not only will you learn how to preserve food in traditional and healthful ways, but you will see how easy it is and how to use those foods everyday. Marty Martinez will lead the class and is bringing the following foods for us to taste:
Sauerkraut
Curtido (Salvadoran sauerkraut)

Cauliflower and fresh turmeric with cumin
Cucumbers with tarragon *
*Napa Cabbage kimchi *
*Radish salt water kimchi, also known as dongchimi
– it is a very mild Korean radish kimchi (ferment) that can be made with any kind of radish really.

sauerruben – similar to sauerkraut but made with turnips.

Beet kvass

I also have some *collard greens *that I’ll use too.

Even if you don’t want to make your own, come taste, we always seem to have a small feast at these classes. Go to Events on the Market page to sign up.

We have several selections of lamb this week and more beef.
See you Wednesday.
Mary Beth

StPete.LocallyGrown.Net:  Market NOW Open - Jan. 19, 2015



Ray Wunderlich and Volunteers at Boyd Hill Pioneer Settlement Garden. This Garden is such an important resource for the St. Petersburg Community. Most of what they grow is donated locally to those in need. They also sell their excess through our online Market. Thanks to Cristy Abbott for taking this shot.

Ready To Order?

sign in & shop now
FIRST TIME CUSTOMERS You are invited to watch our Market Tutorial before you begin. If you do not receive an email confirmation immediately after you order, then you did not click the SUBMIT ORDER button and we did not receive an order from you. Call your Market Manager for help.

Market Calendars Still Available!

Here’s your chance to capture the past year in pictures as Growers, Volunteers, and Customers come together to make this wonderful adventure called “St. Pete Locally Grown” a memorable keepsake for just $12. Act now so that someday you can say “you knew us when”.

Message from Your Market Manager

HEADS UP!
We’ve got carrots, at last, from both Pioneer Settlement Garden in St. Pete and Geraldson Community Farm in Bradenton.

LAMB HAS ARRIVED FROM ALEXANDRA LAKE FARM
Nathan and I tried the lamb chops out last night and they were wonderful! I lightly marinaded them for an hour in lemon juice, raw chopped shallots, and rice wine vinegar, started them on the stove top in coconut oil and finished baking them in the oven for 18 minutes at 350 with some of the marinade poured over them and a little red wine around the edges. Oven baking is a technique I recently read about to guarantee moist pork chops so I figured… why not? They were scrumptious and moist, with a gentle yet rich flavor. These animals are Animal Welfare Approved and are NOT mass produced so the meat is limited and available only until it sells out. If customer demand is there, we will purchase again next year. New Market “Grower” Leon Elt needs volunteers and wants to teach others how to raise lambs. It’s a 50-minute ride to his place in Dade City from St. Pete. Check out Alexandra Lake Farm for his contact info.

BIG SMALL FARM
If you or anyone you know is living in or moving to Central Florida, here is an important organization to become involved with. Leon Elt of Alexandra Lake Farm is involved with a nonprofit named Big Small Farm. Eric & Anna Scott are also involved with this group so you know it’s a good one!

THIS WEEK’S FRUIT
Strawberries, sour oranges (calamondins), Orlando tangelos, papayas, galas, Medjool dates, And bosc pears.

WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST CUSTOMERS
Once you have submitted your order, if in doubt about what you owe, you can always confirm what you have been charged for by checking your account history and viewing your most current invoice. Instructions on how to do that are on our Q&A page under the question entitled Since you don’t provide an invoice with delivery, how do I know what I owe? Also, since your vegetables are picked fresh within 24 hours of delivery, they should be lasting for WEEKS in your refrigerator. When you accept delivery, please take a few minutes to inspect your order to protect your vegetables from unnecessary spoilage. Lastly, it is imperative that you understand our policy on Unclaimed Orders found on our Q&A page. When you make a purchase you are agreeing to abide by this policy.

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED
Our Market has high standards for what it sells. Despite that—as seasons transition—the challenges of evolving weather and pesky insects can take its toll on the crops. Market Growers are being very selective about what they are willing to present to you. No, it won’t always be picture perfect (which is part of its charm) and sometimes an insect is going to evade capture! But we won’t send you anything that we wouldn’t eat ourselves. If for any reason we have goofed and you are dissatisfied, please report it to me right away so we can rectify the situation. That’s how we get better and we all benefit from that. Your satisfaction is key to our success as a resource for St. Petersburgs’ lovers of chemical-free, organically & locally grown vegetables.

Upcoming Events

All these and more are posted on our Calendar of Events

WORKSHOPS & EVENTS

  • “Monthly Potluck Social”, Jan 24th, Nathan’s Garden Tour Begins at 5:30PM for active Market customers, growers, and volunteers. BY Whoozin.com e-vite ONLY. Our Speaker is Kathleen Wheeler who is going to share her extensive experience with fermenting foods for the past few years and how that has impacted her health & well-being. Should be a good one!
  • “Successful Urban Farming in St. Petersburg” on Feb. 14th, 1-3PM Cost $35/$25. RSVP NOW
  • REAL DIRT: Make Your Own” on Feb. 21st, 1-3PM Cost $35/$25. RSVP NOW

Volunteer Opportunities

We are currently organizing our volunteer needs by Grower and by Market. So when you are interested in learning how to garden and/or how to run an urban market—including a model for great delivery service for the Market—consider volunteering for the organizations below. Check back for more Growers to be listed and don’t miss the link below to a (Goat) Nanny Program.
Nathan’s Natural Veggies in St. Pete
Pioneer Settlement Garden in St. Pete
St. Pete Locally Grown Market in St. Pete
The Dancing Goat in Oldsmar
Alexandra Lake Farm in Dade City

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

Spa City Local Farm Market Co-op:  Arkansas Natural Produce will close their products early


Hello members on this lovely Sunday.
ANP sent a notice that due to a delivery conflict this week that they must close all their products 8 a.m. Tuesday morning. So if you want any of their items, remember to do so before then. Pickup will be the usual time on Friday. See you then.

Fresh Harvest, LLC:  Fresh Harvest for January 18th


To Contact Us

Fresh Harvest, LLC
Link to Fresh Harvest
Email us!
Tallahassee May
tally@wildblue.net
JohnDrury
john.drury@att.net

Recipes

Sweet Potato and Spinach Mac and Cheese
from Naturally Ella.com
This is a delicious take on the basic mac and cheese – great way to get some extra nutrition in this comfort food!

Ingredients
1 medium sweet potato
3 cups whole wheat pasta
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cloves garlic, minced
1½ cup milk
¾ cup mozzarella cheese
¾ cup asiago cheese
½ cup parmesan cheese
2 handfuls spinach
Instructions
Peel and cube sweet potato. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add sweet potato, and cook until tender, 8-12 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly. Place cooked sweet potato in a food processor with ¼ cup of milk. Pulse until smooth and set aside.
Bring a pot of water to a boil again and cook pasta for 5-6 minutes. Pasta should still be al dente (and not overcooked!) Drain and set aside.
Mix together cheese and set aside.
Preheat oven to 400?.
In a sauce pan, melt butter and add garlic, cooking for 1 minute. Whisk in flour and let cook for another 1-2 minutes to cook out flour taste. Whisk in 1¼ cup of milk and cook until mixture begins to thicken. Whisk in sweet potato puree and continue to cook until hot. Remove from heat and add 1½ cups of cheese mixture.
In a large casserole dish, add pasta, spinach, and cheese sauce. Toss until spinach is slightly wilted and cheese is mixture in. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake for 25-35 minutes- cheese on top should be browning.

Market News

Hello!

It’s been a beautiful few days – how wonderful to see the sun and feel some warmth! It is nice for the crops to have some higher temperatures for some good growing time. And it makes all the winter chores much more pleasant.

We have a nice selection of veggies for you this week. We do know that quantity is lower this time of year, so you may find an item you want “Sold Out”. Please let us know in the comments section of your order if you want an item that is sold out, and we will try to get it for you and add it to your bag!

Please support our other vendors that work so hard to provide you with top quality products! We have goat milk soap and lip balm from Little Seed Farm, baked goods from Dozen Bakery, a wonderful selection of cheeses from The Bloomy Rind Cheese shop, and of course our wonderful meat vendors, Wedge Oak farm and Bear Creek.
We also still carry Twin Forks Farm granola, although they are no longer baking bread.

Let’s hope the weather stays mild!

Thanks so much for your support, and we look forward to seeing you on Wednesday!

John and Tallahassee


Coming Events

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

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Suwanee Whole Life Co-op:  Market Extended to 6:30 tonight- order milk now if you need some!


I’m extending the market until 6:30 today (Sunday) due to low milk orders. If you forgot to order you still have time!

I don’t usually extend the market hours but since orders are about half what they normally are for Mountain Fresh Creamery and Cedar Rock Dairy, I’m assuming some of you got busy and forgot.

You can order milk and anything else from the market until the extended deadline.

I will not take orders past 6:30 pm tonight so order now!

ORDERING:
The market is now open for ordering!
suwanee.locallygrown.net

GROUP BUY THIS WEEKEND! Milk Carriers and Mason Jar Pour Caps Expect to pick up group buy item in 2 weeks (not this Tuesday).

If you do NOT receive a confirmation email immediately after you placed your order, then your items are still in your cart and your order is not complete. All orders must be placed by 5pm on Sunday.

PICK UP:
Pick up is on Tuesday at 4942 Austin Park Avenue, Buford 30518 from 1pm to 6:45 pm.

PAYMENT:
We take checks, cash, credit card and Dwolla

If you are planning to pay using Dwolla please make sure your deposit includes the 25 cents fee. For example, if your order total is $22.50 make your deposit for $22.75.

Please make sure you understand our pick up policy before you order.

Have a blessed weekend!
Nor

The Wednesday Market:  Time to Order


Good afternoon to everyone within The Wednesday Market community.

I don’t know about you, but I am happy, happy, happy to see the sun SHINING today! So are our kids, who just bolted out the back door to ride their bikes in this glorious daylight. We hope you also plan to partake of a moment or two in the sun – but place your order first, please.

The Market is open. Check out the website for all of this week’s offerings. Some of our farmers were hit pretty hard by the deep freeze from a couple of weeks ago, but with this nice weather, the veggies should be coming back soon. Anyway, here is the link: http://wednesdaymarket.locallygrown.net/market

Remember to place your order by 10 p.m. Monday, and orders are ready for pick up between 3 and 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

Have a great afternoon,and we’ll see you at The Market.

Thanks,

Beverly

Dawson Local Harvest:  January Harvest Notes


DAWSON LOCAL HARVEST for January 23th

HI EVERYBODY!

Hope you are enjoying this (most assuredly) temporarily wonderful weather! Please take a look at the Market page for this week’s availability.

THE MARKET IS NOW OPEN!

REMEMBER! You can order until Tuesday night at 8pm. Pick up your order at Leilani’s Gardens Friday afternoons from 4 to 7pm.

You’ll find the DAWSON LOCAL HARVEST at http://dawsonville.locallygrown.net

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible! We guarantee your satisfaction with all products in the DAWSON LOCAL HARVEST.

Have a happy and healthy week!

Alan Vining
Market Manager